The Case Against Grocery Store meat
In this article grocery store meat will be the topic of discussion.
Where does our meat come from?
Well it sure as shit does not come from the grocery store.
Because we demand cheap food (Americans now spend around 10% of our income on food. The lowest in the entire world) our government and what many would call farmers have happily obliged to our demands.
In come the Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). What are these? Well the title says it all. An agricultural operation where animals such as cows, chickens, pigs and turkeys are grown in very small, confined areas. If you drive by a "farm" that has long. ginormous buildings that secrete the smell of blissful feces, then you know what I am talking about.
What is the problem with CAFOs?
From an economic prospective, they make complete sense. Viewing living animals like products on a production line, we produce as much meat as is humanly possible at the cheapest cost.
From every other aspect of life, from animal rights, quality of meat, environmental health and even human health, these operations are evidence of humanities continuing neglect for any realm of life other than its own.
Within CAFOs animals are kept in very small cages or in small areas with countless other animals. Chickens must stand on wire cages their entire life, pigs are unable to turn around, and cows are either stuck in a cage, or in a pen with unhealthy amounts of cattle around them. These confined quarters make disease outbreaks occur as often as a new AIDS patients in Africa.
To combat this problem, rather than give animals the space to move and act like the animals that they are, we dump massive loads of antibiotics into their feed to ward of disease outbreaks.
Do not live under the delusion that these do not affect the meat, for everything that we eat as well as what animals eat is stored in our bodies as either fat or muscle.
Because we view animals as products to be raised and sold, we attempt to fatten animals as fast as humanly possible. In the case of chickens, they often gain enough weight that their legs break under the weight of their bodies.
Feeding animals steroids and growth hormones is common practice in the meat industry. Again these substances find their way into the meat that we buy at the grocery store or in a restaurant.
The animals in these operations poop, a lot (an average cow will poop out 50 lbs of feces per day). The waste is often held in retention ponds or holding tanks. Most of this waste is used as fertilizer in farm fields, but many times these crap pools leak raw sewage into the ground, contaminating the ground water. Residence that live in these areas must also put up with the constant smell of raw feces.
E Coli
Because animals live in their own feces, when it comes time for slaughter, brown fecal matter cakes the coats of the animals being killed. Raw crap is a happy breading ground for some of the most harmful bacteria known to man. This crap all to often finds its way into the meat while it is being butchered.
Countless E Coli outbreaks have occurred across our nation in the last couple of years. From meat to tomatoes to onions to spinach, we live in a constant fear of consuming this deadly bacteria. Unknown to most, is that the fresh fruits and vegetables do not magically get contaminated with E Coli. No, the farmers that grow these crops often use the manure from CAFOs as fertilizer. If E-Coli is present in the manure then it will inevitably make its way onto our fresh produce.
E Coli Continued
Cattle in particular are the most susceptible to E Coli. And it is all traced back to the food that they consume.
CAFOs are made possible by our countries over production of corn, soy and wheat. All grains, and all the most unnatural products that could possibly be feed to cattle.
Cattle have 4 stomachs. Through evolution they have created this intricate system of digestion by grazing on open prairies. They are made to eat grass.
When fed grains, two things happen. One they get fat, very quickly. And two, grain increases the amount of E Coli found in cattles stomachs. This is then crapped out and finds its way into our food.
Travel Time
Your 1 lbs of ground beef from the store was not raised, slaughtered and packaged in the store that you bought it from. More than likely your beef was grown in the Colorado or Nebraska, shipped to North Carolina to be slaughtered. Shipped to a packing plant and then to your local grocers refrigerator. On average, a pound of meat has traveled over 1500 miles to get to your plate.
Compare that to your local farmer who raises his cattle and then has it slaughtered down the road at a local processing plant. The total mileage may reach 50 miles.
Change is on the Horizon
Meat is very costly. Not just to our pocket books, but to our environment. We now raise so many cattle in CAFOs that the methane released from their farts and poop piles is actually having an affect on our global climate (methane is a 100X stronger Greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide).
It takes a lot of energy to grow a cow (or any other live animal), deal with the many inevitable problems that come along with it (poop, disease, death) and then slaughter, package and ship the meat. Not to mention that the meat must be cooled every second of everyday until it is sold.
I once read that if a family of 4 were to eat a steak dinner (not local or organic) their carbon footprint would be the equivalent of leaving every light in their house on while driving around in an SUV for four hours.
The cost of our food goes beyond what we pay at the register. Do you really think that buying $2/lbs hamburger is the actual cost that it took to feed, raise, slaughter and ship that meat? Or paying $1 for a hamburger at McDonalds?
This is made possible by the seemingly infinite budget of the United States Government. Without the implementation of subsidies and tax breaks, our food would never be as cheap as it is today. Sure cheap food is great, we have more money to spend on other, often times more important things*. However this system is not honest. We do not pay for the food that we eat. Sure this system works now, but it won't be able to work in the future. No other industry on the planet (other than oil) has been altered and derailed as much as our food system.
* Which makes zero sense. We have such an intimate relationship with our food, that their really is nothing more important than the food that we eat.
This is why organic and local food is so expensive. We are actually paying the true cost of the food that we eat.
Ryan
PS. Fast food companies get their meat from old dairy cows that are either diseased, or unable to produce milk anymore. Thought you might want to know that.
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July 15th, 2010 - 20:03
LOL I love it man god that part about the CAFO’s is great and by great I mean the first part about the economic stand point and the fact that animals are like products on an assembly line cause lets face it they are. They are here in the numbers they are because of us and are retarded creatures that no nothing better anyway. I doubt that change is on the horizon though especially with the economy being as shitty as it is because we want cheap and in the end of the day big business and money make the world go round
July 16th, 2010 - 21:36
Ryan, are we all stuck eating crappy meat and vegetables? I’d like to know what to do, or perhaps where to buy local/organic food at a cheap price. Is it possible? I want to know some viable solutions to this problem.
July 26th, 2010 - 00:11
Moose,
Thanks for the comment. Although you know that I have vastly different views of animals and food in general than you do. I am not going to argue animal rights issues with you here as that is that the number one reason why I despise industrial agriculture. The fact that we raise and slaughter animals in such a way that we are not only degrading our environment (millions of tons of manure, steroids, hormones and the pesticides and fertilizers that are used on the crops that feed these animals) and in turn affects the quality of meat and meat products. E-Coli break outs are an obvious example.
The fact that we want expect cheap food is a by product a consumer society that puts material goods ahead of relationships and even our health. Families across the country have the ability to pay the true costs of their food. That money would come from things such as expensive homes, cars, TVs and clothes. The food we eat is such an intimate part of out lives that sacrificing in that area is idiotic. Food is necessary for life and is a huge part of our daily lives (breakfast lunch and dinner and all the snacks in between.) We can live without expensive homes, TV, internet or designer clothes.
Our reality has been skewed by popular media and beliefs that food should be cheap and that beef is beef and a tomato is a tomato no matter where it was grown or how it was grown. Again, this mentality is idiotic and a product of big business propaganda and our system of cheap food. I am not promoting everybody become a tree hugging hippie. I prefer to use the term realist. Accepting the fact that the way our food is being grown is killing our environment and ourselves and then having the balls enough to change it. No other area of life do have more control over than the food that we put in our mouths.
Thanks again for the though provoking comment
Ryan
July 26th, 2010 - 00:22
Cole,
The beautiful thing is that no, we are not stuck eating crappy meat and veggies. Go to the farmers market in Portage which is on Thursday afternoons. Farmers sell fresh produce, eggs and meat that were raised within 15 miles of your home. Also stopping at produce stands along high ways is an easy place to get fresh, local food. It is much easier to obtain fresh produce in the summer than in the winter. I change my diet accordingly. I eat lots of meat that comes from farmers in the area and eggs as well. They usually are reasonably priced and taste way better than store bought food. I would recommend asking your parents if they know any farmers. If not then just email me and I can send you a list of people in our area that sell eggs and meat. The lady I buy my eggs from lives on Hwy P in between Portage and Pardeeville. She has a sign hanging by the road.
Also there is a beyond organic farm in Poynette that sells free range chicken eggs, grass fed beef, and free range pork. I have worked on this farm and seen there operation first hand. The farm is called Rainbow Hill Farms. I have the number and address if you want it. The people who run the farm are a husband and wife. They believe in the work that they do and are trying to change the way people view their food. The prices are expensive, almost double what you would pay in a store. But know this, the price you pay is the true cost of the food you are buying. No government incentives, chemicals or bull shit business was involved in the growing of your food. You get what you pay for. If you want factory farmed shitty meat that traveled over 2000 miles to get to your plate then go to Wal-Mart. If you want sustainably raised meat that was raised, slaughtered and packaged in the same zip code as yours then buy from a farm like Rainbow Hill.
Thanks for the comments Cole
Ryan
July 26th, 2010 - 13:48
Banks, just because food is grown within 15 miles from does not mean it isn’t grown from genetically modified strains of the plant. Most farmers spray their crops with pesticides too. Genetically modified crops are grown everywhere, not simply on Niguragian mega farms. Also how humane is stealing eggs from chickens everyday even if they are free range and grass fed? How would u like it if everytime you tried to have a baby someone stole your little child and fried it up with some delicious bacon? Scientists have done many things for our society by creating plants that allow us to focus on things other then where our next meal will come from. That would be super shitty if we had to only depend on local food for survival and didn’t have time for enjoying other things in life. Plus all beef is still killed for our convienence of eating yummy steaks, that is not humane…..you don’t seem consistent…..either animals have rights and we shouldn’t be able to hurt them, or they have no rights and were created by us and we can treat them as a commodity.
July 28th, 2010 - 20:53
Houli,
I have a lot to say about your comment. I will try to put my emotions aside and use fair judgment.
“Banks, just because food is grown within 15 miles from does not mean it isn’t grown from genetically modified strains of the plant.”
I never said that it wasn’t. I know that all corn and soybeans grown in this country are GMOS. However, these kinds of plants are actually inedible to human beings in their natural state, meaning we can not digest them until they are refined down to products such as corn meal, and HFCS.
“Genetically modified crops are grown everywhere, not simply on Niguragian mega farms”
And by everywhere I mean everywhere. Almost all veggies and fruits sold in a grocery store are from GMO plants. This is why I promote not eating produce from commercial grocery stores. Vegetables that are grown in our backyards or by local farmers are usually from natural seeds. Although some may be GMOs.
“Scientists have done many things for our society by creating plants that allow us to focus on things other then where our next meal will come from”
Yes they have, and I think that it has actually had a negative affect on our food system. The idea of freeing up time to do other things sounds great, but when it affects the quality of our food and the way we view food we have a problem. Our food system has become so indultrialized, all in the name of cost, that we have sacrificed quality and common sense logic (shipping apples from Chile. It is simply not a sustainable system. On top of that GMOS require huge amounts of water and chemicals to grow. Nowhere in nature does one plant strain dominate a landscape. Diversity is the key to success and for that reason our food system is way off track.
And this isn’t the stone age. I am not promoting that we all become farmers and live like its Little House on The Prairie. I am simply calling for a revamp of the way we view food in our world. Which will in turn affect how we grow and ship our food.
“That would be super shitty if we had to only depend on local food for survival and didn’t have time for enjoying other things in life.”
Could you back up this statement? Because I think that you are dead wrong. Depending on local food would not at all change the way we live our lives. I think it would actually make it better. Farmers would be able live off of crops that are not corn or soybeans and we would not be as dependent on fossil fuels. And what are the other things in life? Watching TV, Playing sports? In truth growing food is much, much more important than leisure activities.
You jump around a lot in your comment. I will respond to your animal rights and stealing eggs comment when I have more time. Right now I have to catch my bus out of Tokyo!
Thank for sparking some discussion!
Ryan
August 11th, 2010 - 02:08
Houli,
“Also how humane is stealing eggs from chickens everyday even if they are free range and grass fed?”
I think that raising an animal in its natural environment and reaping the benefits that it gives human beings is a great idea. Human beings are the dominant species on this planet. We have to live and in order to live we need food. However we have the ability to raise animals as products on an assembly line or as a living being. In my opinion, stealing eggs from a chicken is not in humane at all. I am in no way physically harming the chicken, I am not killing it or forcing it stand on a wire cage its whole life. I am simply taking the product of another species and using it to survive. I guess you could say that I am emotionally damaging the chicken. And to that I would say that chickens have the brains the size of a peanut and probably don’t even realize that their eggs is gone.
“How would u like it if everytime you tried to have a baby someone stole your little child and fried it up with some delicious bacon?”
I don’t steal little chicks and fry them with bacon. I eat the beginning embryo of a baby chicken. And by beginning I mean a few days of existence. Your comparison doesn’t make sense.
“Plus all beef is still killed for our convienence of eating yummy steaks, that is not humane…..you don’t seem consistent…..either animals have rights and we shouldn’t be able to hurt them, or they have no rights and were created by us and we can treat them as a commodity.”
Your right. Killing animals is not humane. But in order to survive and live a life that I think is healthy, animals must be killed. We do have the mental capacity and ability to raise an animal with the respect that it deserves (humane). It is sacrificing its life so that we can live. We can allow an animal to live like nature intended it too and still reap the benefits of eating its rotting flesh. When we look at beef and pork as simply food and not a part of an animal that was once alive, we neglect the fact that that animal was ever a living, breathing being. Which results in the neglect for basic survival instincts. Like the pictures on a butter container of a rolling green pasture and cows grazing. That is a cows natural environment. Not the concrete haven that we keep cows in today.
If I thought that not eating meat was the best way for my body to stay healthy I wouldn’t eat it. Actually I didn’t eat it for a year. I believe that meat and animal products are necessary for proper health to be obtained. If I am going to eat something that requires an animal being murdered, then I want that animal to live a pretty comfortable existence while it is on earth. And that it eats food that mother nature intended it to eat.
I hope I cleared up any confusion.
Ryan