In a video produced with non-profit organization Farm Sanctuary, Martha Stewart details the emotional and social lives of animals and contrasts these against the bleak and cruel conditions on modern farms. In calling for an end to modern agribusiness, she says that the “animals on factory farms are silently suffering each and every day” and that the callousness toward animals “is unacceptable and must be stopped.”
According to blog posts from last year, Stewart hasn’t given up meat, dairy and eggs herself, though, but continues to eat these foods from her own farm.
Opting for animal foods from smaller farms that treat animals more humanely can be one approach to putting factory farms out of business. But it’s not a perfect answer. Small farms displace wildlife, and there isn’t enough room for them to produce the amounts of animal foods that Americans currently consume. And even animals from the best farms must eventually go to the slaughterhouse—including those who are used to produce eggs and dairy. In fact, it’s difficult to know the conditions on individual farms; labels used to designate foods from “free range” or “humane” farms may actually hide a number of ugly truths.
Meaningful changes for farmed animals will come about only with a move away from animal foods. In Eating Animals, author Jonathan Safran Foer notes that “We shouldn’t kid ourselves about the number of ethical eating options available to most of us. “Any ethical-meat advocate who is serious is going to be eating a lot of vegetarian meals.”
Consuming less animal food and choosing products only from small local farms can be a good place to start a journey toward more compassionate food choices. But, the best choice for eliminating animal suffering is always a vegan meal.
Watch Martha Stewart’s short video on food choices above.
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