April 2019

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers The Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships Topic 2: Should intensive animal farming be banned? Intensive animal farming. It is really ‘farming’? Deidentified 396 words Our need to consume meat a higher priority than animal welfare Deidentified 381 words The Verdict: Is Intensive Animal Farming a Part of the Future? Deidentified 509 words Intensive animal farming. It is really ‘farming’? By Deidentified Livestock roaming free in large, grassy fields is the image that comes to mind of what a farm traditionally was, and still should be. Sadly, the reality is far from this pretty picture. Modern day livestock spend their entire life in the confined spaces of dark factory warehouses, shared with thousands of other animals, and movement is near impossible. The only place to sleep is on the cold concrete floors covered in excrements. At slaughtering age, these conscious animals have their throats slashed and they are left to slowly bleed to death. This briefly summarises the tragic life of millions of factory farmed animals and the unnecessary suffering they must endure for our benefit. It is a struggle to make it through each day that even death would gladly be welcomed if it meant escaping the pain and avoiding the excruciating process of being slaughtered alive. The graphic footage of the suffering animals was difficult to watch. The slaughtering process was quite disturbing and unsettling because seeing an animal suffering in this way is no different in my eyes to watching a human being receive the same treatment. Like humans, animals are sentient beings who I believe are capable of thinking and feeling pain and emotions. The animals are barely provided with pain relief. Many people are ignorant to factory farming practices. They have little knowledge behind where their meat came from and this problem is mostly due to the fact that factory farming is hidden from public view. As a result, people don’t make the connection between the suffering of an animal and how it ended up as a piece of meat on their plate. It was bought up in the video that people don’t like to think about where meat comes from. If they really knew, would they convert to a vegetarian lifestyle because of the guilt of causing animal suffering? We feel compassion for animals such as dogs but farm animals are merely pieces of meat. Animal welfare laws apply to pet dogs and cats but not to livestock. Society has conditioned us to think this way. Factory farmed animals deserve to have legal rights. They don’t deserve the treatment they currently receive. They are unable to carry out natural activities that nature intended for them. After all, it should be a basic right for all living creatures to lead a natural life. Our need to consume meat a higher priority than animal welfare. By Deidentified Factory farms are not as bad as they’re depicted to be. The world would be a very different place without them. Deidentified (2015) argues against intensive animal farming and believes that animals deserve to be treated more humanely before they are killed. However, intensive animal farming and its practices are no more morally wrong than breeding animals for the purpose of eventually killing them. Irrelevant of what farming methods are used, the animals are still getting killed off for our consumption. Livestock animals such as pigs, cows and sheep were domesticated thousands of years ago so that they could provide us with food. If we no longer ate meat, would we still need to breed them? Or would they cease to exist because there is no other purpose for them? Our need for their products is keeping them alive. It is natural for humans to eat meat. Animals eat other animals, therefore it mustn’t be morally wrong because it is a part of nature. We were designed to be meat-eaters as many essential nutrients found in animal products are difficult to obtain from a vegetarian or vegan based diet (McAfee et al., 2010). Under the Australian Law, animals are considered the property of humans, therefore we are legally able to do as we wish with them. Animals do not have legal rights because they are our property and lack rationality. Rights of the animal owners include the right to consume, the right to use as collateral, the right to obtain natural divends of the animal (Favre & Loring, 1983) Human needs for animal products have a higher priority than animal protection. Factory farming is affordable and highly efficient (APECSEC, 2014). Large amounts of food can be produced in short periods of time and sold to the public at cheaper costs as opposed to smaller farming businesses. Consumers prefer to save money. Factory farming is a growing and expanding industry across the globe which has also created many job opportunities for people. There are higher demands for meat due to people consuming more meat than they did previously. In the past 50 years, meat consumption per-person has more than doubled (Worldwatch Institute, 2004). The human population is increasing and factory farming is an effective way to keep up with the demands. References APECSEC. (2014). Factory farming pros and cons. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://apecsec.org/factory-farming-pros-and-cons/ Deidentified, L. (2015). Intensive animal farming. It is really ‘farming’? La Trobe University. Favre, D. S., and Loring, M. (1983). Animal Law. Quorum Books, Westport, Conn. McAfee, A. J., McSorley, E. M., Cuskelly, G. J., Moss, B. W., Wallace, J. M., Bonham, M. P., & Fearon, A. M. (2010). Red meat consumption: An overview of the risks and benefits. Meat science, 84(1), 1-13. Worldwatch Institute. (2004). Is meat sustainable? Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.worldwatch.org/node/549 The Verdict: Is Intensive Animal Farming a Part of the Future? By Deidentified The farming methods of modern society are very different to traditional farming practices. This piece evaluates whether intensive animal farming is beneficial or doing more harm than intended. Intensive animal farming, also known as factory farming, is a modern practice of raising livestock in large factory warehouses for food production (ASPCA, 2015). Animals mainly including pigs, chickens, cows and sheep are farmed for their meat, body parts and other products such as eggs and milk. Intensive animal farming is very controversial. There are differences in opinions and debates over whether animals truly do feel pain like humans, and experience emotions in the same way. Society is also responsible for the attitudes people hold towards animals. Unlike cats and dogs who were raised to be companion animals, livestock were bred for food, which could explain why people don’t feel compassion for them. Deidentified (2015) argues that, because animals experience suffering, they should be treated in a manner that is more humane and ethical. Factory farming is the number one cause of suffering to more than 500 million animals each year (Voiceless, 2015). Evidence suggests that like humans, animals experience a stress response (Moberg, 2000). Naturally, it makes sense for animals to avoid stressful situations to enhance their well-being and survival, however in a factory setting, this is made impossible. Confinement to cages and chutes, restricted room to move and the inability to engage in normal social behaviours is distressing for the animal, leading to biological responses that reduces functioning of the organism and leads to impaired growth and development (Moberg, 2000). According to a report by the European Commission’s Scientific Veterinary Committee (1997), factory farmed pigs suffer from depression because of the artificial conditions they live in. Pigs are intelligent beings with a sense of self (Voiceless, 2015), suggesting they have a high level of functioning and awareness of their surroundings. Smith (2015) argues that factory farming is cheap and efficient. While this is a benefit of the practice, evidence suggests that in the long run, it is not environmentally sustainable. Factory farming contributes almost one-fifth of the total human-induced greenhouse gas emissions (Steinfield et al., 2006). Factory farming also creates health risks for humans. Contamination of food supplies by E.coli and Salmonella is highly likely due to poor sanitation and poor management of animal waste (One Green Planet, 2015). To conclude, the positive aspects of intensive animal farming are outweighed by the cons. The privilege of having cheap and affordable animal products comes at a price of the environment, human health and animal welfare. Public awareness of factory farming is increasing and as more people gain insight into these farming practices, there may be a push to have intensive animal farming banned. If farming is to have a place in the future, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices should be implemented not only to minimize the effects of climate change, but also for the benefit of future generations. The current laws regarding animal welfare and rights should be revised to protect the livestock from inhumane treatment and unnecessary suffering. References American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2015). What is a factory farm? Retrieved March 27, 2015, from https://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/farm-animalcruelty/what-factory-farm European Commission Scientific Veterinary Committee (Animal Welfare Section), (1997) ‘Report on the welfare of intensively kept pigs’. Report No XXIV/B3/ScVC/0005/1997 Moberg, G. P. (2000). Biological response to stress: implications for animal welfare. The biology of animal stress: basic principles and implications for animal welfare, 1-21. One Green Planet. 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/5-modern-diseases-on-the-risebecause-of-factory-farming/ Smith, L. (2015). Our need to consume meat a higher priority than animal welfare. La Trobe Univeristy. Steinfeld H, Gerber P, Wassenaar T, Castel V, Rosales M, de Haan C. (2006). Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Voiceless. (2015) Factory Farming. Retrieved March 22, 2015, from https://www.voiceless.org.au/the-issues/factory-farming

admin / April 17, 2019

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers The Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships Topic 2: Should intensive animal farming be banned? Intensive

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers The Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships Topic 2: Should intensive animal farming be banned? Intensive animal farming. It is really ‘farming’? Deidentified

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers The Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships Topic 2: Should intensive animal farming be banned? Intensive animal farming. It is really ‘farming’?

Assignment 1 Reaction Papers The Psychology of Human and Animal Relationships Topic 2: Should i

Author Jamaica Kincaid Author Amir Nizar Zaubi Theme: colonization effects. (That’s no the final and it can be changed) Thesis statement: Both countries, Palestine and Antigua, where colonized by other countries. What wa

Topic: APTA Core Values Assignment: 1. Professional duty 2. Accountabili

opic: APTA Core Values Assignment: 1. Professional duty 2. Accountability 3. Compassion and caring