If you could peer into a giant factory farm where animals are mass produced and then killed to become our food, you might wonder how we, as a decent and humane people have arrived at this place. What you would see is this:
1. Egg laying hens, crammed by the bunch, into a tiny wire cage stacked one upon the other for what seems like miles. They cannot spread their wings, and they are driven mad by the 1-2 years (the length of their miserable lives) of extreme confinement.
2. Mother pigs enclosed in a metal frame barely bigger than their bodies for months on end. The gestating pigs can hardly move, and they endure extreme discomfort and frustration. Did you know, by the way, that pigs are more cognizant than a three year old child and smarter than your pet dog?
3. Veal calves that have been ripped from their mothers at birth and shackled with a chain around their necks in what amounts to a dark box. They are kept in this state of intense captivity so that their muscles remain tender, hence they are often dragged to slaughter unable to walk on undeveloped legs.
Imagine, if you will, that it is you who is locked in a tiny dark space, unable to move, day after maddening day, month after torturous month. You suffer endlessly without a kind gesture or moment of relief. You have done nothing wrong, and you will ultimately die so someone can dine on your flesh.
