So you
think you know where your food comes from! But how many people
really know how that piece of meat got on their plate? In the
UK, more than 950 million animals are slaughtered for food every
year. The average meat-eater will consume about 2000 animals
including pigs, chickens, cows and lambs, in his or her lifetime,
plus half a tonne of fish.
The majority of animals are reared in factory
farms, where they are denied fresh air, proper exercise and the
freedom to carry out their natural behaviour. Throughout the process
of forced pregnancy, fattening, transport and slaughter, the objective
of the farming and meat industries is to obtain maximum profit.
When their times comes to die, slaughter is a brutal, bloody end.
In recent years, outbreaks of BSE and foot
and mouth disease have shown us that the more that animals are stressed
and exploited, the more likely they are to get sick. The illnesses
that farmed animals suffer very often end up affecting those humans
who eat them, making large numbers ill and even causing - as in
the case of BSE - many human fatalities.