The+Meatrix

Name:Aniko Meszaros Student Number:n8839204 Tutor:Michelle Cornford

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The Artefact The Meatrix launched in 2003 (Free Range Studios) is a unique, humorous and creative satires that use entertainment to inform viewers about the problems with factory farming. The film feature three superhero farm animals including Leo, the young pig, Chickity, the feathered family farm defender, and Moopheus, the trench coat clad cow with a passion for green pastures. Moopheus finds Leo at a family farm and informs him that corporations are taking over the way farms used to be. By taking the “blue pill “, Leo can remain at ease in his current situation, or by taking the “red pill”, Leo can see the truth of industrialised farming...

The Public Health Issue There is a quiet holocaust taking place worldwide in the animal kingdom and in the environment says Dr. Michael W. Fox veterinarian. As consumers, we participate in the inhumane treatment of animals simply by purchasing certain foods and products derived from animals raised and slaughtered inhumanely. The factory system of livestock, poultry and fish production all lead to deadly environmental pollution. The urgency of this revolution is undeniable, and the possibility for change lies within each of us. Farmers, consumers, and environmentalist have many different values and concerns; however we all share one thing; we eat.

Literature Review

Traditionally, farm animals had the freedom to graze in open fields, root in the soil, build a nest, and wander about pecking in the farmyard. They cared for their young in natural, comfortable farm surroundings, and in turn, the farmers respectfully cared for the animals (Špinka 2006).

Today, the cruellest fallout from the industrialization of agriculture is the treatment of farm animals, now coldly referred to as “production units” (Roberts 2004). They are protein conversion machines; low-value protein (e.g., soy) goes in and high-value protein (animal flesh) comes out. (Henning, 2011).

Hens stacked in wire "battery" cages, there is not enough room for them to lie down, fluff their feathers, or even stretch their wings (Cassuto 2007). Battery cages are banned in all 27 countries of the EU, and in Switzerland (McLeod, Kilmurray 2012). Despite these global developments, there is no legislative movement to ban battery cages in Australia (Animals Australia 2013). Because of the cramped cages, chickens become crazed, pecking one another severely, sometimes to death. Poultry producers solve this problem by ‘debeaking’ the chicks with hot blade machines (Cassuto 2007). A procedure considered painful by anyone who believes animals can feel. To Charles Darwin, it was obvious that animals are sentient beings (Dawkins 2006).



Pigs also fall prey to industrial agriculture practices of intensive confinement. They live in small, cramped pens in long, often poorly ventilated sheds; they cannot turn around or groom themselves. Shortly after birth, their tails are amputated, their teeth clipped, their ears notched, and males are castrated-all without anesthesia (Cassuto 2007).



The very close confinement, combined with the inability to engage in normal behaviours, means that the “production units” are at in increased risk of illness, so antibiotics are often used (McLeod, Kilmurray2012). Producers also use drugs and chemicals to increase growth and food conversion efficiency (Fox 1997).

The livestock industry depends on costly non- renewable natural resources and precious farmland to raise the feed for these animals to convert into meat.

The livestock sector utilizes 30% of the Earth’s total land surface, including a third of all arable land for feed crops. Not surprisingly, livestock is a strong driver of land deforestation, especially in Latin America, where pastures have replaced 70% of former Amazonian forests (Steinfield et al 2006).

The meat and livestock industry is a major contributor to global climate change. Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes in the world combined.In its 2006 report “Livestock’s Long Shadow. Environmental Issues and Options,” the FAO estimated that livestock contribute about 18% to the global warming effect made up of 9% carbon-dioxide, 37% methane and 65% nitrous oxide emission. It is predicted that livestock related emission will increase as world population and food demand increases; enteric methane emissions are projected to grow by over 30% from 2000 to 2020 (O’Mara 2011).

The agricultural sector is the largest user of freshwater resources. In 2000, agriculture accounted for 70% of water use and 93 percent of water depletion worldwide (Steinfield et al 2006). Water-use for drinking is the most observable demand for water resources related to livestock production. Water represents 60-70% of the body weight and is essential for animals in maintaining their vital physiological function. Livestock production in industrialized farms, also requires service water to clean production units, and for waste disposal (Steinfield et al 2006). Most of the water used for livestock drinking and servicing returns to the environment in the form of manure and waste-water.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In many regions, excessive animal waste from factory farms is too much for the land to sustain. There is especially true where there are large concentrations of intensively raised livestock and poultry without a corresponding large area of farmland on which to spread the manure. Much of this contaminated animal waste returns to the land to fertilize crops to feed animals, which we then eat ourselves. It is deplorable that livestock and poultry manure, once a vital nutrient resource in ecological farming, has become a hazardous waste in the factory farming system (Fox 1997).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From a dietary perspective meat is an important nutrient for human health and development. Meat ensures adequate delivery of essential micro-nutrients and amino acids and is involved in regulatory processes of energy metabolism. Meats provide a unique collection of essential nutrients including – protein iron zinc selenium vitamins and fats. Protein is important for growth, development, immunity and overall health. Iron carries oxygen around the body and is necessary for the production of energy from glucose and is the main fuel for both the body and brain. Zinc helps to keep the immune system strong and is beneficial for reproductive health. Selenium breaks down fat and chemicals in the body. Vitamins A, D, B12– promote good vision, stronger teeth and bones, and support the central nervous system. Omega-3s supports normal brain function, cardiovascular health and is an essential part of healthy eating ( <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Whitneyet al 2011). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Broadway; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Culture and Social Analysis <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Factory farming can be perceived as the McDonaldization. According to Ritzer, McDonaldization is a modern conceptualization of Weber’s theory of formal rationality and the rationalization process. The process of McDonaldization rests on four principles: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. The factory farming is able to produce high quantities of meat within short periods of time because of the feed and hormones. The factory farming is a complex and McDonaldized system in which profits and production are put ahead of any negative effects. The negative effects on the environment, animals, and humans are considerable.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most consumers never think to question where their meat came from, how the animals were treated while being raised, and how they were slaughtered. It is amazing that so many people will eat the parts and products of animals that have consciously been caused to suffer prior ending up on a fork. It is even more alarming that so many people are unaware of or have never thought about the creatures they eat, which further negatively affect both human and animals (McLeod, Kilmurray 2012).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">When our ancestors ate a meal, it was an act of communion. Contrary <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">in contemporary society, we have become so far removed from the land and the animals that sustain us that eating has become just another act of perfunctory consumption.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is of paramount importance for public health professionals to become aware of and involved in how our food is produced <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;"> (Walker et al, 2005).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aside from the ethical concerns, humans are not biologically suited nor physiologically adapted for a diet high in animal fat and protein. This kind of diet means that we eat proportionally less of essential plant nutrients and suffer the consequences: developing a host of chronic degenerative diseases (Walker et al, 2005).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unfortunately, meat consumption is increasing in countries where, traditionally, plant-based diets were previously predominant. There is an increased use and expansion of crop land in Australia to raise livestock feed for export since many Asian countries, such as China, is adopting a Western diet and can now afford to purchase more meat (McMichael et al, 2007).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to the statistic Australians are among the biggest meat eaters in the world, consuming an average of 111.5 kilograms per person, per year. This is about three times the recommended daily intake in the Australian Government's National Health and Medical Research Councils' Healthy Eating Guidelines.By comparison, the French ate 86.7 kg per person and the Chinese about 58.2 kg per person. The average meat consumption in India per person for the year, the lowest in the world, was only slightly more than what we consume in a fortnight at 4.4 kg.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many researchers have demonstrated that dietary habits of an individual are complex products of that individual’s social and cultural context. Dietary choices are influenced by a variety of factors including race, gender, ethnicity, age, income, social status and level of education. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">Several studies have also provided evidence of a link between meat and masculinity (Sobal 2005Ruby & Heine 2011).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">A widely held belief in Western society is that meat is more important for our health than foods of vegetable origin. However a reverse is closer to the truth. All factory-farmed beef, pork and poultry meat, even with the surface fat and skin removed, are still high in saturated fat. In turn, this is converted by our liver into cholesterol (Whitney et al 2011). A high fat and cholesterol diet is the prescription for heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, and certain type of cancers (Walker et al, 2005).Diets high in animal protein are also linked with osteoporosis, gout, and increased susceptibility to gall bladder and kidney diseases, among other illnesses.As for older people, it has been found that regular meat eaters are twice as likely as vegetarians to develop senile dementia.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The relatively low cost of food in Australia compared to other countries, coupled with increasingly sedentary lifestyle, is responsible for an alarming finding. Australian adults are now seriously overweight, and the average body weight is increasing. The proportion of adults (aged 18 years or over) classified as obese or overweight has increased from 56% in 1995 to 61% in 2007-08. For men, the increase was from 64% to 68% in 2007-08, while for women, the proportion rose from 49% to 55%. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">If current trends continue in Australia, it is estimated that by 2025, 83% of men and 75% of women aged 20 years or more will be overweight or obese.In 2008, the total annual cost of obesity in Australia, including health system costs, productivity declines and carers' costs, was estimated at around $58 billion (ABS 2010). This is more than most countries spend on food. Reflection The problems that our now dysfunctional industrial agriculture has created are complex, but the consumer public is not helpless. We can make change simply by making different purchasing decisions. If we do not start to change our dietary habits, the agricultural problems in both developed and less-developed countries will continue to multiply. We cannot expect governments to act on our behalf if we refuse to do anything for ourselves. Now is the time to act. So, [|should we eat meat?] When eaten in moderation as recommended by the guidelines, meat forms an integral part of a healthy diet and should be consumed. However, emphasis should be placed on the term ‘moderation.’

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I have always eaten animal flesh with a somewhat guilty conscience." Albert Einstein References <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Animals Australia (2013). What is factory farming?. Available from: []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Australian Bureau of Statistics, Measures of Australia's Progress, 2010.ABS Cat No. 1370.0. 2010, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available from:[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bernstein, A. M., Pan, A., Rexrode, K. M., Stampfer, M., Hu, F. B., Mozaffarian, D., & Willett, W. C. (2012). Dietary protein sources and the risk of stroke in men and women. Stroke; a Journal of Cerebral Circulation, 43(3), 637-644. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.633404

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cassuto, D. N. (2007). Bred meat: The cultural foundation of the factory farm. Law and Contemporary Problems, 70(1), 59-87. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ChartsBin statistics collector team 2013, Current Worldwide Annual Meat Consumption per capita, ChartsBin.com, viewed 19th September, 2013, <http://chartsbin.com/view/12730>. hartsbin.com/view/12730

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cross, A. J., Leitzmann, M. F., Gail, M. H., Hollenbeck, A. R., Schatzkin, A., & Sinha, R. (2007). A prospective study of red and processed meat intake in relation to cancer risk. PLoS Medicine, 4(12), e325. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040325

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dawkins, M. S. (2006). Through animal eyes: What behaviour tells us. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 100(1), 4-10. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.04.010

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Department of Health and Ageing (2013). The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Australian Government: Canberra, ACT. Retrieved from[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fox, M. W. (1997). Eating with conscience: The bioethics of food. Troutdale, OR: NewSage Press.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Henning, B. (2011). Standing in livestock's 'long shadow': The ethics of eating meat on a small planet. Ethics & the Environment, 16(2), 63-93. doi:10.2979/ethicsenviro.16.2.63

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kaluza, J., Wolk, A., & Larsson, S. C. (2012). Red meat consumption and risk of stroke: A meta-analysis of prospective studies. Stroke; a Journal of Cerebral Circulation, 43(10), 2556.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McLeod-Kilmurray, H. (2012). Commoditizing nonhuman animals and their consumers: Industrial livestock production, animal welfare, and ecological justice. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 32(1), 71-85. doi:10.1177/0270467612444585

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McMichael, A. J., Powles, J. W., Butler, C. D., & Uauy, R. (2007). Food, livestock production, energy, climate change, and health.Lancet, 370(9594), 1253-1263. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61256-2

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Micha, R., Wallace, S. K., & Mozaffarian, D. (2010). Red and processed meat consumption and risk of incident coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation, 121(21), 2271-2283. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.924977

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">New Zealand. Ministry of Health, Australia. Dept. of Health and Ageing, & National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia). (2006). Nutrient reference values for australia and new zealand: Including recommended dietary intakes. Canberra, A.C.T: National Health and Medical Research Council.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">O’Mara, F. P. (2011). The significance of livestock as a contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions today and in the near future. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 166, 7-15. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.074

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pan, A., Sun, Q., Bernstein, A. M., Schulze, M. B., Manson, J. E., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2011). Red meat consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: 3 cohorts of US adults and an updated meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,94(4), 1088. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.018978

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Ritzer, G. (2011). //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The McDonaldization of society 6 //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Los Angeles: Pine Forge <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Roberts, B. (2004). Animals in industry. The Reference Librarian, 41(86), 71-79. doi:10.1300/J120v41n86_07

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Ruby, M. B., & Heine, S. J. (2011). Meat, morals, and masculinity. //Appetite, 56//(2), 447-450. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.01.018

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sinha, R., Cross, AJ., Graubard, BI., Leitzmann, MF., Schatzkin, A. (2009).Meat intake and mortality: a prospective study of over half a million people. Arch Intern Med., 169(6):562–71. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.6

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Sobal, J. (2005). Men, meat, and marriage: Models of masculinity. //Food and Foodways, 13//(1-2), 135-158. doi:10.1080/07409710590915409

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Špinka, M. (2006). How important is natural behaviour in animal farming systems? Applied Animal Behaviour Science,100(1), 117-128. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.04.006

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Steinfeld, H., Gerber, P., Wassenaar, T., Castel, V., Rosales, M., & de Haan, C. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow [PDF version]. Retrieved from []

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Walker, P., Rhubart-Berg, P., McKenzie, S., Kelling, K., & Lawrence, R. S. (2005). Public health implications of meat production and consumption. Public Health Nutrition, 8(4), 348-356. doi:10.1079/PHN2005727

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whitney, E. N., Rolfes, S. R., Crowe, T., Cameron-Smith, D., Walsh, A. (2011). Understanding nutrition. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning.