Beef: The Hidden Story

Excerpted from
Harvest for Hope; A Guide to Mindful Eating
By Jane Goodall, Ph.D., Gail Hudson

The life of a factory-farmed beef cow is miserable. Many are kept in "yards"-crammed into small enclosures, sloshy with mud and feces, or baked hard by the sun, often with no relief from the weather, hot or cold. The ones that are raised on grass and are given freedom on the great cattle ranches probably enjoy at least some periods of their lives. But then comes the roundup, the cruel branding, and the castration. I've read descriptions so vivid that I could feel-and smell-the fear, the burning hair and flesh, the pain. And then, for all of them, comes slaughter.

Mostly they are forced into trucks, or into cattle cars on the railway. Their journeys to the slaughterhouses may take days, during which, although many countries have legislation mandating feeding and watering at specified times, these are typically ignored. A cow who falls-a "downer"- is likely to be trampled to death. If not she will be prodded and hit, then, unable to walk, pulled out despite the pain of a broken leg. And then the killing starts. I shall not describe this here. If anyone wants to know the ugly truth, the number of individuals who manage to avoid the "humane" electric bolt and go through the assembly line fully conscious, it is all written in detail in The Ten Trusts.

Is there no legislation outlawing such cruelty? Of course there is-it requires that every cow be rendered senseless before being skinned and dismembered, but in agribusiness today each second represents dollars gained or lost. Inspectors are generally not allowed into areas where they would be able to see violations. Mostly their work consists of checking the emerging dead animals for illegal fecal contamination. Thus the humane regulations are seldom enforced. All of this was documented during an undercover operation in one of the largest slaughterhouses in the U.S. in Washington state, by Gail Hisnitz in Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry. The raising, transport, and killing of pigs and sheep is just as horrific; the assembly lines where chickens, turkeys, and geese are hung for slaughter just as cruel.

Not-So-Contented Cows

What about milk products? What goes on in the dairy industry? Although no one knows for sure, it is believed that cows were first domesticated in southeastern Europe about 8,500 years ago. Since then, dairy products-milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt-have been staples in the diets of millions of people around the world.

Until dairy cows were given hormones to artificially increase their milk yield, even the most productive breeds had udders of reasonable size, and the weight of their milk did not cause them pain when they came in for milking. And in those days calves were often permitted to stay with their mothers for several weeks: Gradually the calf was weaned and the milking of its mother increased, so there was a smooth transition for the cow from feeding her calf to giving her milk to humans. And the weaned calves, even if destined for veal, were often given space to gambol and frolic until their short lives were ended.

How different the life of a dairy cow and her calf is in the modem intensive factory farms of Europe and North America, and other "progressive" countries. On many such "farms'' the cows, who were taken from their mothers just days after their birth, never feel grass under their feet. They spend their whole lives tied in long rows in narrow stalls. They stand on cement, they are milked by suction machines. Often they are fed Bovine Growth Hormones so that milk production is dramatically increased-some cows are producing 100 pounds a day-so that even if these overproducers are lucky enough to spend time in fields, they develop huge udders that bulge, bloated and uncomfortable, hindering their movement as they walk to desperately needed milking. Often udders and teats become infected, but there is often no time on these factory farms to deal with such minor (though very painful) ailments. The prophylactic dose of antibiotics in the animal feed is supposed to deal with things like this.

Factory farm cows are usually forced to give birth to a calf every year. Just like human beings, cows have a nine-month gestation period and so this annual birthing schedule is extremely hard on the mothers. They are also artificially reimpregnated while they are still lactating from their previous birth, so their bodies are producing milk during seven months of their nine-month pregnancy. The Bovine Growth Hormone, which forces this heavy milk production, also leads to birth defects in their calves.

Veal: What You've Heard Is True

But even when all goes well at calving, both mother and infant suffer as they are brutally separated. Often I have heard the anguished calling of both cow and calf-it may continue throughout several days if they can hear each other. The calf is desperate for the milk and love of its mother, and she is in torment because she cannot nurture her precious baby. The female calves are raised to replace the worn-out dairy cows in the milking herd. Many of the male calves are raised in crowded yards to become beef, or (the lucky ones) killed at just a few days old to be sold as low-grade meat for cheap food products such as frozen TV dinners. And of course some are used for veal.

Today many people are aware, thanks to animal rights activists, of the tiny twenty-four-inch-wide, bare "veal crates" in which calves destined for "white" veal are imprisoned. They cannot lie in comfort, they cannot even turn around. And to give their flesh that white color demanded by the gourmet diner, for the last few weeks of their pitiful lives they are fed an iron-free diet. The calves are so desperate for the mineral that they try to drink their own urine. At the end, after sixteen to eighteen weeks of suffering, the calves are dragged from their prisons, their legs so weak that they can scarcely walk. Indeed, they often break their legs on their way to slaughter.

The Birth of Frankenfoods

Consistent with thinking of an animal as an assembly line product, scientists are now tinkering and experimenting with the DNA of animals-trying to create individuals who grow faster and produce a quicker profit. One recent genetically altered creation is a super-size beef bull, known as the Belgian Blue. These enormous creatures have 20 percent more muscle (meaning lots more beef to sell) and weigh three quarters of a ton. These poor bulls don't have the bone density to support their own flesh, can barely stand or walk, cannot mate-so the cows must be artificially inseminated, and birth is by cesarean. Scientists have also produced genetically altered fast-growing pigs whose frail legs are so tiny compared to the rest of their bloated bodies that they suffer from painful joints and have difficulty moving. The genetically altered fast-growing chickens are prone to heart disease and their bones are so feeble they break on contact. Genetically altered turkeys are so fleshy that they cannot physically mate, and have to be artificially inseminated. What is shocking is that none of these hapless, deformed animals have to be identified as genetically engineered when sold in the supermarkets or restaurants of the United States. The only way to make sure you aren't supporting this industry is to buy certified organic animal products.

Honoring the Ancient Contract

It is important to understand that it is economics that is threatening the well-being of farm animals-and the health of the humans who eat them. Meanwhile the future of the small family farm hangs in the balance as more and more traditional fanners give up, unable to compete with the soulless, mechanistic, and inhumane practices of the huge multinationals. These giant corporations seek to dominate livestock production on a global scale (just as they try also to dominate seed and crop production, as was discussed in Chapter 4). And so, throughout the world, the old traditional ways are dying out, and the ancient contract between people and the animals who serve them is crumbling.

In view of all this, it is encouraging to know that there are still farmers who care for their livestock, treat them with respect, and thus honor the old contract. Donald Mottram, a British farmer, has such a relationship with Daisy, one of his dairy cows. She always goes to him when he calls to her, leading the rest of the herd. One day, Mottram was savagely attacked by a newly arrived bull. Motrram was knocked to the ground where the bull gored him and stamped on his back and shoulders. Mottram fainted from pain and shock, and when he regained consciousness saw that Daisy, who must have heard his screams, had arrived with the rest of the herd. They were standing around him in a ring and had managed somehow to drive away the furious bull, who repeatedly tried to get at the injured man. The herd maintained its protective circle around the farmer as he dragged himself home. Later he was asked why he thought the cows had protected him.

"Well," he said, "I have treated them reasonably, and they have looked after me in return. People say I am too soft, but I believe you reap what you sow." It is stories like this that help us understand the importance of stopping all the cruelty we inflict on these gentle animals.