Each year, 99 percent of the animals killed in the United States die to be eaten. In the U.S. alone, over 10 billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption every year — more than 1 million birds, pigs, cows, and other animals every hour.

Nearly all of these animals are kept on factory farms, where the goal is to raise as many animals as possible in the least amount of time and space. Competition to lower costs has led agribusiness to treat animals as mere objects, rather than individuals who can suffer.

WHAT ARE FACTORY FARMS?

Meat production in the United States has changed dramatically in the past half-century. The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes portrayed in children's books have been replaced by windowless metal sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other intensive confinement systems — what is now known as "factory farming."

Most of today's farms are actually industrial facilities, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). They emphasize high volume and profit with minimal regard for humane treatment of animals, human health, safe food, and the environment. These large livestock operations look more like animal factories than farms.

Today there is a growing consensus that factory farming is a violation of the most basic ethical standards of how we should treat animals and the environment.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

As public awareness of factory farming grows, more and more people are choosing to eat vegetarian foods. By avoiding or eating fewer animal products, you can help animals, the earth, and yourself. An animal-based diet, and the factory farming which underlies it, causes suffering for the animals, pollution of the natural world, and danger to our health.

A healthier, humane, and environmentally-sound lifestyle can begin with your next meal. Vegetarian eating is a powerful way to help make the world a better place!

EXPLORE THE BENEFITS OF A PLANT-BASED DIET

For the Animals

Every time we sit down to eat, we make a choice.
Do we want to add to the level of mercy in the world?
Or do we want to add to the level of misery?
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For your Health

'It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful,
nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.'
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For our Environment

According to the Sierra Club, 'Large-scale corporate animal factories pollute our air and water, endanger our health, and
drive responsible family farmers out of business. Environmental violations by the meat industry add up to a lengthy rap sheet.'
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What is the Meatrix? Learn the truth about where your food comes from!

The Truth Hurts

Is your meat fit to eat? What you should know about factory farms.

Factory Farming Info

The
WHYS and HOWS
of vegetarian eating