Project on Environmental Issues 9

How Chickens Are Raised

The issue of animal testing, raise of poultry and cattle in factories is a recent and popular debate topic. The article was about how chickens are tortured while they are being raised and how imbalanced their bodies and genetics are. These poultry grow much faster than a normal chicken, and their bodies are so dysfunctional they can’t even walk properly. Here is a part that explains the condition of chickens,

By day nine, the broiler’s legs can barely keep its oversized breast off the ground. By day 11, it is puffed up to double the size of its cousin. It looks like an obese nine-year-old standing on the legs of a five-year-old. By day 35 it looks more like a weightlifter on steroids and dwarfs the egg-laying hen. (Lawrance)

Also their cages were only the size of an A4 sheet, now they have an extra space that’s area is only one postcard big, which was put after a lot of debating. So all we can say is their life conditions are really bad.

I used to be a vegetarian for some time, but started eating meat again because of the high school exam and some other reasons. When I think about the things these chicken go through, I want to quit eating meat again. Eating meat isn’t worth making poor animals that can’t do anything suffer like this. They are under a curse they can’t control from the moment they are born. And with the genetic disorders they are given to make them easier to sell and take under control, they are treated as meat, but not animals or even living things.

Animals can’t communicate with humans. This is a known fact. But does this really have to mean that because they can’t speak for themselves, they can be controlled in any way we want? They are being tortured just because they can’t communicate. But if they could speak, would we still apply these, or would we stop doing this? I don’t think they should even speak to stop this suffering. Aren’t their screams enough?

PS: After a few weeks I wrote this essay, I quit eating meat again. The paragraph that I wrote about being a vegetarian before is now a present thing and I am a half vegetarian now. By half I mean I don't eat meat when I have other options to chose. If I have another option that doesn't include any meat, I don't eat meat, and I usually do have other options.