Eating food ethically is challenging for some, and an unknown concept to many others. My belief about eating ethically starts with knowing where it came from, before it lands on your plate. Once you’re informed of that, it’s a matter of how you extend your moral ground to whatever it is you’re eating. Eating food is something everyone does everyday, and there’s a lot of suffering that is happening because of the demand for meat. The society we live in has meat integrated everywhere. From grocery stores and restaurants, to cafeterias and our homes. Meat is ingrained in our culture as Americans. I encountered the term “ecocentrism” in my environmental issues class. “The idea of ecocentrism is a term used in ecological political philosophy to stand for a nature centered versus a human centered system of values” I believe this is the basis for eating ethically, how your personal system of morals connects, and reaches out to things in nature, like animals and the environment. Eating ethically directly contradicts how the industrial food system goes about business. From treatment of animals, to the environmental impact of meat, the industrial food system has many negative impacts on us and our planet. These are the two ethical questions relating to the Industrial food system, animal cruelty and the environmental impact it has on the earth. The first animal cruelty, involves placing animals in confined spaces and the act of severing body parts. The second is environmental impact, from the massive consumption of oil, to the addition of green house gases. Both of these issues are engrained in our present day society. Real life problems, with real life consequences.
The Industrial food system shows no responsibility towards these issues.
Barbara Kingsolver an American novelist and Michael Pollen an American author present their critiques of the Industrial food system. Kingsolver explains, “each food item in a typical US meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles”(pg 5). This is one of the biggest reasons why agriculture is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emmisions. With all the variety of food displayed in every grocery store, gas station and cafeteria, creates the demand for it in all locations. The great interest with meat in our country creates a broad market for it to be distributed and sold. Animal cruelty is inherent in the industrial food system. For example this idea of treatment of pigs is also at the heart of mark bittman argument of…. These 2 quotes advance my claim of …………(how they support idea)
Michael Pollen, author of “The Omnivores Dilemma”, explains that “farmers dock, or snip off, the tails at birth, a practice that makes a certain twisted sense if you follow the logic of indutrial efficiency on a hog farm”(pg 218). From sawing off chickens beaks, to keeping animals in small spaces, These relate to one of the most compelling ethical questions in need of discussion, animal cruelty.
Industrial farms cut off the tails of pigs at birth because they bite eachothers tails off, one of the reasons the pigs do this is because their in such a confined space that they feel stressed and discomforted. This causes the aggressiveness to increase in these animals. In order to operate monocultured farms, farmers must emply some unethical practices. This idea shows industrial food system puts efficiency and money before the well being of it’s animals. In the hog industy for example as Michael Pollan shows, these pigs are living in concentrated animal feeding operations, CAFO. Pollan believes “pigs in these CAFOs are weaned (accustom young mammal to food other than it’s mothers milk) from their mothers ten days after birth, (compared to 13 weeks in nature,) because they gain weight faster on their drug fortified feed than on sow’s milk, but this premature weaning leaves the pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a need they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them.” The industrial size farms cut of the tails of pigs at birth as a result. These farmers take the natural ways of living for pigs, and make an artificial life for them because they want to make as much money as possible. Money is why there is animal suffering. If farmers let pigs live the way they should, in mud, with lots of area to play in, and being fed by their mothers milk (sow), they’d make less money. Because the pigs wouldn’t grow as fast, and it would take them longer to slaughter. Which opens up the culture to the efficiency of the industrial food system. Efficiency equals more money.
The practices of the Industrial food system directly contradicts Joe Salatin and his Polyface farm managment. Polyface farm does resolve many of the ethical questions industrial farming raises. One of Polyface’s core values is individuality physiological distinctiveness, As Salatin claims it “reinforces the cowness of the cow”. Animals are happier when put in their natural state, because in the nature setting, chickens don’t poke eachother to death with their beaks, and pigs don’t bite eachother tails off, like they do in the Industrial food system. Another foundation of Polyface farm is the idea of not doing the work to maintain the animals, but having the animals do that themselves. The organic symbiosis between nature and animals on this distinct farm is explained further in relation to a quote from the Spiritual leader of the Tibetan people Dalai Lamai.
As the Dalai Lama says “At heart the issue is the relationship between our knowledge and power on the one hand, and our responsibility on the other” He speaks a deeper meaning of scientific breakthroughs and the advancement of our world as a whole. For example how scientists are experimenting with tomatoes that are injected with spider genes so they are more pest resistant, to keep tomatoes from being infested/wasted, so the farmer can sell more, to make more money (Dalai Lama pg 187) Joe Salatin exemplifies the relationship of power and responsibility. Mr. Salatin has power over his animals, as any farmer does, but he takes a ethical responsibility towards them. He thinks in the best interest of the animals, and everything comes second behind that.
For example when chickens on polyface farm defacate, it fertilizes the grass below, making the farm self sufficient in terms of nitrogen then these chickens eat insect larvae and parasites which breaks down cycle of disease, and the chickens also jpick up the manure of the cows, and that in turn fertilizes the grass, so the cows can eat the grass over and over. Then Mr. Salatinl uses his cows manure to give the chickens protein themselves, which helps the chickens stay healthy. The act of sanitizing a pasture by chickens. This is the cycle that Polyface has set up, animals helping other animals.This facet makes polyface farm the standard for ethical and environmental farming. The Dalai Lama claims that it’s impossible for ethical thinking to keep pace with technology, which is where the industrial food system comes into play, their ethics has gone out the window and their advancement in technology allows them to do just that. At polyface they go by Natures template, making sure they get the same diet as they get in the wild. In the industrial food system, animals are fed corn, soybean, and chicken feed for one purpose only, to gain more weight, so they can sell for more, all to make more money. Animal cruelty is inherent in the industrial food system. for example this idea of killing extremely large amount of animals is at the heart of the Mark Bittman argument of “Whats Wrong with the Way we Eat” These 2 quotes advance my claim of how they support idea)
As Mark Bittman argues “I like animals and I don’t think its fine to to industrialize their production and to churn them out like they were wrenches, but there no way to treat animals well when youre killing 10 billion of them a year”(5:45). The U.S. accumulated meat consumption are in the billions of lbs. The average american consumes 270 lbs of meat a year (npr, nation of meat eaters), this is the biggest statistic that shows our want for meat as a nation. The most beneficial way to revamp our food production system to work more like Polyfacs Farm is to treat the animals with an ecocentric system of living. Letting farm animals roam about without being contained in cages, feeding animals real food instead of the mass amounts of corn and soybean. Overall entitiling animals to grass and sunshine, as all animals should be. Paying yourself back in your soul is most prominent way to raise animals ethically, because when you farm with ethics your eating with morals.
Why you cannot undustrialize meat
Stop raising animals industrially, start eating them thoughtfully. I think for America this is a unrealistic want. He’s pretty much saying that every farmer and butcher needs to change they way they make a living. Which will never happen. If you undustrialize meat, then it’ll take longer and be more expensive to produce it. Then meat will get very expensive, then less people will buy it and it’ll be a chain reaction. Asking people to think about the meat their eating, and really be mindful of what that animal went through so you could enjoy a taste can be powerful. If everyone watched videos of cattle and pig being slaughtered then I bet sales would decrease. Out of mind out of sight. If you don’t think about it, you don’t see it. If you dont think about the death of that animal, then you don’t see anything about other than the taste on the frying pan.
Some of the factors that have shaped my own eating habits are economical and structural. I live on a college campus, which means that the vast majority of my diet will be provided by the school. I eat what the school cafeteria offers me, regardless of how the meat I consume, got to my plate, I need to eat it. An economical factor that plays a role in my eating is the price of having a meal in the commons. A meal swipe is just over 5 dollars. For the amount of food I eat and for the amount I pay, it’s overwhelmingly in my favor. Especially in the United states, where the cheapest food, being considered fast food, is expensive in comparison with my school cafeteria. The most populr burger in America, The “Big Mac” is over 5 dollars just by itself. There’s much incentive to eat where I do, in terms of convenience and money. A cultural factor that influences my diet is also my peers. The one time during the day that my teammates and I sit down and talk is when were eating together, if I were to outsource my food in order to eat more ethically I would miss out on this daily activity that I enjoy from a social standpoint. An alternative to the way I eat my food now, would be living in an apartment/house where I personally go out and pick the foods I choose to eat. Then I would be able to selectively pick the kind of food to cook, a popular dilemma at the grocery store would be not buy or no to buy (genetically modified organisms) GMO foods. This is a common choice many families must make, this goes back to the topic of eating ethically. The trade offs of eating ethically would be for example eating 100% grass fed beef, also would be spending more monetary value, versus eating factory made meat but for a cheaper price. The cost benefit analysis is whether I connect my ethics to my food. The question that arises is whether I’am willing to spend more money in order to eat with morals. Americans use fad diets to decide what to eat, it’s in our advertised crazed world, to try something new in hopes of a better, healthier lifestyle. If we can all realize whats going on with our food before it gets to our plate we can start to care. You can’t care about something when your unaware of it. It’s about educating people on it, I believe this should start in schools. What better way to get people aware of the problems in the food industry than to introduce this into kids. With many years of development, this is the best way to make changes for the better of our planet, and the animals that inhabit it.
Literature Cited
Rowe, Stan J. (1994).“Ecocentrism: the Chord that Harmonizes Humans and Earth.” The Trumpeter 11(2): 106-107.
Barclay, Eliza June 27, (2012), NPR: A nation of meat eaters (7:47)
Most people who eat food in general don’t know where it comes from, they would tell you that it came from a farm. “Absensce of that knowledge has rendered us a nation of wary label readers” says Kingsolver, she shows knowledge of why this matters. This ill educated habit we’ve fallen into, causes for a lot of food to be thrown away. Statistics shows that 40% of produce in the super market gets thrown out. Once we as consumers see the expiration date our mind has already been made up. When in reality, from experience we all know food is still healthy and tasty after the expiration date displayed. The sell by date, is merely a guidline for when the product prime time to eat it. Much of the communities and it’s inhabitants around the US and the world finds it hard to make a moral connection between keeping food or throwing it away, whether it be newly expired or leftovers. Creating a mindset where you only buy food that you will eat is a challenging task, when our culture is to buy and consume as much as possible. There are already markets for these foods. Many super markets already do donate to food banks and sell them to salvage stores.
Animal cruelty is inherent in the industrial food system for example this idea of … is also at the heart of mark bittman argument of…. These 2 quotes advance my claim of …………(how they support idea)
Bring in alternative living in paartmetn cooking for self
What are tade offs and costy benefot analysis
Values of polyface
one of their core values is grass based. Pay you back in your soul, you farm with ethics your eating with morals.
individuality physiological distinctiveness reinforces the cowness of the cow. Animals are happier when put in their natural state.
Natures template – make sure they get the same diet as they get in the wild.
dont work to maintain the animals, the animals do that themselves
distincitiveness – being your own
is there way to make living way to do that wothout getting out of the loop of grow more, more product and more money
Criticism of polyface favor of industrial food system is there way to make living way to do that wothout getting out of the loop of grow more, more product and more money
More incentive to eat food – grow it yourself -possible connection
“the industrialization of agriculture, the simplified process reached it’s logical extreme- in monoculture,
“The average US food item on a grocery shelf traveled farther than most families go on their annual vacation”. – Barbara Kingsolver
Applying moral standpoint
Having ecocentric view is basis of eating ethically
Knowledge and degree of connection to what we eat
Is it possible to eat meat ethically ?
Section 1
Key points of critique env impact
Lack of knowledge of food
Animal treatment
Section 2
Section 3
points of critique then the answer of ecocentrism
WHY IS IT SO HARD TO THINK ETHICALLY ABOUT FOOD
CONNECT PARAGRAPHS
TIE IDEALS AT POLYFACE TO IDEALS INDUSTRIAL FOD PRODUCTION
HOW TO POLYFACE COUNTERS A TO INDUSTRIAL
LAST SEGMENT AIM 3-4 PARAGRAPHS WHAT WOULD DAY OF MINDUL EATING LOOK LIKE
WHAT VALUES OF SALATIN POLLAN DO I SEE WORTH MAKING EFFORT TO
Why you cannot undustrialize meat
stop raising animals industrially, start eating them thoughtfully. I think for America this is a unrealistic want. He’s pretty much saying that every farmer and butcher needs to change they way they make a living. Which will never happen. If you undustrialize meat, then it’ll take longer and be more expensive to produce it. Then meat will get very expensive, then less people will buy it and it’ll be a chain reaction. Asking people to think about the meat their eating, and really be mindful of what that animal went through so you could enjoy a taste can be powerful. If everyone watched videos of cattle and pig being slaughtered then I bet sales would decrease. Out of mind out of sight. If you don’t think about it, you don’t see it. If you dont think about the death of that animal, then you don’t see anything about other than the taste on the frying pan.
- In what variety of ways is oil used in food production?
17% of nations energy use goes to agriculture
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbisides use oil as their starting materials and their starting point
getting crop from seed to germinate responsible for 1/5 of total oil use for our food
Food culture
food culture collective education about plants and animals that grow and how to make them appealing, taste wise.
explain what, instead of an authentic food culture, Americans use to decide what to eat?
Barbara Kingsolver, a woman who moved her family to a farm in Virginia from Arizona, so they could have a relationship with nature and with the food they grow and eat, states that the industrial food system “causes problems like overdependence on petroleum, and a epidemic of diet related diseases”. This coincides with one of the moral questions of the environmntal impact the industrial food system has on our planet.
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