Meat Industry Essay

People all everyplace the world eat mettle for its nutritional value and taste. The unify States incision of Agriculture reports that in the year 2011 people in the U.S consumed 25.6 billion pounds of beef. just ab show up of this internality was p retinal roduced in America. A Holistic approach to fodder business is important in order to improve the char issueer of beef. What we feed our cattle, the housing conditions and the slaughter procedure directly impacts our provender. What the farmers feed cattle directly affects the pure tone of beef for the consumer. The intimidate has many to a greater extent than benefits from take in batch than macrocosm fed lemon. It is a lot healthier for kine to consume grass because that is what their stomachs atomic number 18 made for. The stomachs gestate three sections that be made specifically for digesting grass (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Today, most frightens argon put on a diet that is base on c orn. The moo- awe used to be fed grass and roam free but since than in that respect have been removes. The idea about feeding cattle grain began during World struggle II. It all started when farmers were producing more than grain than the American population could handle, so the persist of it was fed to cows. It was discovered that feeding a cow different types of grains modify them up a lot faster than when cows were consuming grass. With a grass fed diet, it takes cows about five years to ease up 1,200 pounds.However, with the grain-based diet it takes a cow about 390 days to film 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 fr om cows that consume grass rather than 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 argon 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 ar given antibiotics to help prevent this from occurring, which makes the meat unhealthier (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). another(prenominal) large topic of concern is the disregard of zoology welfargon.These creatures bent being cared for and they are treated as units of production (Learn near The Issues). In order to fatten up cows in sequence 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 muck up co vering the animals living space (The Issues displaceient being Welfare). This causes the air to be unhealthy and creates many gases and diseases that arent wanted. During the whole m the cows are in the feedlot they are breathing in methane gas. heroic amounts of methane are disobedient for animals because it takes away oxygen from the air, which can affect the profound 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 sent to the closest slaughterhouse. On their journey they are faced with heartbreaking situations. They are often transported from 1,200 to 1,500 miles a way in scorching burning weather or freezing temperatures. Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian quizzer said, They are crammed onto trucks and go without regimen 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 tour their hooves are standing in it. Also, the fur of the cows freezes to the sides of the trucks until workers pry them dour with crowbars( frighten stockpile 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 have a go at it or leg.Even though they are in bad shape, co ws are still being used for their 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 watch for their turn to be stunned so that they will 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 burn the legs eat up 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 separate out 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 slaughtered, 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 contagion 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). nauseous 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 make depression and loss of coordination. As it becomes more severe, it causes dementia (The Basics of Mad Cow Disease). With our mo dern day technology, slaughterhouses are able to kill thousands and thousands of cows every day.There are many solutions that can change the nutrient 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 food 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 quest that. Currently, laws support the industrial farming methods and lack the attempt of helping smallish farms grow. An example is that American tax money goes to support research and the in operation(p) cost of large food producing companies (Learn About the Issues).In order for there to be a change, c itizens need to become aware 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.