Several readers were sufficiently shocked by the picture and story
of what goes on in Western factory farms to ask "What can we do about
it?" Here are some thoughts, and a bunch of useful links to more
information:
- Become a vegan: Our
political and economic systems being what they are, it is much more
effective to eliminate demand for what factory farms provide, than to
try to get government to change the way they operate. Contrary to the
industry's hype and propaganda, a vegan (botanic) diet is an extremely
healthy, easy and delicious one. If you're not really convinced that
the animals we eat are profoundly sensitive, emotional creatures, read
Jeff Masson's lovely, gently persuasive The Pig Who Sang to the Moon or When Elephants Weep. Here are eight tips
to make the transition to vegetarianism, the first step to a botanic
diet. A great way to start is to take a class in vegan cooking.
- Buy local or Certified Humane:
If giving up meat and dairy is too much of a stretch, find local,
trusted suppliers that you, or people you know, have visited and are
comfortable with the conditions the animals are kept in. Or support and
research Certified Humane suppliers (Canadians will find a more complete list here).
Note that "organic" does not necessarily mean cruelty-free (though it
is more likely to be) and that there are no standards or inspections
behind "free-range" claims. For more inspiration on why this is so
important read this wonderful essay A Good Farmer from novelist Barbara Kingsolver in The Nation.
Small local farms are better for the environment, better for
employment, better for the local community, better for workers, better
for your health, and, of course, better for the animals. And if you
haven't seen the award-winning short film The Meatrix yet, take a look -- it's not violent or sensationalistic.
- Talk others into becoming vegan/vegetarian and buying local/Certified Humane: Consumer
action takes numbers. Nothing is more effective than person-to-person
conversation. You don't have to be strident -- just tell people the
facts.
- Adopt a local farmer: Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group or meet with a local farmer and get your neighbours to pool together to buy from that farmer.
- Support the Slow Food Movement: They are champions of sustainable and high-biodiversity agriculture, and hence enemies of factory farms.
- Talk to your grocery stores and restaurants:
Start your political activism at your end of the food chain, where you
have the most influence. Tell your grocery store that you want more
variety of botanic products, and to be able to buy them in bulk, not
just tiny prepackaged portions. Tell them, and your favourite
restaurants, that you want to buy Certified Humane products. Print up
and give them I Care Calling Cards.
- Join organizations that care: If you're going to try to lobby for political change, work with organizations that are doing so already. Farm Aid, the Sierra Club, the Humane Society of the US or Canada, and the GRACE Factory Farm Project
all provide resources and help fighting factory farms. Know what you're
up against: Factory farms are dominated by a few huge, politically
influential and massively subsidized agribusiness corporations.
If you have other suggestions, please use the comments button below to tell us about them.
Top Photo: From 'The Meatrix'
Bottom
Photo: Dead fish washed up on the shore of the Neuse River in North
Carolina, among the more than one billion killed by runoff of effluent
from huge nearby agribusiness pig factory farms.
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