The hidden cost of cheap meat exposed by Peter Singer
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- čas přidán 29. 02. 2024
- Princeton Bioethics professor Peter Singer challenges our factory food systems, the underlying psychology that fuels them, and shares a path towards more ethical eating.
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Peter Singer, professor of Bioethics and author of "Animal Liberation Now," examines the deep-seated issues within our food systems, highlighting the ethical dilemmas surrounding animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and consumer choices.
Through a critical lens, Singer unveils the realities of factory farming, from the confinement of egg-laying hens to the rapid growth of broiler chickens, questioning the moral justifications of speciesism and advocating for a shift towards ethical eating. He argues for the importance of considering the capacity for suffering in determining moral status, proposing plant-based diets and cultured meat as viable, sustainable alternatives.
Singer’s interview encourages viewers to reflect on the impact of their dietary habits, offering insights into how informed choices can contribute to a more ethical and sustainable future.
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About Peter Singer:
Peter Singer has been described as the world’s most influential philosopher. Born in Melbourne in 1946, he has been professor of bioethics at Princeton University since 1999. His many books include Animal Liberation - often credited with triggering the modern animal rights movement - Practical Ethics, The Life You Can Save, The Most Good You Can Do, and Ethics in the Real World. In 2023, he published Animal Liberation Now, a fully revised and updated version of the 1975 original.
Singer’s writings have also inspired the movement known as effective altruism, and he is the founder of the charity The Life You Can Save. In 2021 he was awarded the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, which he donated to nonprofit organizations working for the causes he supports. In 2023 he received the Frontiers of Knowledge Prize for the Humanities, from the Spanish BBVA Foundation.
I'm old. When I was about 10 my dad took me to a slaughterhouse to see how the food we eat is "processed". Every child, and adult, should be mandated to see how ALL food is grown. Fields are poisoned with chemicals, animals are poisoned intentionally with pesticides and with the food they eat. If all people saw how our foods are grown and harvested MOST would want to see a change. "Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be". Temple Grandin Agribiz sucks.
I'm calling BS on this story, I grew up farming and ranching, and we weren't poisoning the fields or cattle. That being said, I don't agree with the way the animals are treated at the giant farm corporations. It is cruel.
I love meat
Person A: "You wouldn't eat meat if you had to kill it yourself!!"
Person B: "You don't know me."
We are curel, nature is fair
Yet we somehow have doubled the lifespans of earlier humans who only ate organic food and less meat.
One problem is overconsumption. Everything is excess. Greed has become the norm, we feel entitled to all the food/meat we want and it has dark consequences for the life that provides it. We have to move towards balance, moderation, expanded respect for life. To ignore therfore perpetuate the cultivation of suffering is fundamentally wrong, a dark hypocritical stain on societys character. Regardless how you feel about that the reality is that nature makes the rules, and greed fueled devastation comes w consequences. Constructs like compassion, empathy, good, they exist for a reason and represent a pull towards harmony, balance, ignoring that is like ignoring any law of nature, eventually it'll bite you in the azz.
Indefensible position
are you going to argue the same argument of plants such as vegetables or fruit or for grains such a wheat or rye. the greed is not so much on the person eating the food but on the rich who profit and end up throwing out the food at the grocery store because they charge too much.
@@rickystardusterpoo people are just as wasteful if not worse
@@TheSuperbadkneegrow how when wealth people consume more material and produce the squalor conditions of the poorest people and animals for profit
@@blaqbastion1501I think you'll find most people on YTube won't have this much comprehension of the world.
Congratulations for inviting Peter Singer to talk about such an important issue.
Important issue? Bahahahaha!!! 😂🤣
This is more important than crime, racism, foreign wars, economic policies, woke poison, and more. Man I’m hungry just writing this comment. I’m gonna eat some cheap chicken from chipotle.
@@jackalbright4599 Even if you ignore the cruelty of animal agriculture, the fact that it is the single biggest cause of deforestation, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss makes this an important issue. Not to mention the effect on climate change, water pollution, ocean dead zones, wasted natural resources like fresh water, increased antibiotic resistance, and zoonotic diseases, epidemics and pandemics. High meat consumption has led to an epidemic of obesity, increases of the most common chronic and deadly diseases, and shortened lifespans. That also happens to decrease productivity and inceases your health insurance. Ending animal ag would give us 30 years to phase out fossil fuels.
Clown 🤡 @@jackalbright4599
@someguy2135 it seems more like it's about your eco-anxiety, OCD, and missed psychiatrist appointment rather than an issue with @jackalbright4599
Just to be clear, Peter Singer argues for welfarism, that is the better treatment of animals, in this video and often in his work. He is not arguing for abolition of animal use, and that any form of speciecism is wrong. The latter is the clearer and logical moral argument.
well put
Saying that any speciecism is wrong is an untenable position, isn't it? Where do you draw the line? Or do you mean that we should measure the degree of suffering, regardless of species, and if a certain species does not feel any suffering it is "fair game", so to speak?
@@ehudshapira2745 Saying it's wrong is not a stance or position, just a moral goal, like to not commit sins, or to always eat healthy.
He's not saying "We are all equal, we are the same as a chicken". This is obviously false: we can read, talk, write, watch TikTok, etc. And between saving a human and saving a chicken, my opinion is clear.
But saying "Because a chicken is a dumb animal, I don't have any consideration to their suffering" is morally wrong; to say "The taste of good bacon is more important than the suffering of such pig" is morally wrong; Singer of course argues for the opposite:
"Because a chicken can suffer, we should do all we can to reduce that suffering"
Yes but it’s about hats possible at any given point in time. And it’s what’s realistic. This will change as time goes on. When lab grown meat is more available, it becomes easier to stop eating meat.
I find that at the end of the day it will be technology and not human morals that will necessarily stop this cruel enterprise.
Just to be clearer: he says in this video that you could "in theory" be "a conscientious meat eater", but in practice, that is used as an illusion you're doing nothing wrong. You can't know for sure whether animals are treated right, and they often aren't. He also emphasizes: "YOU DON`T NEED TO EAT MEAT." And if you think, there is no rational way to justify that. Humans have enough intelligence to search for alternatives and stop exploiting animals.
Legendary Peter Singer talking about important issue thanks BI for inviting him. 🇮🇳
I’ve only read some of Singers papers, but never heard him speak. He truly is a great philosopher that expanded my horizon a great deal.
The issue on meat is a good one, but Singer is not a good philosopher. His utilitarianism is profoundly misguided and frankly perverse on other matters.
@jonathanbailey1597 I think the utilitarian approach is a useful angle on any issue even if only to provide an additional very clear perspective.
You don't have to go with its conclusions, but following the like of thinking is useful.
He is an excellent philosopher. Even more so that some of his positions make people uncomfortable.
@@tnatstrat7495 Clarity is not a sufficiently helpful evaluative standard for a moral theory. Utilitarianism is a dangerous perspective. Bernard Williams was spot on.
@@tnatstrat7495 No, Singer is not an excellent philosopher. He's just a well known philosopher. Actually, he's a really bad philosopher as it goes.
He is just a vegan
As someone who has decided to follow a plant based diet for going on 5 years now, it's challenging to express my reasoning without being met with immediate defensiveness, so it's always been a challenge to express the full nuance. But for me I'm not against the eating of animal products at all, but I abhor the methods that are used to harvest it. We have such a disconnect with how our food is produced, because as kids food just magically appeared in front of us ready to eat - to my kid brain, food didn't come from plants and animals, it came from the grocery store or just appeared in the fridge one day. And I think for most adults they have a general understanding of food production, but have settled on it being a necessary evil to feed a planet full of people, and since the only alternative that ever gets any air time is "give up all the food you like," who would want to get on board with that? When in reality all it would take is for more people to eat a wider variety of foods and to find some more things they like that is satisfying, filling, and uses fewer animal products to lower demand and cool down the methods that are currently necessary to meet current demand. That's all. I found that going plant based introduced me to more options, rather than feeling restrictive. But I know it's not possible for everyone, nor is that my goal to accomplish. Whether or not you think chickens have sentience or feelings or a soul or whatever, it's still hard to watch a conveyor belt of them going endlessly by while their heads are cut off by a machine without thinking, hmm, maybe there could be a better way? And it's ok to feel that way. I hope that by me personally avoiding those foods it helps make up for someone who doesn't feel like they have a choice or can afford to do so. (And before I get any criticism, yes I take supplements and I probably have more vitamin B in my system than you do right now, don't worry about me)
13 years Vegan for the Animals
With plants the horrors increase. We've modified their genes so they can't live without us. Slave plants.
@@Soulfulvision1111 stop eating my food's food. Have a heart, eat a rock
Please get off your overly high moral horse. Every time you bathe you kill millions of animals. There are components you need to consider such as necessity to survive and intention.
I always found meat and the preparation of meat disgusting, and frightening considering the risk of food poisoning (tape worms, salmonella, etc). But I put up with it because I thought humans needed meat to be healthy. When I found out meat is actually killing us with saturated fat and isn't necessary for health my whole world changed.
Factory farming is really despicable. And the people in the future will surely look back on this as one of the most immoral behaviors we ever did.
Not really. You speak from your perspective.
Thanks for opening my mind to a new perspective.
I am a lifelong meat-eater, and this video made the case for animal cruelty, so prevalent in the food industry, that it made me think twice about the meat and dairy I am consuming everyday.
Just try only buying local chicken as your only meat, that’s what I do. Delicious too.
. Per day? Per week? Per month? How about never? Tasty is not relevant. Justifying our actions because it brings us pleasure is profoundly cynical.
I go to my local chicken farm and see chickens in cages with barely any place to move. Also the shopkeeper gives them chemical foods and injections to grow faster. No wonder they never taste good anymore.
@@dystopiaeatsmoney I agree, but I rarely eat local chicken and I know for a fact the chickens have lived a long and excellent life.First step in shutting down the factory farms is switching people to local raised,properly local raised.
@@valentinopereira58 well u arnt buying from the right person then, if the chickens arnt free to roam the field and eat bugs they dare doing something wrong.
I am going to remember ‘Peter Singer‘. Loved the video, i hope we make policies so that animal don’t suffer
A whole lot of mass production & not much localized production. It’s like humans who live in similar conditions (over crowded, removed from nature, supplicated with created nourishment, etc)… are what they eat. Imagine that!
A true protector of those that can’t defend themselves ❤ thank you
Listen to how calmly and eloquently he delivers his message. That's likely why you've listened to what he had to say.
As a big meat eater, I can see my mindset shift a little.
Much more convincing messaging compared to the yelling and screaming types.
@@lupita3689 Yeah I love that about Singer. He's not judgmental, he's just explaining his own perspective and his logic.
You don't think some of his friends are creating bioweapons to kill animals and burning down slaughter houses? Open your eyes! SWINE FEVER!@@lupita3689
A real philosopher... I was starting to think they were all gone.
I have recently started questioning my meat consumption mainly due to the treatment of these animals. It is inhumane to force a being into such a tortured existence.
Better to run free and be chased by coyotes.
I'd be interested to learn more about contemporary treatments of animals.
I feel information is hidden as they are largely inaccessible. Why is there a lack of transparency?
Could there be documentaries and studies of current farming? How has it changed and how could it be improved?
Love all!
You can watch the documentary DOMINION for free here on youtube 😊
The industry doesn't want transparency because it's fairly harsh, to the animals and to the workers. However, you can find lots of investigative reports, documentaries, and more, if you're interested.
Hey farmer here just look on the internet there’s plenty of reports and videos from people that work at farms most farmers treat their animals well, but the thing here is a citizen might want something to change but a consumer won’t they still go cheap and the farmers that went biological or tried higher welfare standards go bankrupt just search for some articles from the Netherlands “first 3 star welfare pig farm”
I'm currently doing a course with Micheal Pollan called "Intentional Eating" on Masterclass which covers the exact topic and should be able to answer your questions but keep in mind it is behind pay wall and you have to buy a yearly Masterclass subscription first. I think you can do just this course for free in two weeks if someone you know has Masterclass and invites you for a trial two week period. I don't know a lot about this topic but I've learned a lot of things there so far.
@@lead8610 +1 for Dominion!
Thank you for making this video. This topic deserves so much for attention 🙏
I went Vegan 4 years ago. I've spend time educating myslef on nutrition, i've never been happier. healthier and stronger! Education is the key.
Smart Move !!! Maybe have the fortune cookie before you eat ----> That wasn't chicken !!!
Thank You Mr. Singer
When I turned 18, my first time voting was for an amendment to my state’s constitution for an animal welfare law that was to force pig farmers to provide stalls for every pig in which they could freely turn around and readjust themselves. I know that doesn’t end their suffering and slaughter. I was just trying to help the poor pigs alive then and the next generations to be able to have a more room. The amendment did pass and is still in force to this day, 30 years later.
You can't explain this any better. I'm one person who cannot stand looking at how human beings torture animals and birds they pretend to love while they imprison them in terms of insufficient accomodations for the sake of ripping high revenue out of their miserable lives imposed on them by human greed.
Been veg since I was 12, I have only felt my convictions grow.
16 strong
All that land where your veggies grow used to be wild animals homes. They all died so you can feel better about not hurting animals.
@@kennykuhns9843 not true. Animal agriculture requires way more land compared to plant based foods. For example, animal ag is the leading cause of deforestation in Amazon. So now go and crawl back to your echo chambers and leave the real world for us the fix.
nobody asked, bet you love to smell your own farts
@@kennykuhns9843 dude. Do you know that 10x the amount of vegetation is needed to feed animals? Think about it this way. A cow eats 1000 meals of grain and provides us with 3 or 4 meals. If we just ate the grain, we would have way less of a need for the growing of that grain.
To be fair, this is kind of what it seems like the folks with money did to the rest of us. Locked up most our lives in a building, eating the cheapest food, leading miserable lives, to get the most out of us for the littlest possible. I have never heard a more apt description for all animals that are useful to humans, including humans. Damn…… That kinda hit some kinda way….
🧐
I'm from Ethiopia, my whole family fully vegan. We even own vegetarian restaurant. Come on guys, you can do it!!
You mean having a deep respect for nature rather than exploiting everything into oblivion? They're totally different world views. One works view thinks creation exists to benefit man the other thinks man exists to care for and cultivate creation. Unfortunately, those that hold to the first view also, or consequently, see no problem in steam rollering over the second group and forcing those that remain into servitude.
Both groups are stupid.
Strong, concise, perfect way to talk about the issue.
I’ve always wondered in recent years of the ethical ways of producing food and realise I’m in South Africa, nobody care about that except fill up their stomach because the inequality has become so distinct.
But great points though, on the behind the scenes of the food we eat👌🏾💯
Literally, this is food for thought. I never really looked at it. That way I mean it’s always been in the back of my mind that these animals are being treated in an inhumane way. It really makes me dig down deep inside of myself and think about should I begin to, turn away from eating meat products and become a vegetarian and only eat plant based meat products. This is something that’s gonna stick in my head and I have to make that decision because it is wrong for animals to be treated in this way. I love animals. I have two cats and a dog, and I love them and I would not want them to ever be mistreated.
I'm happy to pay more for better quality meat, find a farm where I can buy it. But I'm not giving up meat for some 'plant-based' mysteriously produced alternatives with dozens ingredients produced in someone's lab.... sorry !
I would be happy to pay more if I could afford to do so. But I can rarely afford meat at all the last couple years so I'm not likely making much of a dent.
then dont buy the plant-based meat alternatives. simple solution
I agree with his overall point of better welfare for animals. It is cruel and wrong.
The industry is only part of the problem, the culture of people is gluttony as well as a huge economic downfall. Without people knowing how food is processed to the fact 90% can’t afford higher prices shows this is more complex issue. What about partitioning land, mandatory classes taught in education about growing food.
I'm nowhere near hippie dippie but as I got more spiritual in my life, beyond the chemical hormonal stuff, I am realizing how we're all connected, basically like Avatar (the blue people) movie and a lot of native cultures see the world. We understand how energy is more and more of a thing, like energy between 2 people, even the most rational person can understand how with some people you just get a good or bad vibe off. And with food, all the energy that is stored in that animal, the suffering, the emotions, it goes in their body, and then we eat that meat. And that can't be good for us. So even on a selfish level, it's something to think about. I don't want to stop eating meat but I am trying to reduce it, and consuming meat from markets where I talk to the butcher, get meat ethically grown and killed and pay for more, I have the financial means for it and I'm choosing to spend my money that way.
I have reached higher plane of spirituality and the end point is, animal suffering will only bother you if you focus on it. It's psychological karma. A person who is oblivious to animal suffering but eats it face no karma. A person with strong psyche face no negatives. A baby has weak psyche and hence why we cover their eyes from horror. Make yourself strong or don't focus on it and ignore it. You will be good
🤣🤣 “not hippy dippy but everything is connected like avatar” I may never forget this comment.
May the movie Avatar guide you to self realization 🙏👍🤣😎
@@jsblastoff I mean it wasn't the one to guide me to that but it was a Hollywood representation that made sense. To remove ourselves from the equation of nature is silly
Well, I mean if you are a meat eater because you don’t know what is going on in slaughter houses, you have to be ashamed. However, if you are a meat eater and believe that animal experience is not worthy of attention, you have to be proud of yourself because that means you are consistent.
I totally agree with everything he said, I've been thinking the same too! Thanks Big Think!
You can talk about it all day as long as society functions the way it does this will continue
have been buying only pastured eggs and beef for many years, and occasional rare pastured chicken. it costs about 10-30% more. pastured beef can be steep, but cheaper cuts are quite manageable if you know how to cook them. it’s criminal, though, the amount of animal suffering for such marginal difference in profit. like many other public policy issues in the US, big biz buys the laws and regs that maximize profit.
and yes, in some places it’s almost impossible to get humane animal products.
Good subject. Thanks for bringing it up!
My state started mandating this year that all chickens and eggs have to free range. If indoor farmed they require at least twice the current room to roam. Prices hiked up right away but have slowly started to come down.
Excellent video from a true thinker who walks the walk and stands up for his beliefs even if that requires more from himself.
1:00 “can they suffer”? I Loved this! ❤❤
Thanks for having Peter Singer on your channel--he's influenced me (and many others) tremendously.
Dang. Back when we had live stock at the farm we would have 5 pigs in a barn section that was 20F wide by 60F long and on the other side the same length, there would be 25 turkeys and 50 chickens.
Our dog got in with the chickens still with yellow feathers, well she was letting them jump and crawl over her. We thought she would eat them but she was like look at all my new friends
Singer is the pragmatic vegan we need to represent us. We dont want to have crazed absolutist justice warriors representing us. We want Singer to sing our song for a better world
In my experience, ethically sourced products would cost me 4 times more. I am hoping to find a farm with better prices soon
Could just eat a lot less meat.
How do you verify if animals are "ethically sourced" as they advertise? Animals are not products because humans are also animals.
Wonderful. I admire and appreciate BT for inviting such great minds who expose the veiled black backgrounds to us.....Kudos to you Prof. Singer...🥰😍🤩
This should be shown in all schools. Animal Ag. class skipped all the horrible things that these animals go through...I wonder why?? 👈🤔🌱💚💪✌️
People’s level of understanding will go as far as their income will allow it to is some of the realest s*** I’ve ever heard!
Interesting video. One thing I would like to add that he didn't mention at the end is that hunting can also be an ethical source of meat.
I have been eating free range before it became fashionable. In NZ free range is almost the same price in supermarkets as tortured meat and eggs.
Eye opening and important. I will never go plant based but I do what I can. I recently moved to the countryside and have been eating meat sourced from local butchers who source their animals from local highly respect farmers. The quality of the meat and eggs are night and day when compared to what you can pick up at the supermarket. It costs me more money but ultimately it is higher quality and is better for my body. I always try to avoid supermarket food now. Everything I eat now grows in the ground or lived a high-quality life. I also quit dairy completely. My problem with plant based burgers and all these other alternatives is that they are Ultra-processed foods. To sell it, they need it to taste good... so what do they add? sugar. This solves one problem and causes another. Diabetes is the biggest epidepic ever in human history.
Based on what you’ve said, if I am to take you at your word, you’re one of the rare individuals who might actually consume animal products who were reared in a much better way than industrially farmed animals. Most people who say they consume high-welfare animal products from local farms is often bull. A lot of them are from towns and cities, shop for their animal products at the supermarket, base these claims on the label, and the animal product often isn’t much more expensive than conventional animal products, if at all. So I’m actually more inclined to believe you, plus you don’t consume dairy. Dairy is pretty next to impossible to produce in a way that isn’t contrary to the welfare of cows, though I don’t know if your avoidance of dairy is for this reason or due to other personal reasons. I do commend you for this.
With that being said, even if some local farms are better than industrial farms, I’d still be questioning whether there are welfare concerns. You can find footage here on CZcams uploaded by small local farmers themselves who demonstrate the practice of castrating and tail-docking pigs. They even had to wear ear muffs because their screams were so loud when they did it. So shopping at small local farms, although possibly better than industrial, is still not foolproof for guaranteeing no welfare issues. If you only visit such farms when they are open during visiting hours, you’re only seeing a small fraction of the farming process, and farmers will most likely clean up for visitors. How can you be sure they are upholding good standards at all times, including during closed hours? And do you know whether those animals are bought from sellers or bred on the farm? Are they being killed on the farm, or are they transported to slaughterhouses? I think these are important questions to ask.
Also, I agree with your health claims about plant-based meats. However, these products weren’t really manufactured for the purpose of being healthy. They were manufactured to be a more ethical alternative to their meat counter-parts, which was often not healthy to begin with either, such as burgers and hotdogs. They were also manufactured to help aspiring vegetarians and vegans to transition. So it’s just an unhealthy but more ethical imitation of another unhealthy product that consumers were never consuming for health to begin with. A good burger and hotdog is just an occasional and tasty treat to have every now and then.
Lastly, even though we can both agree that it is ethically better to treat animals better before killing them rather than to not, do you think it would be ethically better to not kill an animal and let them live rather than killing them at a fraction of their natural lifespan? If you consider it wrong to prematurely take life away from a human, what do you think would be the morally significant difference between a human and an animal that can justify killing one but not the other?
I'm sure you will not get an answer to your questions from the ignorant or delusional lol.@@johnchesterfield9726
I’m whole food plant based for 8 years and never Have eaten an impossible burger. I don’t eat any of those processed foods. It’s really not that hard, but it does take some adjusting. 🙏☀️🌱
The saddest part of my life is when i go to the supermarket and look at the egg/meat labels to decide what level of animal welfare I can afford.
Yes, it's easy to condemn factory farming especially when you have the privilege of being able to afford it. But it's this same mechanism that provides much needed protein and nutrition to billions of individuals in the third world to allow us to have the energy needed to think, work and have a good night's sleep.
Excellent video! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 I will share this with my students. We are discussing food systems and sustainablity.
Consuming and nourishing oneself are not the same.
Knowledge supports growth.
We really need to think about addressing overconsumption. Imagine people only eating meat once a week and how much would be shifted based upon that.
Thank you for posting this. It is one of the most important issues of our time
It's actually not
Conglomerate: "Look at this good ol Peter Singer telling us how to do businesses"
We are ranchers in the big plains of South America, we herd cows on about 1200 acres of land. We have to ride horses to find the cows as they can move around looking for shade and water. On the day of slaughter they are shipped away, but until then, they eat grass, live in peace and roam around the plains. This is the case in many parts of the world, maybe not Europe...
You destroy the Amazon to make space for your ranches. Then you kill the animals at the end. So don’t think for a second you are doing any good to these animals.
We want to justify our actions so bad that we don’t even call the animals flesh/body parts by the true name. We call it “meat”, “hotdogs”, “burgers”, “steak” etc…aggressively eating carcass everyday has become an addiction.
I prefer to hunt wild game. It is more nutritious and more humane. Fair chase and all that.
Not fair but better.
I am from Europe and I can agree that in some countries animals are still treated very badly without enough space feed too much , no sun, pain etc... just for the profit $
A lot of people are treated that way too.
So go vegan. Do not support these multi billion dollar industries. Not being vegan means being an animal abuser through paying for it.
I confirmed that chickens raised in free range farm produced eggs with bigger yolk than chickens raised in industrial coop. My hometown is in the countryside and my workspace is in the city.
100% grassfeed, antibiotic free, no gmo, free range and Pasteur raised are the ways to go.
Please refer to the answer by @johnchesterfield9726
I think an interesting hypothetical - and perhaps not an entirely outlandish one given modern technology - would be if we could genetically breed animals for consumption that felt no suffering, neither physical pain nor psychological distress, would that remedy the objections about animal welfare? I mean, it would render it little more than a plant. Regular organic matter.
Just a thought.
being a non-vegetarian this actually affected me, governments can definitely subsidize the farms
Agreed. Thank you for teaching
Beautiful thank you. I cannot imagine... Me standing in a cage all my life... Without being able to trunk around. Only one day to be freed.. So I could be killed. My heart breaks for these animals.. Even lions kill only when hungry and they can only eat meat. God pls give is more wisdom and a kinder heart.
Amazing video. Thank you Peter singer
It's easy to say that in high income nations like the USA and the EU. Other nations like my country, a slight increase of meat price will cause unstable society as the people suffer from increasing cost of living.
Or it might shift the food production to other sources.
The west suffers from cheap overproduced meat and us unwilling to change because they got addicted to it.
@@sonkeschmidt2027 west seems cool
Good and well informed take on the subject. I have reduced my meat consumption with about 80% after I tried lentils, they are amazing and literally work in anything! But still want to eat meat because it taste good and all the dishes from my childhood contain some kind of meat, looking forward for them to be able to grow real meat, because impossible meat in my opinion really taste awful!
I've always cared about animals and believed they deserve basic respect. Yet for over 20 years, because of how I was raised and social conditioning, I bought and consumed products that cause horrendous suffering to animals and thought nothing of it. All while laughing and making fun of vegans for being different...
Thankfully, when I was 22, I actually removed the blindfold and learned about the horrors of animal agriculture and made the decision to go vegan and it was the best decision I have ever made. If we don't need to harm animals to survive and be healthy, then we shouldn't be harming them at all.
I strongly recommend that any meat-eaters watching this video ask themselves the following question: If you don't need to pay for animal cruelty, and animal cruelty is wrong, then why continue to pay for it?
This only applies to “developed” countries, and to some brands. I live in the country side of a Central American country, and I have been eating locally sourced foods my entire life. I highly doubt myself or other people in a similar situation have to worry the same way this guy does. Damn the last chicken I ate was called Lola
I disagree. It doesn't matter where animals live, they all have a self preservation interest. No animal anywhere has an instinct to go towards pain and death.
I agree. In less developed countries, we are much closer to our food sources. I am accountable for eating one cow every 16 months that free-ranges in the mountains about seven kilometers from my house, and I fish for bonito, snapper, pargo, etc. My eggs come from my hens (no rooster) who are outside all day and voluntarily tuck into their coop at night to stay safe from predators. If I'm late coming out to close the coop, they get annoyed and start calling me 🤣.
Was that your last chicken?
@@beyamoth mine is stronger
@@channel08 that is irrelevant unless you have no other options.
I was almost sold until he mentioned synthetic meat - he must be a beneficiary of those establishments.
I know california made a law for chickens to have more space. My only thought with that is as long as it does not effect small farmers who can't get the funds or land to make that happen because then all your going to have is even more corporatism.
You know like how heinz said ketchup needed to be refrigerated even though most makers used preservatives, but forcing others to do so tilted the playing field.
So what is the true cost? Has anyone estimated it numerically?
It's good to see Peter Singer
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to agree that factory farming isn’t it.
I hope this video gets more views
The meat store near my home offers free-range meat that isn't significantly more expensive than grocery store meat, yet it's entirely different-and better.
I raise heritage breeds of chickens and ducks, they all live freerange. Very happy birds and no health issues. Hybrid animals have health issues by default
As a vet in Kenya what is your take in the way we keep our animals considering you've talked of the rest of the world
There is correlation between the emotical status of an animal and how it taste when u eat it
yes, an aware conscious person would not eat meat coming from unethical way. i switched to vegetarian diet long ago but it's not simple, there are nutrients and vitamins that have to get as supplement. but totally meat free diet has some disadvantages, a hybrid patten is most optimal.
“It’s difficult to get a person to understand something if their income depends on them not understanding” - So true and probably explains why a lot of people still choose to eat animal products.
Not really. We evolved to eat meat.
I eat it because it's delicious and fulfilling. Regardless of how much veggies you eat, you still need animal products.
True , see all the disease chronic now because of processed food
Reality is that meat consumption and need for cheaper meat is on the rise and will be for a long time. How to deal with that is the million dollar question.
That is something everyone can only answer for themselves. The future of humanity isn't decided by some people but rather all it us...
There are over 80,000 edible plants to create healthier plant based foods to provide all nutrients required except vitamin B12 (which is supplemented to farmed animals by farmers). The variety of phytonutrients and fibre are very beneficial to our good gut bacteria which affects our immunity and mental health in many ways.
@@sonkeschmidt2027 no it is not individually decide. In fact it is already decided. Industry decided it and all nations getting richer consume more meat, just look at data. We can look for evidence and think how to cope with it or be vegan and happy while the world around us burn.
@@lauratanln good but no one - except a handful of people - care. All data sugests that meat products consumption will be on the rise for a long time still. How to deal with the pressure on ecosystems AND a growing population eager for meat should be a bigger concern.
@@diogo0b
1. Just stop meat milk and egg advertising like tobacco companies are forced to, to cut down on brainwashing. 2. Most importantly, just allow activists to show the Truth of animal farming to the public with all the details to start reducing addictions.
He says we are wrong for “doing what we will we” with other species but those same species treat us exactly the same way. So why are we wrong for looking at them as potential food or enemy but they aren’t wrong for looking at us as food or enemy?
If you want to solve this problem, you will not do it by appealing to emotion (such as from them perspective of the animals' suffering). Rather, you might accomplish that goal if you could paint it in terms of how it's not optimal for human consumption. I mean in the most basic sense, it seems possible or even intuitive that a healthy animal might produce healthier meat. The other aspect is generating cost-effective solutions. How do we have the healthiest meat possible, but at the lowest cost possible?
I do believe that in trying to tell his story, he hasn’t given a typical portrayal of animal farm conditions. It is true that some animals are kept in better conditions than others and a noteworthy goal to get the most ethically grown meat possible. He doesn’t go into great detail about how to obtain better meats. So to do my part and try and help someone obtain both better tasting and more ethically sourced meat, I will give some information. If you have the space and ability to get a deep freezer you can purchase partially animals from a butcher. These animals are generally grown under small farm conditions with larger pastures and better quality feeds. These animals will generally have both pasture and supplemental hay in the winter. It develops better tasting meat, and since it is flash frozen fresher too. Call around to local butchers and if you live in a larger city and for some reason can’t find a partial animal, try a smaller town next to you. Little towns all over will have a butcher who makes a living processing non factory farm animals. Usually a butcher will have as small as 1/4 cow, pig, etc available. Up to whole animals are usually available too, but many will not have the space for that much meat and it may be more than you will eat in a typical 6 months to a year. Generally meat taste a little better when consumed within the 1st year of freezing. Personally I have eaten up to 20 year old frozen meat and older meat can be of varying qualities. If can get freezer burn. Usually takes a couple of years for properly packaged meat to get an off taste. But starting out try and not purchase any more meat than you think you will eat in 6 months to a year. And if necessary, split the 1/4 animal with a friend, neighbor, or relative.
since the domestication of man and the doing away with their nomadic tendencies old age and other chronic ailments due to regional weather patterns the domestication of food was essential for survival. What I want to ask is what is food, and meat food.
Instead of large factory farms, there should be decentralized local farms like the old days
This is the answer. Sustainable local farms are what I believe is best. Commercial factory farming is indeed horrible and not only that, the nutritional content of the food produced is horrible as well.
@feliciavale4279 yes its such an easy solution, but it will harm the centralized entities, so they look for complicated solutions
can't feed with that model to the large population. We have to drastically reduce consumption of meat for that to happen.
I definitely do want to lean towards being vegan I’m gonna try to do some research and make this change ❤ I know it’s so sad for these animals just because we want to eat good.
You don’t need to be as drastic as going vegan…simply vegetarian either ovo or lacto or ovo-lacto or just plant based but the more plants and the less meats the better…
@@teeniequeenie8369 It is not drastic to make that change in light of what you could see in this video. While it looks a bit challenging, it soon becomes very easy. The hardest part that could be is if people around you are very unsupportive, social pressure.
We are all fed animals because everyone went by "traditions" so we think of some animals as food while others are not. If we had vegan food from young, we wouldn't even stand the sight and smell of raw meat.
@@lauratanln I know that’s right
@@teeniequeenie8369 I’ll have a lot of research to do .
This is why I always try and buy higher welfare meat local to Scotland. The welfare standards in The States, China and other countries is absolutely horrendous.
If someone is looking for vegan food , in India we have variety of options
There is many people who are vegetarian in India
"There is an immense cost to factory farming. The justification that it's cheap only works as long as you don't build those costs into the true cost of the product". Can someone help me and please elaborate on the costs are that not built into factory farming, so I have a better understanding? Thanks you!
6:04 He explains what he means here. What he's saying is that the "cost" isn't the money that the consumer pays, but the suffering endured by the animals, the damage done to the environment, and conditions that the workers face. This is part of the "true cost", and only if you ignore it, can you call the product "cheap".
To give you a metaphor. Heroin is absolutely amazing if you want to get rid of any pain so it's incredibly valuable. (The most valuable thing on earth for some)...
Until you become aware of the hidden costs....
Easy ways to know if animals were likely treated like absolute shit:
- it's conventionally cheap (expect to pay 1.5-3x the conventional price for reasonable animal products)
- You can't trace its origin back to the farm (it's easy to hide malpractice if you never tell the customer where it's taking place)
- The "manufacturer" states nothing concrete about how their animals were raised/fed/treated (not counting vague claims).
Usually a "responsible" animal product ticks none of these boxes.
But one thing is 1000% certain:
If it was cheap, the process was ultra efficient, meaning there is just no way the animal was treated with any kind of respect.
So one problem is our spending habits. We all want the luxuries of modern life - but we're not willing to pay a fair price for the thing that keeps us alive: food. How ironic.
We cant even treat one another with dignity and respect. Animals don't stand a chance until consciousness awakens within the collective.
Excellent video. More people need to watch and learn. Personally I stopped eating meat regularly, and chicken all together because of the cruelty to animal and humans.
Clever man making many good points. I wish that we, in Australia, had better animal welfare legislation. Unfortunately we essentialky have a suoermarket duopoly and these companies DO NOT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING BUT SHAREHOLDER PROFITS. Damn all else. PROFIT AT ANY COST!!
I understand you have kangaroo meat in your stores. I have never tried it. Is it good? I get lamb from Australia here in the United States but no kangaroo. I would like the try it sometime.
If you would like to make changes to the process that costs more go for it and pay for the cost increase as well
Responsible slaughterhouse and meat industry practices are key. Vegan and beyond products are only a new coat of paint for industries setting the blame on people than their gluttonous practices. It's a difficult shift as meat contains the vital vitamins and nutrients old since hunter-gatherer times