The vast majority of the food produced in the United States comes from industrial-sized confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Ironically, there’s a good chance you haven’t seen one – they are typically hidden from public view, and their operators don’t want you to see what’s really going on out of fear that you would turn away in disgust at the thought of eating their “food”.

But it doesn’t take much to see that the modern industrial system of meat and poultry production exerts serious toll on animal welfare, the environment, and human health. If these things don’t merit a prompt call to action, then I don’t know what will.

The First Victim: Livestock

In this infographic, I’ve provided a picture of what happens to chickens, pigs, and cattle in factory farms under factory-farm conditions. For starters, hundreds of millions of male chicks are killed each year upon hatching because they will not grow up to lay eggs!

Disease is rampant among these CAFO animals: they live in cramped and unsanitary living conditions, a natural consequence of raising animals in unbelievable numbers.

It is just as highly disturbing how CAFO animals are routinely administered a variety of drugs, including antibiotics. They’re given drugs whether they’re sick or well, because it’s important to keep as many of them as possible alive until it’s time for slaughter.

And what is the result of routinely giving antibiotic to the animals? Significant growth boosts, a purely a financial motive – larger fatter animals equal higher profits.