Hungry for a Burger?

By JENNIFER KINAGA
PVPHS class of '03

Slaughterhouses are one of the most unpleasant lunchtime topics around, but if people find out the truth, will they change their eating habits? Presently, many people are becoming vegetarians or vegans for various reasons, including animal cruelty, health, hygiene, and others.

One thing that causes many to choose wisely when ordering food at a restaurant is the treatment of animals.  An expensive plate on a menu usually is veal.  After being taken from their mothers at young ages, baby veal calves are placed into tiny areas where they are chained down and sometimes have their legs broken.  The immobilization of their legs allows the muscle to be soft, which is what makes it better to eat than just plain beef. Not only are the baby cows used for veal treated badly, but so are dozens of other species.  From transportation to the actual slaughter, the animals suffer. 

What about chicken fingers?  Another atrocious display of animal inequality is the murdering of poultry.  It’s sad when even a countless criminal is treated better than an innocent animal.  As a mass murderer prepares to die after having been given the death sentence, he or she is given a last meal.  Chickens are usually not allowed to eat or drink for 8-12 hours before they die in order to save money.  They are packed into crates so tightly that many die from heat exhaustion, over crowding, and freezing to death.  The slaughtering itself is disgusting, sometimes leaving the animals alive to slowly suffer.  The procedure for chickens includes hours of waiting, followed by being clamped upside down by their feet   Chickens, before they are slaughtered, are dipped into water containing an electric current that paralyzes them to a certain degree.  After that their necks are slightly cut, specifically the arteries that supply blood to the brain, causing the animal to go brain dead.  Of course, this procedure is not perfect.  Some animals don’t get the right arteries cut and are still alive when they are dipped into a container of hot water where they burn alive.  The picture to the left is a picture of a cow, either dead or alive, after having its throat cut to hang over a bin to collect the blood.  These are just a few examples of the procedures used to slaughter animals.  Although there are rules and regulations, they do not seem to be able to stop the cruelty.  So next time you sit down to eat, ask yourself this: What happened to the animals on my plate?

What am I actually eating? This is a question that many ask themselves when chowing down on a greasy hamburger or hotdog.  In fact, a hamburger is made up of around 10-100 different cows, and a hotdog consists of the meat around the nose, feet, and anus along with blood and gristle.  Many diseases like E.coli are carried by meat that is many times contaminated and improperly cooked.  After an animal such as a cow is sick, or can no longer produce a sufficient amount of milk, it is sent to the slaughterhouse; this means that it is sent to be eaten by consumers around the world. Chickens, cows, and other animals are fed growth hormones, antibiotics, parts of other animals, and other chemicals that are transferred to the consumer.  There are hundreds of diseases transferred by eating meat.  Is it worth it?

 

With all these reasons for becoming a vegetarian or vegan, try it; what could you loose?