Population growth has created an urgent need to feed larger numbers of people at low cost, especially in the face of rising relative poverty. Upon visiting poorer neighbourhoods in London, it is hard to miss the many shops that sell cheap fried chicken and the low-end supermarkets and butchers’ shops that display whole chickens for sale at incredibly low prices.
The need to meet a rising demand for cheap meat. eggs, milk and other dairy products does come at a price. Mass production methods that involve rearing animals under crowded conditions on an industrial scale are the largest source of animal cruelty worldwide. The processes of feeding, watering, ventilation and waste removal are all automated, meaning that the animals receive little attention until they they are slaughtered. The business model of packing them tightly, rearing them rapidly, killing them early and selling them cheaply forms the basis of this institutionalised form of animal cruelty.
The need for intensive animal rearing has had an inevitable and detrimental effect on animal welfare, apart from contributing to increased methane emissions in the atmosphere. These facts have encouraged societal concerns about how acceptable and ethical our practices of food production really are.
Factory farms are owned by large privately-owned companies, and poultry rearing, in particular, is big business. In 2017, there were around 1,700 poultry and pig farms in the UK operating under licenses from the Environmental Agency.
Within factory farms, animals are confined to windowless and dimly-lit sheds or packed into wire cages and metal crates. Frequently, they have no access to natural daylight. The tightly confined spaces are filthy and allow little movement. The birds’ droppings can generate ammonia, which causes burns. Rapid growth leads to various physical problems. Stress causes heart failure, which is often fatal. .
Large numbers of animals are involved in industrial agriculture. The bigger factory farms may house as many as a million or more chickens alone. Other animals that are often reared under such intensive conditions include ducks, turkeys and pigs.
Chickens can be reared for either meat- so-called broiler chickens- or for their eggs. Chicks are reared for six to eight weeks before slaughter, the natural life span of a chicken being around seven years. The Ross Cobb breed of fast-growing and naturally obese chicken, in particular, can be raised from an egg to reach a weight of two kilograms within six weeks. Genetic selection of chickens means that growth-promoting hormones are not used in poultry farming in the UK. Various chemicals, including antibiotics, continue to be used as feed additives in poultry diets in many countries. Such practices are contributing to the increasing worldwide problem of microbial resistance to antibiotics.
So, what can be done about this? It is unrealistic to expect people to stop eating meat altogether, although they may consider restricting meat consumption while simultaneously increasing their intake of a plant-based diet . Food labelling can help identify free-range (free access to open air runs for at least half of their lives) and organic (pesticide- and fertiliser-free farmed) chicken, although the costs are higher than when mass-produced and hence frequently out of the reach of poorer people.
Animal welfare takes precedence. Unfortunately, rearing practices are often secretive and it has taken whistle blowers and investigations by the media or by animal rights activists to bring issues of concern to public attention.
Ultimately, it is about changing people’s attitudes. Animals are sentient individuals, capable of feeling pain. Many people are unaware of the extent of animal cruelty in the food industry until they witness actual examples on their television screens. The majority of people are humane and compassionate and can be relied upon to reconsider their personal food choices if fully informed about the options. Organisations such as Compassion in World Farming can be relied upon to provide the relevant information they need for guidance.
Ashis Banerjee (animal lover)