CAFO's

let’s talk about the feedlots your meat probably comes from.

on our way to and from colorado, i saw a few cattle feedlots and let me tell you…it’s a total awkward elephant in the room. after seeing miles of boring flat land that all blurred into one with the occasional hills, lakes and farms with beautiful roaming horses, these cattle show up. and it’s a concentration camp in the middle of nowhere that you  totally weren't expecting on your sunny road trip to blissville, USA.

and when I say concentration camp, it’s literally just that. they have a neat little term called CAFO’s which stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.  if you’ve never seen one just google feed lots and there’s plenty of evidence right there. so no, your meat does not come from the advertised “happy farms” with green pasture and sunshine which breed cheerful and healthy grazing cattle. it’s a complete joke. 

let me paint you a picture of reality. these cows are crammed by the thousands behind metal gates with barbed wire standing knee deep in their own shit. at first all you see is what looks like black dirt in a concentrated area with more cattle than you can count, just standing and watching- not with sad faces like “help me”it's more like empty stares as if all life has been completely sucked out of them (understandable). and then you notice there in fact is green pasture outside of this little area and that’s kind of ironic since last time you checked cattle’s grazed on grass not dirt…

if you could look closer you’d see some of the cattle are already dead, some almost there, some carrying infectious diseases, some dehydrated and some too heavy to get up. they are situated in the perfect location where not a single soul can hear them even if they could cry out.  it is a place strategically hidden from civilization because God forbid people see where their meat comes from. 

you can smell the stench a mile away and damn does is reek. and i’m so glad it does, it forces you to look at where this disturbing mixture of manure and ammonia comes from and it inevitably leads you to this unsightly view. but there’s also another stench added in this concoction and i’m pretty sure it’s called “corporate power”.

there are about 10 million cattle and calves kept in feedlots in the United States. they are pumped steady doses of antibiotics to keep the rampant diseases in check. they are sent to feedlots to be pumped up with grains (unnatural) and fattened up with hormones (dangerous) before slaughter. 

due to lack of trees and grass, the pens are a complete dust bowl. no shelter from weather extremes, no room to walk, no clean air; these animal machines suffer more than we can ever know. oh and they stay an average of 6-9 months. MONTHS.

why is this important? because we, as consumers, must understand and demand the right to know where our food is coming from. we need to know the practices factory farming has in place for these living and breathing creatures we call our food. unless you buy from local or organic farmers you can be assured this is where your meat is coming from and more importantly you are directly supporting feedlots and the giant factory farming business every time you buy.

and this is not just the case with cows but all animals- pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys all suffer in the same conditions. these businesses rely on your ignorance to these practices to keep selling. so educate yourself and spread what you know. 

it is so easy to oppress and undermine animals with no voice of their own. but I have a voice, and so do you. if not for these animals then do it for your health. if you happen to need more reasons, how about environment or ethics? - take your pick. your dollar is your vote, choose responsibly. cheap things are cheap for a reason.

coincidentally i came across this article by Mind Body Green- 5 reasons why you should never eat factory farmed meat it’s a must read and so is this: peoplesworld.org