The Horrors of Factory Farms

When Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906 he blew the cover off of the hidden bad practices and corruption of the American meatpacking industry during the early 20th century. Now the book is  often interpreted as an account of the poor working conditions in the industry. Yet Sinclair would be tossing and turning in his grave if he could see the state of the factory farming business today-- specifically the meat industry.

The News 21 food and health reporting project by UC Berkeley School of Journalism recently released a video called Farms, Lies and Videotapes. The video investigates Iowa livestock facilities. According to News 21, "One former investigator goes public for the first time to offer a rare glimpse at how these videos are made, and what’s at stake for farmers, animals and consumers."

So why is the food industry so secretive? So why is the mainstream media not reporting on this animal cruelty. When an individual is cruel to animals they are condemned legally and socially. When a corporation does it we call it business.

For my Plants, People and Food Production class we did a 48 hour food journal. We then called all of the corporations to try to figure out where the food we ate is coming from. The thing is, it is a mystery. For proprietary reasons we are not allowed to even know the state our food is coming from, let alone the farm itself.

And why did News 21 need to sneak a video camera into some of these factory farms? Because the farm has changed from the picturesque family business we all grew up singing about to an unethical business needed to stay behind closed doors. The animals are seen as livestock (live- property, not living being with feelings and pain). What is even more unfortunate is that many of these farmers disagree with the way these animals are being treated, but are stuck under the thumb of big industry in order to make a living.

But if these moral reasons are not enough to stir the consciousness of media to report on this issue, then maybe the health reasons are. The conditions of these animals lead to disease and bacteria in the food we eat.

Then my question is, with so many reasons for these controversial factories to be reported on, why is this story still unheard?