Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate and warmly recall all the love mothers provide and all the lessons they teach. We treasure every moment we have with our mothers and we appreciate them being there for us. The love of a mother isn’t just limited to humans either; animals across species rely heavily on their mothers for protection and affection. Farmed animals feel that same natural desire to rear their children…unfortunately, the food industry has no interest in allowing the mother/child bond to grow.
Few animals have motherly instincts as strong as cows do, yet the dairy industry is unapologetic in restraining those instincts. Within 48 hours of birth, male calves are dragged away from the embrace of their mothers and are either slaughtered or placed in a veal crate where they will spend the entirety of their short lives. Naturally, this leads to severe distress for both mom and son, as cows are intelligent beings that thrive on family bonding. The mother cow (and any daughters she may have) will spend her entire life being subjected to artificial insemination for milk that is supposed to be for their young, but instead is placed in grocery stores all over the country.
Pigs don’t have it any easier. Although sows are usually able to at least nurse their babies for a short time, they are forced to do so in a farrowing crate; a crate that does not allow basic movements such as standing up or turning around. While the mother lays immobile in her crate, she’s forced to view cruel acts committed on her children including castration and tail docking without anesthesia and even worse, death by very unethical means such as being thrown against a concrete floor. Ultimately, after a mere two weeks, the piglets are taken away from their mother to begin fattening for slaughter, never to feel their mother’s love again.
We sometimes hear the term “mother hen” as a common idiom, a testament to how protective hens can be over their children. In the egg industry though, the idea of hens protecting their children is an illusion; they never even get to meet their babies. Male chicks born in the industry are of no use no profit, so they are either ground up alive or thrown out like garbage in huge plastic bags where they suffocate to death. As for the female chicks, they are destined to a life similar to their mother. Caged hens are crammed five to seven birds into wire mesh cages stacked one on top of another. The hens live in physical and psychological misery, unable to turn stretch, flap their wings, or preen their entire lives. The birds are forced to stand on a sloping wire-mesh floor, which cuts and deforms their sensitive feet, while the wire-mesh walls rub off their feathers and bruise their skin… and for the sake of egg production.
This Mother’s Day, let’s truly honor all mothers by making simple changes to our diet. By opting to purchase products that are not the result of an inherently cruel system, we’ll be making a statement: we believe in the bond between a mother and child is strong, and it should be respected.
To find out more about changing your diet this Mother’s Day, check out LiveVegan.org.
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FARM Urges San Diego School District to Adopt Meatless Mondays
Executive Director and California native, Michael Weber wrote a letter to the San Diego Unified School District urging its board members to adopt a Meatless Mondays program. In a city where nearly 28% of children are overweight or obese, Michael says, “Now is the time for community leaders to speak out about proper diet and healthy habits. And this public health initiative, begun by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is a great start.”
Being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and many cancers. The economic costs associated with obesity and physical inactivity in California are estimated at $41.2 billion. The state (and the country) is at a turning point in the battle with chronic disease, and we have a choice…we either take steps to improve our overall health or we continue down the current path of disease and premature death.
In his letter, Michael also points out the devastating environmental impacts animal agriculture has on the planet and the inherent cruelty and suffering that comes with raising animals for food. According to the United Nations, reducing the amount of animal products we eat is one of the simplest ways to lower our carbon footprint, since animal agriculture is “responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share than that of transport[tation].” Not to mention, that raising billions of animals for food to produce massive quantities of meat, dairy, and eggs has taken a major toll on the animals themselves. Standard industry practices include intensive confinement, mutilations without painkillers, and a horrific slaughter – practices that shock nearly every- one who views them.
Michael says bringing one meat-free day a week to school students is “an easy, effective way for our children to start the week off right.” With an abundance of readily available vegetarian and vegan options, the number of schools and colleges that have successfully adopted similar programs is steadily increasing. And for those looking to eliminate all animal products from their diet, FARM offers 100% vegan recipes through our Meatout Mondays program and additional vegan resources through our Live Vegan website.
FARM applauds the San Diego Unified School District for considering implementing such a life-saving program, and we hope they take Michael’s recommendation into account.