Does it make sense that a burger has continued to stay at $1 for the past 30 years?
We don't stop to think about it.
But what exactly is happening with the cost of meat?
Have you ever stopped to consider the true cost of cheap meat?
Leah Garces, the author of the new book Grilled, has dedicated her career to exposing the poultry industry's dark side and impact on the animals we consume.
Cheap Meat
In a recent interview, Garces discussed the "economies of scale" that drive the meat industry, leading to ever-cheaper meat prices and increased consumption.
Chickens, in particular, have been affected by these economic forces, with birds growing larger and faster than ever before.
They reach a slaughter-ready weight in just six weeks, compared to three times longer in the past.
But this efficiency comes at a cost. Today, 20,000 to 50,000 chickens are crammed into a single rearing shed, with just 10 square centimeters of space per bird.
These animals are unable to move naturally, leading to tremendous suffering.
The impact of the meat industry extends far beyond the individual animals themselves. Americans, for example, consume an average of 27 chickens per person per year, contributing to the staggering 70 billion chickens raised for meat annually.
And it's not just chickens — the Department of Agriculture estimates that the average American will consume 224.6 pounds of meat in 2022 alone. This level of meat consumption is unprecedented in human history and poses a significant threat to our planet's future.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that by 2050, we will need to double the number of animals slaughtered for food if we continue our current consumption patterns.
Honestly, why are we eating so much meat?
The Costs
The meat industry has evolved into an extremely efficient technology, but at what cost?
The rise of factory farming has led to significant changes in the quality of meat we consume. While most consumers believe that meat is a natural food, or at least different from processed food, the reality is that most animals we eat today are technology products.
Today's chickens, for example, are fundamentally different from those humans have been in contact with throughout history. These chickens grow too fast to the point of collapsing under their weight.
This is because selective breeding has ensured that only the "breast meat," in high demand in the U.S. and worldwide, grow large and fast.
The result is that the heart, lungs, and musculoskeletal system cannot keep up with the rapid development of the breast muscles, and the chickens have heart attacks. As a result, most chickens do not survive past six weeks of age.
Furthermore, over 90% of livestock is factory-farmed worldwide. In the United States, it is an astonishing 99 percent. While some farms ethically raise animals, factory farming is the norm. Therefore, it is essential to understand factory farming and its dangers.
Factory farming is a system of rearing animals in highly artificial environments.
Animals are given large doses of antibiotics and raised in confined spaces, preventing them from exhibiting natural behaviors such as running or foraging. This
The overuse of antibiotics in factory farming has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose a significant threat to human health.
Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly severe problem that could threaten modern medicine and send us back to a time before antibiotics were discovered.
This issue is particularly problematic in the United States, where around 70 percent of antibiotics are sold for use in animals.
The meat industry discovered that antibiotics speed up animals' growth rate, leading to their overuse in animal husbandry. However, this has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can cause serious infections that are difficult to treat.
This trend could lead us back to the pre-antibiotic era, where simple bacterial infections could be fatal.
Experts warn that a new pandemic is only a matter of time, and our current animal husbandry practices could be the source of the next outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks viruses of particular concern, including avian flu and swine flu.
There is concern that a virus repeatedly circulating among birds and pigs could mutate into a deadly virus and infect humans.
The livestock industry is a prime location for transmitting pathogens from animals to humans.
When infectious diseases occur, it is common practice to try to bring the situation under control by killing the animals. However, infectious diseases can spread quickly in an unsanitary husbandry environment.
It is only a matter of time before a new pandemic occurs, and many experts are making similar warnings about factory farming.
We should stop to think about what we consume rather than succumb to cultural and traditional norms.
The true cost of cheap meat goes beyond the price we pay at the supermarket.
Our insatiable demand for meat has led to the rise of factory farming, which has significant implications for animal welfare, public health, and the environment.
Is temporary sensory pleasure worth the out-sized costs?
Learn more in this podcast here.
Please subscribe for more stories. My name is Saman and I write about business, entrepreneurship, and current events.
I am currently the owner of an online english company (in Japan): https://skytalk.co.jp/
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