birthtoslaughter.Onceagain,however,mypointisnotthat
thepeoplewhodothesethingstotheanimalsarecrueland
wicked.Onthecontrary,theattitudesoftheconsumersand
theproducers arenotfundamentally different. Thefarming
methods I am about to describe are merely the logical
applicationoftheattitudesandprejudicesthatarediscussed
elsewhere in this book.Once we place nonhumananimals
outsideoursphereofmoralconsiderationandtreatthemas
things we use to satisfy our owndesires, the outcome is
predictable.
Asinthepreviouschapter,inordertomakemyaccountas
objectiveaspossible Ihavenotbased thedescriptions that
follow onmy ownpersonal observationsoffarms and the
conditionsonthem.HadIdonesoIcouldhavebeencharged
withwritingaselective,biasedaccount,basedonafewvisits
tounusuallybadfarms.Instead,theaccountisdrawnlargely
fromthesourcesthatcanbeexpectedtobemostfavorableto
thefarmingindustry:themagazinesandtradejournalsofthe
farm industry itself.
Naturally, articles directly exposing the suffering of farm
animalsarenottobefoundinfarmmagazines,especiallynot
nowthatthesensitivityoftheissuehasbeenbroughttothe
industry’sattention.Farmmagazinesarenotinterestedinthe
questionofanimalsufferinginitself.Farmersaresometimes
advised to avoid practices that would make their animals
sufferbecausetheanimalswillgainlessweightunderthese
conditions; andtheyareurged tohandle theiranimals less
roughlywhentheysendthemtoslaughterbecauseabruised
carcassfetches a lower price; but theidea that we should
avoid confining animals in uncomfortable