thattheywillnotgrowupbigandstrongwithoutmeat.One
hopes thatas knowledgeofnutrition spreads moreparents
willrealizethatonthisissuetheirchildrenmaybewiserthan
theyare.^3 Itisanindicationoftheextenttowhichpeopleare
nowisolatedfromtheanimalstheyeatthatchildrenbrought
uponstorybooksthatleadthemtothinkofafarmasaplace
where animals wander around freely in idyllic conditions
mightbeabletoliveouttheirentireliveswithouteverbeing
forcedtorevisethisrosyimage. Therearenofarms inthe
citiesand suburbswhere peoplelive,and whileona drive
throughthecountryonenowseesmanyfarmbuildingsand
relativelyfewanimalsoutinthefields,howmanyofuscan
distinguish a storage barn from a broiler shed?
Nor do the mass media educate the public on this topic.
Americantelevisionbroadcastsprograms onanimalsin the
wild(orsupposedlyinthewild—sometimestheanimalshave
beencapturedandreleasedinamorelimitedspacetomake
filmingeasier)almosteverynightoftheweek;but filmof
intensivefarmsislimitedtothebriefestofglimpsesaspartof
infrequent“specials”onagricultureorfoodproduction.The
averageviewermustknowmoreaboutthelivesofcheetahs
andsharksthanheorsheknowsaboutthelivesofchickensor
vealcalves.Theresultisthatmostofthe“information”about
farmanimalstobegainedfromwatchingtelevisionisinthe
form of paid advertising, which ranges from ridiculous
cartoonsofpigswhowanttobemadeintosausagesandtuna
tryingtogetthemselvescanned,tostraightforwardliesabout
the conditions in which broiler chickens are reared. The
newspapers do little better. Their coverage of nonhuman
animals is dominated by “human interest” events like the
birthofababygorillaatthezoo,orbythreatstoendangered