MAR 30

19. MAR 30: Unit 5: Ethical Issues

major concerns and questions: expansion of global meat industry makes several problems worse: environmental damage, effects on climate change, clean water, food insecurity, world hunger, consumer health, workers' rights and well-being, and (not least of all) the treatment of animals.
Note: the ethical case against meat is not limited to the problem of animal ethics. Some of the non-animal ethics problems can be ameliorated by not participating in the industrial supply chain.
Paradoxically, increased meat production can create food insecurity for some. 2.

Per capita consumption doubled from 1960 to 2016: 20kg/person/year to 40. Mostly in Global North.
US has highest consumption by this data: 113.9kg/person/year (250 pounds a year! 4.8 pounds a week.)
45 million metric tons (MMT) to 259 MMT.
$65 billion to about $400 billion.
Note meat consumption increases occurred while population was also increasing. Population increase 1960-2016 3 billion to 7.4.

Note that US has declined from peak consumption, also some Europeans, esp Denmark, Netherlands, and French.
Increases in numbers of animals: 270% for pigs and 900% for chickens. Over 1.4 billion cows and pigs.

Meat exports: most from global north. Asian and emerging industrial countries big importers. (Meat consumption follows wealth increases.) p. 12: increases in China, for example, 3.5kg to 57.6kg, Mexico almost tripled, Russia doubled.

Increases in feed grains. Now more global feed grain production than food grain production (rice and wheat). Along with ag tech to put more land into production, GE corn and soybeans increased yields.
Concentration of processing produced scaling up. Read from p. 15. (Recall Maureen Ogle's history chapter.)
WTO - promotes free trade agreements for meat import/export.
former communist countries became markets.
increased corporate concentration. both production and processing.

1. Corporate concentration - Global food corporations exert significant power over farmers and national governments. Many poor countries with food insecurity export meat to wealthier countries.
2. Tension bt. cheap meat and food insecurity - Smallholder meat production in decline from competition.
3. Social and environmental injustice. Many environmental effects of meat production fall disproportionately on poor countries and poor within rich countries.

In thinking about the research on animal awareness and consciousness, we are becoming more sensitive to the idea that animals are indeed aware of their lives, many form friendships, have strong individual preferences, and can understand more about what is going on around them than we used to think.

Note that the more symmetrically you see animal and human interests, the more likely this information is to be problematic.

Pigs: Slaughtered at 6 months old; Natural life span: 6 to 10 years Farmaggedon segment on China pig farms Outdoor pig farming - this video has a neat historical segment.
Chickens: Slaughtered at 6 weeks old; Natural life span: 5 to 8 years for those birds bred as "egg layers" such as Rhode Island Reds; 1 to 4 years for factory layer breeds such as leghorns; and 1 to 3 years for "meat" breeds.
Hens lay eggs up to 6 to 7 years.
Turkeys: Slaughtered at 5 to 6 months old; Natural life span: 2 to 6 years
Ducks/Geese: Slaughtered at 7 to 8 weeks old; Natural life span: domestic ducks: 6 to 8 years; geese from 8 to 15 years.
Cattle: “Beef” cattle slaughtered at 18 months old;
Dairy cows slaughtered at 4 to 5 years old; Natural life span: 18 to 25+ years
Veal Calves: Slaughtered at 16 weeks old; Natural life span: 18 to 25+ years
Goats: Slaughtered at 3 to 5 months old; Natural life span: 12 to 14 years
Rabbits: Slaughtered at 10 to 12 weeks old; Natural life span: 8 to 12+ years
Lambs: Slaughtered at 6 to 8 weeks old for “young lamb” and under 1 year for all other; Natural life span: 12 to 14 years
Horses/Donkeys: Slaughter age varies; Natural life span: 30 to 40 years