Is Vegetarianism Natural?
6. Farmers feed calves raised for veal an iron-deficient diet so that the calves’ flesh will stay pale and whitethe color consumers expect. The calves become anemic, weak, and prone to infection. To prevent muscle development (that is, to keep the calves’ flesh tender), producers also confine the calves to crates less than two feet wideso narrow that the calves can’t turn around or even lie down comfortably. Denied their natural desires to suckle and play, they often engage in neurotic behaviors such as sucking the boards of crates and tongue-rolling.58 7. Many animals suffer and die en route to slaughter. According to the industry, 400,000 pigs arrive at slaughter unable to walk off the trucks, and 100,000 arrive dead.59 One study found that 29 percent of “spent” hens had freshly broken bones prior to preslaughter stunning.60 This is not a problem for producers, because spent hens yield poor quality meat, which is chopped up into fine pieces and used primarily for chicken soup or anim
