Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer - Part 3

Eating Animals -
Jonathan Safran Foer

2017 Reading Challenge - Day 39

 February 8, 2017 

Book 11 - Eating Animals
by Safran Foer (2009)
 Part 3 - Pages 123-202
Reading Time - 1.5 hours

I can't even begin to describe this section of the book. Let's just say... the 1918 Spanish Flu (you know, the one that killed millions) started as a bird flu. You've heard of H1N1 too? Another bird flu with a bit of a pig flu strain in there. Sick birds are more likely to create another pandemic bird flu... and guess what factory farms create? Yup, sick birds. Scary stuff.

The author describes the slaughter process for chickens. It's not pretty. What's more concerning though is that 95% of chickens are infected with E. coli. And that 39-75% of chickens in retail stores are still infected. That's due to the contamination with fecal matter (chicken poo). And let's not enough talk about the botched executions. Bottom line... our sustenance, our cheap meat comes from misery.

The other thing... well, there are many other things... but this one other thing... the environmental problem of what to do with the 1000s of tonnes of shit that get produced by chickens, pigs and cows. It wasn't always a problem. Farmers would take the poo and turn it into manure (which takes time) and then spread it on their fields as fertilizer. A nice cycle. But nowadays, because we eat more meat than any culture in the entire history of the world, factory farms are producing shit faster than anyone can use it. So what happens? It leaks into the ground water and the surface water and causes health problems in surrounding and downstream communities.

The American Public Health Association has urged a moratorium on factory farming, citing health concerns. But will we give up our cheap meat? Cause the only thing that will make a difference is if WE demand a change.