Factory Farms

[henley421]

I will influence the living conditions in which factory farm animals live.

This is a link to an online petition.
BradTheMad

I Pledge to PINPOINT the issues in and around factory farming.
I Pledge to SUPPORT farms that have good conditions for their animals.
I Pledge to EDUCATE the public on animal treatment in factory farms.
I Pledge to INFLUENCE change for the living conditions these animals have.

We are here to raise awareness and educate the public on the horrific conditions that factory farms raise
animals in. You should support this cause with a pledge to show that you
believe factory farms are being unjustly cruel to these animals, not to
mention inhumane, and this needs to change. Factory farms produce 99%
of the meat in the United States, however the ways in which they do them
are far beyond cruel and inhumane. Fowl is often robbed of their beaks
to prevent cannibalism, meaning these farms will literally cut, or burn
off, their birds' beaks. Not to mention the animals grown on these farms
are often pumped full of unnecessary antibiotics as well. Male chicks
are often ground up (using a conveyor belt or otherwise) or left to die
due to their inability to produce eggs in certain farms. Veal calves are
weighed down with heavy chains and left in almost pitch black
conditions to ensure their meat is pale, attractive, and supple. These
are only a few of the instances in which these practices violate more
than just these animals' rights, but some kind of moral code.

Please note that this is the Hall of Speakers. Though I certainly approve of the topic matter this place is made for getting people to talk about certain topics.
Some things that could be discussed is why do you feel this is important? How does it effect you personally? Have you seen such cruelty for yourself or is there a place like it near your own home?
Etc. etc.

[ObiWanKenobi]

Let's get some cogs turning, eh? This is a topic I feel strongly about and I'd like to help encourage discussion.

Henley, online petitions rarely do diddly-squat. How are you actively working to promote justice for livestock? Do you hold rallies? Are you a PETA person? A vegetarian? A farmer? Do you post videos on facebook (I have a militant vegan friend who does this, and I had to manually ignore all her notifications, so that's not the most effective way, but to each their own, I guess)?

Anecdote time: For about eight years, I was a pescetarian. I was a vegetarian, though I ate fish (I'm from Maine, so fresh-caught fish was easy). I did attempt to become a vegan, but that was hard at boarding school. Now that I'm a grown-up (lol) and actually thought hard into the process, I've come to the belief that abstaining from meat won't necessarily do much good. I'd much rather be a consumer of "kind" meat; we have a meat market in town that sells their own grass-fed beef. I'll throw my money at them instead of those who finish their cattle in feed lots. It's about supply and demand; if we shift our money to these small-time, humane farmers, those are less cattle who are mistreated by the big corporations.

I could go on and on about this, but I was hoping that more people would read up on this, too, and add themselves into the discussion.