Ethical EatingEthical Eating…taking a look into animal welfare in our food system
What are we talking about?
• Conventional Animal Production• Ethical treatment• Questions about human health• Environmental Impact• Vegetarianism and Veganism• What’s available for you on campus?• Questions?
Some definitions
• Feedlot where cows go to get fattened up before slaughter
• Castration removal of testicles
• CAFO confined animal feed operation
• Slaughter the killing of animals mostly for human consumption
• Livestock all animals raised for intent of food production
• Free range not defined by law, but used by the industry to say that poultry, pigs lived outside of cages/crates
• Pasture-raised most sustainable way of producing animals for human consumption; animals are able to roam around freely, and do all things naturally
Do Animals Feel Pain?
All birds, mammals, fish have a central nervous system…
All birds, mammals and fish can feel pain.
Is there emotional pain associated with physical harm? The jury is out on that…
Conventional Animal Production
Chickens, poultry
Pigs
Cattle
Fish
Chickens
Broiler chickens meat consumption
Layer hens egg consumption, meat consumption
BroilersBred to grow muscles 2x as fast as in 1940’s
Muscle growth does not match bone growth
Deformities
Can’t walk
Crowded pens on concrete/slatted floors
De-beaking
Disease vector administer antibiotics
Unnatural diets
Layers98% live in crowded cages - 48 sq. in. each – vertical
integration
De-beaking
Disease vector administer antibiotics
Forced molting through starvation to increase egg production
Unnatural diets
Butchered after 2 egg-laying seasons
By slaughter, 29% suffer broken bones due to neglect and maltreatment
Health Risks and Human Concerns
Hormones – increase growth; illegal in US
Antibiotics – promote growth; treat disease
Arsenic – antimicrobial dug; promotes growth
Disease vector – E. coli, bird flu, salmonella
Environmental pollution
What happens at slaughter?
Transported by truck to slaughter
No legal requirement for chickens to be anesthetized for slaughter… they are awake
Throats cut
Dipped into tanks of scalding hot water to loosen feathers
Plucked of feathers by hand or machine
Facts and figures• There is no federal law that regulates humane treatment of
chickens
• Over 9 billion chickens were slaughtered in the US for their flesh
• 245 million hens are raised for eggs
• 99% of all chickens raised for food spend their entire lives in confinement
• Due to genetic manipulation (selective breeding) 90% of broiler chickens have trouble walking
• 100 million male chicks are ground up alive or suffocated each year
• 71% of the farmers who work under contract for Tyson earn below-poverty wages
Poultry’s environmental impact
Soy-based high protein feed diet
Ammonia emissions and water contamination
Manure lagoons
Nitrates and phosphates contaminate waterways
Nitrates algae blooms fish kills
Blue baby syndrome result of drinking nitrogen-contaminated water
The Industry…
“Is it more profitable to grow the biggest bird and have increased mortality due to heart attacks, ascites, and leg problems, or should birds be grown smaller so that birds are smaller, but have fewer heart, lung, and skeletal problems?
A large portion of grower’s pay is based on the pound of saleable meat produced, so simple calculations suggest that it is better to get the weight and ignore the mortality…”
Free Range Poultry
Guaranteed for all egg laying hens and broilers – Prop 2 by 2012
What does free range mean?
Is it really free range?
“Most free-range birds are still fenced in corrals, though people like to imagine the birds are out roaming the range. They are not out exercising. These birds are raised much like the regular poultry.” – Ralph Ernst, UC Davis Poultry Specialist
TurkeysKilled when they are 5-6 mo. old
300 million slaughtered ea. year
No federal legal protection
Beaks, toes seared off
Crammed in tight quarters with thousands of other birds
Slaughtered like chickens
Too obese to reproduce artificially inseminated
Turkey treatment
Mortalities from organ failure or heart attack before reaching 6 mo. old
Become to obese to walk
Transportation to slaughterhouse results in the death of millions of turkeys each year due to heat exhaustion, freezing, transport accidents
Free range turkey?
“Consumers can really be fooled. Some farms can qualify for free range, but they raise turkeys in the same conditions as industrial farms” – Mary Pitman from Mary’s Free-Range Turkeys
PigsOver 100million pigs are killed ea. year for
consumption
97% of the pigs consumed today are raised on factory farms
Baby pigs have some of their teeth removed, are castrated (males), and have their tails cut off and ears notched
Gestation crates
Transport to slaughterhouse results in the death of 1 million pigs ea. year
Treatment of pigs
Farrowing crates
Piglets placed in “battery cages” similar to vertical integration for layer hens
Pigs are crammed into small pens with many other pigs until slaughter
Rampant disease
Pigs live up to 6 mo. in factory farms… in nature pigs live up to 15 years
Pig Illnesses
Genetic manipulation to grow too big too fast
Arthritis
Joint problems
Mange
Pneumonia – 70% have it before slaughtered
Slaughter of PigsTransported to slaughterhouses in trucks
170,000 pigs die each year in transport
420,000 pigs are crippled during transport ea. year
Typical slaughterhouse kills up to 1,100 pigs every hour
Pigs stunned with stun guns, or bolt guns
Improper firing of stun guns/bolt guns result in live slaughter
Throats slit to bleed out
Scalding water bath to remove hair
Health Risks and Human Concerns
Antiobiotics in pigs
Trichinosis – parasites; raw and undercooked pork
Linked to when pigs were fed garbage
1997-2001, average of 12 cases per year
Environmental Impact
Feral Pigs in North and South America, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii
Invasive species – extensive environmental damage
Pollution from waste
Cows
Beef cows
Dairy cows
Beef CattleBread specifically for meat production
First year spent grazing
Iron-branding
Castration
Horns removed
After first year auctioned off
Shipped to feedlot
Many arrive at feedlot crippled or dead
Life at the Feedlot
Unnatural diet of mostly corn and antibiotics
Acidification and bloating of the stomach
Ulceration and rupturing of the intestines
Manure overload and manure lagoons
Respiratory problems due to chromic inhalation of the ammonia, methane, and noxious chemicals created by confined environment
Dairy CowsRepeatedly impregnated in order to induce
lactation
Calves taken away from them
rBGH and rBST – growth hormones used to increase milk production
Unnatural diet high in fat and protein-rich grains to increase milk production and replace energy lost by producing such large quantities of milk
Antibiotics administered to keep cows healthy
SlaughterWhen to slaughter - beef cattle is an “acceptable size”;
dairy cows stop producing at an “acceptable” rate
Fast and messy the faster they slaughter, the more meat they can produce, and for cheaper
400 cows slaughtered per day in ea. slaughter house
Cows are stunned, sometimes not completely
Throats slit, bleed out
Slaughtered – specific cuts or ground beef
What’s in the Beef?
GROSS• Fecal
contamination• E. coli 0157:H7• Mad Cow Disease• Saturated Fat
GOOD• Protein• Vitamin B12• Iron (heme form)
What is in the milk?
GROSS• Pus• Hormones• Antibiotics• Saturated Fat• Cholesterol• Pesticide residues• Dioxins• Antibiotics
GOOD• Calcium• Protein• Vitamin B12• Added Vitamin D
Got Osteoporosis?
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) looked at all aspects of diet and bone health and found that high consumption of fruits and vegetables positively affected bone health and that dairy consumption did not.
Such findings do not surprise nutritional researchers: The calcium absorption rate from milk is approximately 30 percent, while figures for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, and some other green leafy vegetables range from 40 percent to 64 percent.
Something’s Fishy
Overfishing – 90% of large fish populations have been exterminated in the past 50 years
Contamination of our waterways
Factory Farmed Fish (aquaculture) – it takes 5lbs of wild fish to produce 1lb of farmed fish
Destruction of ocean’s ecosystems
Bycatch
Health Concerns and Fish
Seafood is the #1 cause of food poisoning in the US
E. coli
Biomagnification
Heavy metals: cadmium, mercury, lead, chromium, arsenic
Kidney damage, nervous system issues, cancer, etc.
What do we do?
“Sustainable” Proteins
Mary’s Turkey – free range
Mary’s Chicken – free range
Petaluma Poultry/Rosie’s Chicken – free range
Food Alliance Certified“Animal Welfare Approved”
Grass Fed Beef – Fulton Beef
Pure Country Pork
Healthy, humane animal treatment
“Food Alliance certified producers raise livestock with the greatest respect for their needs and comfort. Food Alliance producers provide proper nutrition for excellent animal health and fitness, without excess fat. Living conditions and space allowances provide physical and thermal comfort, afford access to natural lighting and vegetated pasture (where appropriate), and enhance natural behavior (including social contact among animals). Food Alliance producers are trained and competent handlers, minimizing animal fear and stress during handling, transportation and slaughter. Use of hormone treatments is prohibited. Antibiotic use is restricted to treatment of occasional illness, and not as a substitute for healthy living conditions.”
Monterey Bay Seafood Watch
Milk and dairy products
Horizon Organic organic, but humane?
Berkeley Farm rBST free
Butter Sysco brand
Creamers
Cheeses Sysco brand
Other options…
Vegetarian entrees
Vegan entrees
Vegan corner
Soy milk
Vegan desserts
Opportunities for the future…
Glaum Eggs – cage free – possibly for the Fall of 2009… may be too expensive
Continue to purchase Food Alliance Certified products as they become available
Vegan ice cream
What is the barrier?
Student demand
Cost
Availability
QUESTIONS?