LCA Last Chance for
Animals
January 2018
The Meat and Dairy Industries ~ Human Victims of Animal Agriculture
Animal agriculture not only causes the suffering and death of tens of billions of farmed animals every year, it is also a primary contributor to some of the most pressing social and environmental justice issues that victimize countless humans worldwide.
Donn Young Photography
The horrors of animal agriculture have been revealed through numerous
investigations, but animals aren’t the only victims of meat consumption.
While there is no question that farmed animals endure the absolute worst
forms of cruelty and violence in this industry, the implications of animal
agriculture’s vast destructiveness extend to humans as well, threatening the
rights and wellbeing of millions of people worldwide.
Communities
Animal agriculture is a leading cause of environmental destruction and
climate change. Pollution and its devastating ramifications
disproportionately affect individuals residing in poor communities.
Industrial farms and meat processing plants are predominantly located in
low-income areas, burdening inhabitants with toxic waste which pollutes the
air and water and can lead to irreversible health issues. Powerless to the
callous indifference of billion-dollar meat corporations, victims of
environmental injustice are forced to endure this pollution despite its
potentially deadly consequences.
Additionally, animal agriculture negatively affects both impoverished and indigenous communities on a global scale. Despite the fact that we currently grow more than enough food to feed the entire world’s population, starvation remains common. Over eighty percent of the world’s starving children live in countries where food is fed to farmed animals who are then killed to be eaten in affluent countries. Furthermore, poor and rural communities, which rely on natural resources for sustenance, bear the brunt of the decimation of oceans and rainforests caused by animal agriculture.
“It’s like being held prisoner… The smell and particles in the air burn
our eyes and make us gag. We can’t swim in the rivers and streams near us
because they’re polluted with hog manure, and we can’t drink or wash with
water from our wells…We were here before the pork industry even came in
here, so what about our rights? It’s as if we have none.”
- Elsie Herring,
victim of factory farming pollution
Workers
Workers at meat processing plants face inherently hazardous conditions in an
industry that is riddled with workers’ rights issues and safety violations.
Regarded as the most dangerous factory job in America, the rapid speed at
which workers are ordered to kill and process animals leads to serious
accidents, ranging from amputations to suffering lifelong repetitive motion
injuries and PTSD. Commonly, meat industry workers are undocumented
immigrants, recruited due to their vulnerable status and desperate need for
work. When workers attempt to fight for safer conditions or higher pay,
companies have threatened to call immigration, exploiting workers’ immigrant
status in order to avoid paying for injuries or improving conditions.
Additionally, the brutal nature of this work breeds further harm due to the
documented link between slaughterhouse employment and an increase in violent
crimes. The choice to consume meat not only supports unfathomable cruelty
against animals, but perpetuates an industry that continually exhibits utter
disregard for human rights and welfare.
“They love you if you’re healthy and work like a dog, but if you get hurt
you are trash. … They will look for a way to get rid of you before they
report it. They will find a reason to fire you, or put you on a worse job …
or change your shift so you quit. So a lot of people don’t report their
injuries. They just work with the pain.”
–meat processing worker, Nebraska
Public Health
Animal agriculture and animal product consumption pose a serious threat to
public health due to their role in causing the world’s deadliest diseases as
well as the industry’s severe overuse of antibiotics which leads to
dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria. The consumption of meat and other animal
products significantly increases one’s risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart
disease—the leading cause of death in the US. Even fish consumption, which
is frequently touted as a healthier alternative to other meats, is plagued
by alarming mercury concerns which present serious human health risks.
Indisputably, the pervasive consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs contributes
to the preventable death of hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Thousands of other individuals die annually due to antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, a global threat caused by, among many factors, the rampant overuse
of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
Normal artery
“The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars
of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents
combined.”
- Dr. Neal Barnard
Animal agriculture not only causes the suffering and death of tens of
billions of farmed animals every year, it is also a primary contributor to
some of the most pressing social and environmental justice issues that
victimize countless humans worldwide. By simply choosing plant-based
substitutes to your favorite meat, dairy, and egg products, you can take a
meaningful stance in favor of both animal and human rights. Learn helpful
tips for adopting a cruelty-free diet here.
Number of animals killed in the world by the fishing, meat, dairy and egg industries, since you opened this webpage.
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