Meat Industry Essay

People all everywhere the world eat spunk for its nutritional value and taste. The unify States plane section of Agriculture reports that in the year 2011 people in the U.S consumed 25.6 billion pounds of beef. roughly of this spunk was p gatuced in America. A Holistic approach to pabulum product is important in order to improve the timbre of beef. What we feed our cattle, the accommodate conditions and the slaughter procedure directly imp tours our nourishment. What the farmers feed cattle directly affects the feature of beef for the consumer. The intimidate has many much than benefits from eating bay window than being fed edible corn. It is a lot wellnessier for appals to consume grass because that is what their stomachs be made for. The stomachs fox three sections that be made specifically for digesting grass (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Today, most scargons ar put on a diet that is base on corn. The overawe used to be fed grass and r oam free but since than there have been transmutes. The idea ab let on aliment cattle grain began during World state of war II.It all started when farmers were producing more(prenominal) grain than the American population could handle, so the easement of it was fed to cows. It was discovered that feeding a cow different types of grains alter them up a lot faster than when cows were consuming grass. With a grass fed diet, it takes cows about five years to kick in 1,200 pounds. However, with the grain-based diet it takes a cow about 390 days to bond to a r individuallyable weight for slaughter (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Also, the producer benefits more from feeding his cows corn because it is cheaper than grass. Therefore, a diet based on corn is more cost effective but the quality of meat has slight nutritional value (Why Grass Fed- Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef). The consumer benefits more from meat that comes from cows that consume grass rather tha n in-taking different types of grains.The cow is a lot healthier and happier when it is eating grass, which results in higher quality meat. Since cows stomachs ar meant to break down grass, a corn based diet causes changes in the digestion of a cow leading to serious health problems, such as diarrhea, ulcers, and a weakened immune system. As a result of these issues, the cows be given antibiotics to help prevent this from occurring, which makes the meat unhealthier (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). another(prenominal) great topic of concern is the disregard of zoology welfargon. These carnals arent being cared for and they are treated as units of production (Learn to the highest degree The Issues).In order to fatten up cows in magazine for slaughter, many farmers put them in feedlots. The conditions these cows go through are unbearable. As many cows as possible are crammed into each pen. The result of this is massive amounts of bollocks up covering the animals liv ing space (The Issues living organism Welfare). This causes the air to be unhealthy and creates many gases and diseases that arent wanted. During the whole measure the cows are in the feedlot they are breathing in methane gas. broad amounts of methane are crowing for animals because it takes away oxygen from the air, which can affect the aboriginal nervous system (2- Health Effects of Methane). The alternative is a more holistic way, which allows the cattle to roam around freely on huge pastures until they get fat enough to get slaughtered. In the United States, animal welfare is being ignored, because cows are being treated in a cruel and unhealthy way.When they are living in the feedlots, they are covered with manure and arent being cared for. As soon as cows are fat enough to get slaughtered, they are displace to the closest slaughterhouse. On their journey they are faced with heartbreaking situations. They are often transported from 1,200 to 1,500 miles away in scorching fervent weather or freezing temperatures. Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian examiner said, They are crammed onto trucks and go without nutrition or water for days. When it is cold, they are in the back of a trailer with nothing covering them. As the driver drives sixty miles per hour, cows are being exposed to a variety of extreme weather. Many cows collapse in hot weather. While they are traveling they urinate.After sometime it begins to freeze bandage their hooves are standing in it. Also, the fur of the cows freezes to the sides of the trucks until workers pry them dispatch with crowbars( awe enchant and Slaughter). When the cows get to the slaughterhouse, they are often in bad conditions. Most of them are sick and cannot walk because they are too weak. In order to move weak and injured cows they are dragged along with a bulldozer by a chain around their do or leg. Even though they are in bad shape, cows are still being used for th eir meat because it means more money in the producers pocket. If some of the cows are able to walk, they are still abused. Workers beat them with a metal rod in order to move them faster (The Humane Society of the United States). Also, before they are killed the cows are lined up to confront for their turn to be stunned so that they get out pass out before they get slaughtered. Sometimes the stunning procedure does not work.Ramon Moreno, a slaughterhouse worker has stated that he often has to data track the legs shoot of cows that are completely conscious. They blink. They make noises, he says. The head moves, the eye are wide and looking around. They die piece by piece. If workers rise to report that the cows are still alive they risk loosing their jobs (Cow Transport and Slaughter). After cows reach a certain weight they are ready to be slaughtered for meat consumption. The process of turning cows into jammed meat can cause the meat to be infected. Before they are slaughter ed, cows are cleaned. However, in some cases not well enough. The waste of the cow can get into the processed meat that is being cut by the workers. This can contaminate the meat with E-coli, which is a type of bacterium that can lead to death. According to Centers for Disease Control estimates, up to 20,400 cases of E. coli transmitting and 500 deaths from E-coli disease occur annually in the United States (Escherichia Coli 0157H7).Another disease that is created in these fast paced industries is mad cow disease. (the issues-slaughterhouses and processing). dotty cow disease affects the cows nervous system and it causes the cow to act confused and loose control of the ability to walk (What is Mad Cow Disease). When people eat infected beef they may contract a human version of mad cow disease. It affects the nervous system causation depression and loss of coordination. As it becomes more severe, it causes dementia (The Basics of Mad Cow Disease). With our modern day technology, slaughterhouses are able to kill thousands and thousands of cows every day. There are many solutions that can change the aliment industry to produce their meat in a more animal friendly way. To help cut back more meat being produced in factories, consumers can support local farms by eating fare that is grown locally.Holistic farming care for their animals and focus on getting delicious, healthy meat than just producing more and more for profit. The food quality of holistic farmed meat is a lot better because the cows are raised and treated well as opposed to when the animals are abused their whole life. If we really want a change, it is up to Americans to submit that. Currently, laws support the industrial farming methods and lack the attempt of helping mild farms grow. An example is that American tax money goes to support research and the operational cost of large food producing companies (Learn About the Issues). In order for there to be a change, citizens need to become awar e of the process.Change will happen by the consumer supporting politicians who are looking to change the food industry. Consequently, producers would need to be more focused on the care of the animals than earning as much money as possible. What American farmers feed their cattle, where they raise them and how they get slaughtered directly impacts the quality of our food. It is important for consumers to be aware of the United States food industry because there is so much more behind the food brought to you in the supermarket. If the consumer buys meat that is produced holistically, and legislation puts focus on the care of animals, the food industry will be forced to improve their methods.