Are farm animals treated humanely?

“But Adam, it’s ok that we eat animals bred for food because they’re treated humanely and given great lives before they’re killed, right?” Well if we ignore the fact that humane slaughter is an oxymoron, let’s look at industry standard procedures in the animal agriculture industry:

“But Adam, I only buy grass-fed pasture-raised organic free-range small family-owned meat and dairy, surely this doesn’t happen on those farms?” Let me first point out that in the US 99% of animals are factory farmed, and worldwide that number is 94%, so these small family farms represent such a small subset of where animals come from anyway. But that aside, unfortunately, these are industry standards, even on small farms. You may see better treatment of animals to a degree on small farms, but there’s no guarantee. Some allow their animals to graze instead of being confined in small quarters, but much of what is described here is still occurring on small farms. And of course, an animal’s life on all farms ends the same way, with the animal being killed for food.

And since we already know that there is no reason to eat animals, all of this is unnecessary, and therefore morally wrong.

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Is veganism a cult?

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Does humane slaughter exist?