Temple Grandin's cattle chutes. She knows cow speak. She has shown repeatedly how much calmer the animals are, how kind it is, and still people won't use her system. I don't understand the objection they have.

Buy grass fed beef, free range eggs and chickens, humanely raised organic meats. I buy all of these products from local farmers and the Amish for the eggs. Luckily I live in a semi rural area with good availability.

You can stop buying products from the abusers. Start by not buying pork products from Smithfield.

ML

Appalling food industry practices came about because the buying public has demanded (and continues to demand) ever lower prices. It's the food equivalent of what we encountered when retailers went to China en masse to procure ever cheaper products. What wound up arriving here was the litany of products with seriously dangerous chemical and other contaminations. Because the priority was to get things to be CHEAP. Quality was secondary.

Food products from producers with better practices are more expensive. They're sometimes a bit less convenient to get but that's changing. Over the last few years, my wife and I have tried our best to buy products from smaller producers who advertize that they have higher standards. It's not that hard, while we don't live in a rural area, but rather in one where consumer preferences for more wholesome and ethically treated animals are pretty common and so a lot is available.

The funny thing is that products from smaller operations rather than from industrial scale producers, whether organic or not, usually taste much better. Win-win.

Just one of many reasons I've been a vegetarian for years. It's a growing movement especially among younger generations. There might be a lot more if people visited slaughter houses to buy their meat instead of cleanly wrapped in cellophane packets. . Funny how people adore their dogs and cats , but give no thought to the killing of animals who want to live as much as your pets and deserve to. Pigs are smarter than dogs and endure horror beyond belief. Plus a vegetarian diet is waaaaay more healthy, so there's that.

My son has worked tirelessly in this field for 8 years, from founding an animal rights group on his college campus to working for major non profits in farm animal protection. He is now in Massachusetts organizing support for an upcoming bill there banning battery cages, gestation crates, etc..

Nothing will change until laws are passed against these horrible practices. If you want to get involved, contact your state's chapter of the Humane Society of the U.S.(not your local Humane Society). They are always looking for volunteers to help with calling legislators, getting petitions signed, etc.

All good ideas. People might also stop buying their pets from pet stores and faithfully neuter their pets.

When I asked if anyone believes this horrible method of raising our food can be changed, yours, joaniepoanie, is an answer for which I'd hoped. Your son is doing a highly commendable job, God bless him. Personally, I rarely eat red meat of any kind and am close to being a vegetarian. Meanwhile I actively sign all the petitions I can, write letters to politicians, and do anything helpful my age will allow. It is hoped more people will become aware and do the same at least, because progress is painfully slow.

It's slowly changing as people become more aware of the issue. I see a lot of food suppliers and restaurants doing free range or cage free eggs and animal products.

I don't think there will ever be any laws passed that help due to the extreme power the agriculture lobbyists have in our government. The only way to change is going to be through the consumers. If people stopped buying the mass-produced, cheap meat in favor of local, humanely raised meat, then that would mean something. Unfortunately most people just don't care enough to spend more money or effort, and they just have selective amnesia when thinking about their food source.

On Facebook, I see people always promoting animal welfare for dolphins, dogs, etc. but they continue to eat factory meat. The hypocrisy is amazing to me.

I know some families can't afford the high prices of quality eggs and meat, but there are still much cheaper protein alternatives than factory meat, like beans or lentils. We eat too much meat in this country anyway - it's not needed 3 times a day.

chi, you see what you see with eggs because of a law change. Effective the beginning of this year, eggs sold in California (whether produced here or out of state) MUST come from hens not subject to tight confinement. Some call it cage-free, I'm not sure if larger cages with less animal density can be used or not. Part of the law limits physically restrictive conditions for other animals too.

"I see people always promoting animal welfare for dolphins, dogs, etc. but they continue to eat factory meat. The hypocrisy is amazing to me."

I see what you're saying to a point, but not everyone is well informed about food sources and choices. If they have concern for animals, their hearts are in the right place, maybe they'll do more as they learn more.

As far as hypocrisy goes, it's a human failing. A couple I know are strict vegetarians, of the preachy type. Always lecturing others on the need to monitor one's life practices, avoid dangerous foods, etc. All well and good except both are alcoholics of the broken blood vessel, rosy-nosed variety. Do as we say, not as we do.

If I recall correctly, the new law only requires that the chickens be able to stand, spread their wings and turn around. That's not cage free at all.

I'm not an absolutist. I care, but it's not the highest priority in my life. The eggs and chicken I buy are free range (means that they can walk and flutter around and have an outdoor area they can wander in, but they're still raised in sheds). Most of the meat I buy is pasture raised, mostly grass fed. That varies more by what's available. But we do eat in other people's homes, and restaurants, etc., and I'm not a purist. My grocery dollars mostly go to support growers who are trying to be better stewards.

BTW, I have been a vegetarian, but it didn't work for me. I'm the only one I know who is always trying to eat more meat, because it's healthier for me.

Eating more meat is healthier for you? That's interesting - I've never heard of that.

I also see a lot more grassfed meats in restaurants. Some major brands are changing their sources based on consumer response, like Chipotle.

I do believe there are probably a few people who are truly ignorant about factory farming, but most I know practice willful ignorance and prefer not to think about how the burger they are about to eat got there. That's what I find a little hypocritical, though I do agree that any animal kindness is better than none.

Personally I prefer the flavor of grain finished beef to grass finished. As for pasture versus feedlot a clean dry shaded feedlot can be kinder to the cattle than a barren cold hillside pasture. So it's not as easy as it sounds to make the right choices regarding that.

I am someone who requires red meat in my diet to feel well. Vitamin B12, Omega fats, Creatine (mental performance) and carnosine (an anti-oxidant not found in plants) are not part a plant based diet. Guess that's why so many vegetarians seem to be on the lookout for super foods or "natural" dietary supplements.

What people choose to eat is a very personal (and usually heavily burdened) decision. It's the ultimate personal liberty.

I'm not a vegetarian but one thing that could push me in that direction would be if I had to drive by the Harris Ranch feedlot with any regularity. It's at the intersection of Interstate 5 and Calif Hwy 145. The sights and smells are unforgettable, not in a positive sense.

Don't get too relaxed dreaming of images of a bucolic feedlot, the reality is something different. I'd much rather food animals be allowed to spend their entire lives in more natural settings than feedlots.