Factory farming

    •  What is factory farming?
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    •  Modern farming techniques that involve parctices such as:
    • Confining hundreds to thouands of animals in metal buildings, each with as little space as   possible, and little or no access to sunlight, fresh air or natural movement.
    • Using antibiotics, chemicals and/or hormones to promote faster growth and ward off disease that are bred in factory farm conditions
    • Mutilation of animals such as debeaking poultry and castration, which are considered "standard"  procedure.
    • Genetically engineering livestock for traits such as size
    • Contract growing, where family farmers sign away ownership of their animals through a contract with a major corporation. The corporation controls all aspects of rasing the animals, and the farmer is left with the risk, overhead, waste and any dead animals
    • Grace Factory Farm Project
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    •  How are livestock slaughtered in this country?
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    • Highly automated slaughterhouses are designed to control costs and maximize profits by enabling operators to kill as many animals as possible as quickly as possible - HSUS
    • The animal is to be  "...rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or and electrical, chemical or other means... " [US Code Title 7, Chapter 48, Sec 1902] before being slaughtered.
    • Even animals that are hand-slaughtered by Muslims are oftern shackled upside down by a back leg in compliance with government regulations.
    • Poultry are electroucuted before beign machine - slaughtered in the thousands.
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    •  What are the effects of modern slaughterhouses on animals and workers?
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    • More than oftern workers are poorly trained, equipment is ill maintained, and line speeds are too fast.  Therefore animals are not slaughtered properly and are sent down the processing line while conscious.
    • Even when animals are 'rendered insensible' they have often suffered long distance transportation with no food or water and are prodded, beaten or dragged to their death.
    • This makes it dangerous for the worker who have to keep up with increased speeds on the processing line and animals that are kicking while working with dangerous equipment.