In praise of animal rights activists

November 9, 11:53 AMSeattle Vegan ExaminerVirginia Messina, MPH, RD

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About 4 million birds per year are dropped into the scalding tank
while still conscious. Photo courtesy of Farm Sanctuary.

Sir Paul McCartney famously said “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”

But for a long time, both slaughterhouses and the industrial complexes that have replaced farms have been impenetrable and opaque structures. Visitors are not welcome.

In “Eating Animals,” Jonathan Safran Foer’s devastating indictment of the factory farming industry, the author talks about how difficult it is for any consumer to get a peek behind those walls. Seven requests to Tyson Foods for an opportunity to visit one of their producers went unanswered. He writes “In the three years I will spend immersed in animal agriculture, nothing will unsettle me more than the locked doors. Nothing will better capture the whole sad business of factory farming…The power brokers of factory farming know that their business model depends on consumers not being able to see (or hear about) what they do.”

Thankfully, dedicated animal rights groups have created access with their undercover investigations. In the past several years—and especially the past few months—videotapes from those investigations have been appearing in mainstream news outlets. The cruelty uncovered in these films—much of which is legal and “business as usual”—is horrific.

Many animal advocates say that they can’t watch the videos. They might try to view them but are unable to get through the 5 and 10 minutes of footage. It makes the heroism and dedication of the people who make these films all the more remarkable. Both those who work every day—often for many months—in slaughterhouses and in animal factories in order to record the abuses, and those who spend many hours watching and editing them. It’s a type of bravery and commitment that most of us can’t imagine, and we should be grateful to them. 

Grassroots activists may not be able to go into slaughterhouses and make these films and we may not even be able to watch them all the way through. But we do our part by ensuring that the information gets into as many hands as possible. Post the videos to your blog, website and facebook profiles. Share them with family and friends who are most likely to be receptive. Make sure that local media outlets know about them and write letters to the editor about the contents of these investigations. Here are some recent investigations from four organizations. You’ll find more on their websites:

Mercy for Animals produced the widely acclaimed Fowl Play about the chicken industry. It’s available on DVD making it a good choice for community events.

Or share MFA’s footage of baby chicks being ground alive at Hyline Egg Hatchery

This video from Compassion Over Killing showing abusive treatment of turkey chicks is especially newsworthy as for the Thanksgiving season.

This is PETA’s investigation into treatment of cow’s in a Land O’Lakes supplier facility.

Abuse of 2 and 3-day old calves at an organic slaughter facility was recorded by HSUS volunteers. This is an important video to share with friends who are trying to eat responsibly and mistakenly believe that organic dairy foods are humane.