Kinser 1

Emily Kinser

ENG 112.82

April 11, 2018

Dervin

Annotated Bibliography

“A Closer Look at Animals on Factory Farm.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-

animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms. This article provides concrete numbers

surrounding each species found in factory farms. For example, over 8.5 billion chickens

are slaughtered each year in America. Our country consumes 10 times more poultry than

any other country. Each section provided for every factory animal provides information

regarding their living conditions, diseases they contract, and abuse they endure. This

article will be helpful by providing statistics regarding America’s gluttonous meat

operation.

Bhumitra, Jaya. “Why Factory Farming Is a Broken System Where Extreme Animal Cruelty and

Abuse Is the Norm.” One Green Planet, 9 July 2015,

www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factory-farming-animal-cruelty/. This article

delves into the cruel treatment farm animals endure and how large companies are

allowing for this abuse to continue. Large farm factories allow horrific mutilation of their

animals for the sake of cutting costs. Many animals are confined to small crates and pens,

unable to walk or even turn around. Many of these practices are deemed “standard

practice” on factory farms. This article will help provide gruesome details of mutilation
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and abuse these farm animals go through, and why said farmers and handlers believe

their actions are condonable.

“Factory Farming.” Last Chance for Animals, www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/other-

issues/factory-farming. This article delves into the horrors animals face while in factory

farms. This article discusses diseases many factory farm animals contract because of the

deplorable surrounding environment. A gruesome, detailed process of picking laying

hens is depicted. This article will be useful when painting a detailed picture of the horrors

many of these animals face. Depictions of slaughter in this article have the potential to be

quoted.

“Farm Animals Need Our Help.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare.

This article covers a variety of topics, including misconstrued food labels, factory farms,

and animal welfare laws. There are many animal welfare laws established in hopes to

eradicate animal cruelty in factory farming. This article helps to explain loopholes found

in these laws, and how factory farms avoid punishment. This article provides great

percentages and numbers that deal with the Farm Factories. Quotes from this article will

be helpful when explaining deceptive food labeling, and loopholes within animal welfare

laws.

Strom, Stephanie. “What to Make of Those Animal-Welfare Labels on Meat and Eggs.” The

New York Times, 31 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/dining/animal-welfare-

labels.html. This article explains how/why food companies are labeling their products

“American Humane Certified” and “Animal Welfare Approved”. Since consumers are

becoming more concerned about the quality of their produce, big food companies are

paying companies to use these deceptive labels. Strom explains how labels like these can
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be misleading, and how products that sport these labels are not necessarily cruelty free.

Strom also provides a foolproof method to spotting dubious labels. This source will be

useful when explaining “smart shopping”, and how to distinguish the difference between

phony and genuine labeling.

“Undercover Video Documents Abuse of Pigs at Okla. Factory Farms.” ProQuest, 31 Jan. 2012,

www.search.proquest.com/docview/918939087/4?accountid=10008. This article depicts

horrific conditions factory farm pigs had been living in Oklahoma. These farms were

owned by two major meat industries, both the leading suppliers to Walmart. These major

companies reflect the behavior and abuse found on other farm factories across America.

This article also lists despicable living conditions, as well as abuse these animals

suffered. There are also strong quotations within this article that will provide useful for

my research.
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Deceptive Food Labeling in Factory Farming (Investigative Report)

An epidemic has spread across America. This plight has landed right into local pantries

and fridges. Factory farms and adjoining meat industries are using labels that inaccurately depict

their products. Since consumers are becoming more concerned about the quality of their

products, big food companies are paying other companies and nonprofit organizations to use

these deceptive labels. Products are being depicted as “American Humane Certified” and

“Animal Welfare Approved”. In reality, those claims are erroneous and should be expelled from

America’s grocery stores because they are jeopardizing the health and welfare of both humans

and animals.

As consumers learn more about the journey their food takes from farm to table, they are

making an effort to avoid inhumane farming. According to Daisy Freund, director of farm animal

welfare at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “Consumers are

looking behind barn doors at these factory farms, and they don’t like what they’re seeing” (qtd in

Strom). Factory farms are making efforts to reimage and rebrand in hopes to appease consumers.

Non-profit organizations are creating business by selling “certification” labels to farm factories.

Three substantial non-profit groups are responsible for distributing certification. The

American Humane Association, Humane Farm Animal Care, and A Greener World. Food

companies pay fees to use certification from these non-profit organizations. While these

certificates suggest that said products are cruelty-free, there are many loopholes still allowing

factory farms to mistreat animals. Andrew DeCoriolis, program director at animal advocacy

group Farm Forward said, “Not all certification seals are created equal. Companies can

essentially pick the standards that are the easiest for them to meet” (qtd. In Strom).
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For example, the American Humane Association and Humane Farm Animal care allow

for farms to mutilate animals under certain circumstances. These organizations allow farmers to

cut off pigs’ tails to reduce tail biting, and beak trimming on foul. Procedures like these are

extremely painful to the animal, and is described by reporter Jaya Bhumitra:

Agitated pigs may bite each other’s tails, causing infection, and in severe cases, leading

to cannibalism. How do farmers deal with this risk? By replacing one harm with another:

without any anesthesia and just days after the piglets are born, their tails are hacked off

and their teeth clipped with pliers. Likewise, chickens’ sensitive beaks are seared off

without painkillers to prevent the animals from pecking each other to death. Farmers call

that “debeaking”— we call it torture (Bhumitra).

Organizations like American Humane Association permit farmers to trim pigs’ tails and debeak

foul in hopes to reduce cannibalism, they are allowing animals to endure horrible mutilation and

pain. While these organizations are advocating for the welfare of animals, they are sanctioning

certificates for the maiming of animals.

The purchasing of “humane certification” is unorthodox and fraudulent. The fact that

animal advocacies are trading their reputation and their supporter’s trust for money is appalling.

Labels and certifications on products should truthfully represent the product presented, and the

rightful treatment that was shown to the animal. Consumers should have the right to effectively

purchase cruelty-free products, without deceptive labeling muddling the market.

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Ending Deceptive Food Labeling in Factory Farming (Argument/Proposal)

America’s meat industry is growing rapidly. According to NBC news, American meat

industries produced and packaged 25.8 billion pounds of beef, 23.2 billion pounds of pork, 5.8

billion pounds of turkey, 286 million pounds of veal/lamb/mutton and 38.4 billion pounds of

chicken in 2013 (Brunker & White). The average American eats 270.7 pounds of meat annually.

High demands for meat have made factory farm conditions for animals uninhabitable and

inhumane. It is not surprising to learn that animals are being mistreated in factory farms.

However, this problem is swept under the rug due to misleading labels on packaged products.

Since consumers are becoming more concerned about the quality and welfare of their

products, factory farms are making efforts to reimage and rebrand in hopes to appease their

customers. Big food companies are paying other companies and nonprofit organizations to use

deceptive labels, depicting their products as “American Humane Certified” and “Animal Welfare

Approved”. This kind of labeling is flawed and deceitful, especially since many non-profit

organizations are benefitting from selling false certifications. In order to eradicate animal cruelty

in factory farms and its’ adjoining meat industry, the use of misleading labels must come to an

end and instead be replaced by a regulated standard endorsed by a reputable organization.

Because there is no official standard on farm animals’ living conditions and treatment,

many factory farms treat their animals like objects rather than living beings. In fact, 97% of the

10 billion animals who are tortured and killed each year are animals from factory farms

(ASPCA). The mistreatment and abuse found in factory farms is appalling. Jaya Bhumitra--

director of corporate outreach for Mercy for Animals—wrote, “Many of the cruelties inherent
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in factory farming stem from the sheer number of animals packed onto each

farm…Overcrowded conditions heighten animals’ stress, lower their immunity, and

allow disease to spread like wildfire as the recent avian flu epidemic illustrates.” This horrific

treatment of farm animals has led to consumers attempting to avoid such inhumanities, and

search for products that are cruelty free.

Lack of official standards and inspections have led the use of erroneous labels. Andrew

Decoriolis, program director at animal advocacy group Farm Forward said, “Not all certification

seals are created equal. Companies essentially pick the standards that are the easiest for them to

meet” (qtd. in Strom). For example, the American Humane Association and Humane Farm

Animal care allow for farms to mutilate animals under certain circumstances. These

organizations allow farmers to cut off pigs’ tails to reduce tail biting, and beak trimming on foul.

Procedures like these are extremely painful, yet farmers perform them without giving the

animal any kind of anesthesia. Organizations like American Humane Association permit farmers

to trim pigs’ tails and debeak foul in hopes to reduce cannibalism, yet they are allowing animals

to endure horrible mutilation and pain. While these organizations are advocating for the welfare

of animals, they are sanctioning certificates essentially authorizing the maiming of animals.

Consumers are purchasing products they believe to be approved by substantial non-profit groups

like the American Humane Association, Humane Farm Animal Care, and A Greener World.

While these certificates suggest that said products are cruelty-free, there are many loopholes still

allowing factory farms to mistreat animals.

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In order to eliminate animal cruelty within factory farms, labels and certifications on

products should truthfully represent the product presented, and the rightful treatment that was

shown to the animal. Consumers should have the right to effectively purchase cruelty-free

products, without deceptive labeling muddling the market. Instead of multiple organizations

creating their own certificates and set of standards, a definitive set of guidelines should be

created. These guidelines would outline living standards and the humane treatment of animals

that would be required for certification. In order for a product to support any kind of “humane”

label, its’ farms would have to be thoroughly inspected to indicate the guidelines were met.

Having a concrete set of standards would extinguish confusion for consumers. By having

these guidelines, consumers would understand the labeling found on products, leaving them

informed about the treatment animals endured. According to Daisy Freund, director of farm

animal welfare at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “Consumers

are looking behind barn doors at these factory farms, and they don’t like what they’re seeing”

(qtd in Strom). Because consumers are more cognizant of the treatment of animals, companies

would also benefit from following these guidelines. Companies that adhere to set standards

would be awarded by boosts in sales, while those who continued unorthodox treatment of

animals would become obsolete.

Animal cruelty within the meat industry is appalling. The living conditions and treatment

of the animals is unacceptable. The use of erroneous labeling and certificates in hopes of

deceiving customers is negligent. The fact that animal advocacies are trading their reputation and

their supporter’s trust for money is despicable. We have the potential to change all wrongdoings
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and provide better lives for factory farm animals across America. A new system must be created

in order to improve the health and welfare of both humans and animals. We as America have the

necessary means to end animal cruelty within factory farms and its’ adjoining meat industry.
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Works Cited

“A Closer Look at Animals on Factory Farm.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-

animal-welfare/animals-factory-farms.

Bhumitra, Jaya. “Why Factory Farming Is a Broken System Where Extreme Animal Cruelty and

Abuse Is the Norm.” One Green Planet, 9 July 2015,

www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factory-farming-animal-cruelty/.

Brunker, Mike, and Martha C White. “The Big Bucks of Bacon: American Meat Industry by the

Numbers.” NBC News, NBC, 26 Oct. 2015, www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/look-

u-s-meat-industry-numbers/

“Factory Farming.” Last Chance for Animals, www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/other-

issues/factory-farming.

“Farm Animals Need Our Help.” ASPCA, www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/farm-animal-welfare.

Accessed 16 Feb. 2018.

Strom, Stephanie. “What to Make of Those Animal-Welfare Labels on Meat and Eggs.” The

New York Times, 31 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/01/31/dining/animal-welfare-

labels.html.

“Undercover Video Documents Abuse of Pigs at Okla. Factory Farms.” ProQuest, 31 Jan. 2012,

www.search.proquest.com/docview/918939087/4?accountid=10008.