Well my friends I cant say that today's post is going to be a happy one, but it may be one of the most important things I ever share with you. I am going to introduce you to a new term today : CAFO = Confined Animal Feeding Operation.
OK, so I know that video was a little hard to watch, but I truly believe that seeing those pictures really brings it home for alot of people. I know it's disturbing and we don't want to think about those kinds of things when we are buying our steaks and chicken breasts for dinner, but honestly people, ignorance is not bliss. Just because you don't know about it, or don't want to think about it, doesn't mean it's not affecting you.
These images are disturbing on a number of levels. First there is the most obvious issue of animal abuse. That one is usually pretty apparent, but it goes alot deeper than that.
What do you think happens when you consume meat from these sick and abused animals? You've all heard that old saying "you are what you eat." Well here is a prime example right here. Have you noticed how fear, anxiety and depression are among some of the most common issues our society faces? Think about this: The cows, chickens, and pigs that you are eating live their whole lives sad, depressed, angry, fearful, and sick. Then we eat that same sad, depressed flesh. I know that this may be a hard concept to wrap your mind around, but you are eating that energy. You are eating the sadness. You are eating the fear. You are eating the depression.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. You are also eating the flesh that has been pumped up with antibiotics, steroids, and growth hormones. You are eating the flesh that has been washed in ammonia and bleach to try and combat the rampant e-coli bacteria. You are eating the flesh that has had the cancerous tumors just cut away. Here's a thought, if an animal has cancer, I don't want to eat ANY of it, even if the tumor has been cut away. Ever noticed how you hear about more and more beef recalls in recent years? If you have kids, or even if you don't, please watch this.
This is happening more often than you know. Please don't just go on hoping that it wont happen to you or someone in your family.We have to take responsibility as individuals. We cant depend on the government or the FDA to protect us. The food system is very broken, and we the consumers are the only ones who are going to change it.
There are so many other consequences to these CAFO farms. The toxic runoff that is created as a result of these factory farms is creating a cascade of negative affects for the food system and the planet as a whole. Ever wonder why all these out breaks of e-coli are occurring in our spinach and other crops? Or how about the recent listeria outbreak in cantaloupe? How do these bacteria find their way into the crops? Well, alot of times it's through the toxic runoff from these factory farms. The CAFO farms produce millions of gallons of waste product that they have no where to dump, so they dump it into the water supply. Once in the water supply it is able to travel hundreds and thousands of miles and contaminate all kinds of crops.
I'm not doing this post today to try and convert anyone to be a vegetarian or anything like that. If fact I am a happy carnivore myself and don't have any plans on giving up meat. One thing I will not compromise on though is eating this CAFO meat. You wont find me preparing it for my family and you wont find me eating it anywhere outside of my home either. Look, I know this topic is grim but it is very real and it affects us all. I know it is easy to get upset and think "well there is nothing I can do about it". But the reality is you can do something about it. Buy grass fed beef. Buy free range chicken and pork. Yes it does cost more, but what's important to you? If the consumer demand is there for these healthier more humane meat options, then the prices will come down. The industry responds to what we as the consumers want. If you have read this post and watched these videos and decided that this is NOT OK with you, it's up to you to do something about it. Every time we put our dollars down on this CAFO meat, we are saying "it's OK with me". Don't put your money towards something you don't agree with. Tell they industry with your dollars that this is not acceptable. Trust me money talks.
I want to leave you here on a positive note so that you can see that there are good farmers out there raising animals in a healthier more humane way....This one is happy so please watch :)
If you are interested in gaining more knowledge about this topic, I highly recommend you watch the movie Food Inc. It is available on Netflix and at your local video store.
This is a subject very close to my heart and I'd love to know how all of you feel about it too. Comments here would be greatly appreciated.
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