Questioning+The+Meatrix

Natasha McGregor n1309650 Tutor: Judith Meiklejohn

**Questioning The Meatrix! ** media type="custom" key="24184164" align="center" width="390" height="156"



** What is the Artefact? **
The Meatrix (Free Range Studios, 2003) is a satire of the science-fiction movie, The Matrix (1999), but uses the idea of 'facing-the-truth' to describe the factory farm methods that are currently in operation. The animation introduces Leo, a pig who learns the truth about the farm on which he lives from a clandestine cow called Moopheus. By taking the “red pill”, Leo finally sees the reality of industrialised farming. Moopheus explains to him how the factory farms came about and the consequences of these methods including animal cruelty, antibiotic resistant bacteria, pollution and destroyed communities.


 * What are the PUBLIC HEALTH issues? **

====By taking a comprehensive look at factory farming around the world it has become clear that in the beginning there were benefits to intensifying the meat industry. For example, the ability to feed significantly more people nutritious foods resulted in lower mortality rates. For these reasons, the developing countries are implementing these systems following their success in wealthier countries. However, the negative impacts of these systems are now far outweighing the benefits, and the burden is seen in the **welfare of food animals**, in **human health** and in **the environment**. Since the world’s population is increasing, the need to address these issues becomes more relevant. This report is aimed at giving an overview of these three areas as they pertain to factory farming, and how the social construction of meat eating prevents people from seeing the problem. ====

__ How did we get here? __
====Livestock production has changed enormously. Before World War II (WWII) the majority of farming was carried out in agrarian communities where domestication of animals saw the use of draft animals for demanding field work and their manure for fertilisation (McMichael, 2007, p. 1255). In developed countries post WWII, the increase and eventual exclusive use of mechanical prime movers on farm lands combined with the availability of nitrogen based fertilisers led to the expansion of land to grow crops to feed animals (Smil, 2013 p 73). In response to the growth of the human population and changes in politics, environment and technology, the ability to feed the demands of the population meant the transition from extensive, mixed farming to intensive, landless, farming. Within the industry, they are referred to as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) (Henning, 2011, p 65). Colloquially, they are referred to as Factory Farms.====

__What exactly is a factory farm?__
====Factory farming produces three main types of animal food: meat, dairy and eggs (Hribar, 2010, p. 1). They are large scale farming methods designed to confine animals in small spaces which are then fed purposefully grown crops to maximise body growth, or milk and egg production, in a short amount of time. Improvements in breeding, formulated feed and pharmaceuticals have enabled efficiency and production to increase. For example, it now takes only 7 weeks to grow a chicken to slaughter weight, as opposed to 16 weeks in 1920 (Hribar, 2010, p. 1). The CAFOs can be divided into two categories, the landless monogastric enterprises (pigs and chickens), and landless ruminant enterprises (cattle, sheep, goats) (Robinson, 2011, p. 7). The monogastric animals, are well suited to intensive farming due to their short reproductive cycle and greater efficiency for converting cereal to animal protein (FAO, 2012, p.3), with factory farmed pigs supplying 50% of the world’s pork, and chickens supplying 70% (Robinson, 2011, p.43). Cattle are mostly pasture fed (depending on geographical location) until a certain age when they are then sent to feedlots to fatten up on grain until they reach market weight (ALFA, 2013). Worldwide more than 56 billion animals are slaughtered each year (Halweil, 2008, p. 2).====

__What about Animal Welfare?__
====Despite the recommendations in livestock production that the “five freedoms of animals” be observed (MLA, 2013), in reality the opposite is true. Cattle are squeezed into feedlots and commonly stand in their own waste. Chickens only have space less than the size of an A4 piece of paper and breeding sows cannot even turn around (Henning, 2011, p. 66). Consequences of the small space allowed to the factory farmed animals include the need for systematic mutilation. For chickens, this involves de-beaking in order to minimise dominate and cannibalistic behaviour. Sheep have tails docked, cattle are dehorned (Panaman, 2008). Deliberate restriction of feed is also reported in some intensive systems (FAO, 2012). Routine administration of antibiotics is given to prevent the spread of disease. As a result, it is increasingly being recognised as the basis of anti-biotic resistant bacterial infections in both humans and animals (Henning, 2011, p.67). Infections throughout the animal production line, including slaughter and packing, can result in the transfer of infectious diseases and zoonotic infections (McMichael, 2007, p. 1261).====

** “food safety is linked to the health of the animals that produce the meat, dairy and egg products that we eat” ** (World Hunger, 2008).

__How much meat is enough?__
====Animal products are the major source of protein in the diet, on average, constituting one-third of total protein and nearly 20% of total kilojoules (Henning, 2011, p. 65). Meat is considered a complete protein which also supplies fats, Vitamin B12, Vitamin A and minerals like Zinc, Selenium and Iron which have high bioavailability (Biesalski, 2005, p. 510). It is considered essential in the diet of children and pregnant and lactating women for proper growth and development, and the Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating recommend only 65g/day of lean red meat (Dept Health & Ageing, 2013). However, with increasing meat production, an increase in processed energy-dense foods containing meat from CAFOs has led to overconsumption and therefore overweight and obesity (McMichael, 2007, p. 1256). It is not surprising then, that excessive meat eating is linked to cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer (McAfee, 2010, p. 1). However, due to methodological inconsistences, meat consumption at low to moderate levels in an unprocessed state has not been linked to these disease states (Smil, 2013, p. 5).====

__How nutritious is meat from CAFOs?__
====Interestingly, studies have found that grass-fed beef contained moreVitamin E and C, beta carotene, and omega-3 fatty acids compared to beef raised in CAFOs (Daley, 2010, p. 1). Omega-3 fatty acids have a role in preventing inflammation, atherosclerosis and cancer, while Vitamin E and C are antioxidants that prevent free-radical damage (Daley, 2010). Therefore, it is likely that the stress of transport, the susceptibility to disease and diet of grain in CAFOs may lead to the poorer availability of nutrients in their meat (Thomas, 2011, p. 49).====

__What are the environmental impacts of factory farming?__
====The intensity of factory farms have created an environmental imbalance. Where once the number of animals and their waste were able to feed back into the agricultural cycle, now the ability of the land to feed and absorb their waste is not manageable (Pew, 2008, p. 23). The meat industry including it’s transport and related agriculture accounts for a fifth of the world’s green-house gas emissions (McMichael, 2007, p. 1253). The red meat industry through the release of methane and nitrous oxide contribute more to the global warming effect than carbon dioxide. Continuing climate change will put our food security at risk (McMichael, 2007, p. 1257). It is predicted that by 2050 the world’s population will be 9 billion with meat demand __double__ what it is now (Pluhar, 2010, p 456). However, it is postulated that that by reducing our meat consumption from current worldwide average of 100g per day to 90g per day, with no more than 50g coming from ruminant livestock, then the burden of emissions would be reduced (McMichael, 2007, p. 1254). To put this into perspective, Australia currently consumes 300g/capita/day (FAO, 2012b). This would entail the developed countries making significant reductions in intake and the developing countries would need to restrict growth of the industry.====

__What’s that smell?__
====The poor management of excess manure poses a great threat to rural communities (Gurian-Sherman, 2008). Since most manure from CAFOs are spread directly onto land, harmful chemicals and pathogens immediately affect the soil, water and air (Pew, 2008, p. 11). Biodiversity in the local areas are threatened or already ruined by the nutrient and chemical overload (Pew, 2008, p. 23). For example, drinking water has been affected by ground water contamination due to seepage into aquifers (Pew, 2008, p. 11). People residing nearby CAFOs and workers experience increased risk of asthma, headaches, nausea, upset stomach, mood disorders, and sleep problems, which are all linked to chronic exposure to odours resulting from animal production (Fry, 2013, p. 1).====

__How much land do we need to feed the animals?__
====Finally, cattle are poor converters of protein which means they must consume a large amount of grain to convert to meat. For example, to produce 1kg of meat, a cow must consume 13kg of edible grain (Henning, 2011, p. 68). As such, 33% of arable land is dedicated to growing monocultures (FAO, 2011) to feed these animals which in turn results in land degradation, decreased biodiversity and further agrochemical impacts on the environment (Smil, 2013, p. 146; Frumkin, 2008, p. 406).====

** “In the end, the more animal products one consumes, the more destructive one’s diet is to the environment.” ** (Henning, 2011, p 85).

__ Why is factory farming invisible ?__
====The belief that our meat products come from the idealistic “mixed farm” setting where all the animals are treated well, humanely slaughtered and that biodiversity still exists. It is also the justification that eating meat and by way of association, meat production, is normal, natural and necessary (3N’s) (Joy, 2013). Melanie Joy explains that to view eating meat as “normal” is the belief and behaviour of the dominant culture. “Eating meat is natural” is the accepted view that throughout history meat has always been eaten, and then there are “necessary” steps taken in order to maintain the dominant culture. Where humans are the dominant species, then, the “3Ns” allows us to continue our cultural practices without questioning the reasons behind it. This in turn allows exploitation of the animals, the environment and by way of excessive consumption, human health (McDougal, 2013). Joy’s theory could also be explained by social constructionism. A theory developed by Burger and Luckmann (1966) whereby the interaction of humans through communication and behaviour leads to a belief that becomes embedded into social reality. The beliefs about meat eating, in this instance, is accepted and then institutionalised. It is then no longer questioned and therefore becomes invisible.====

====In order to maintain the invisibility of meat production, the factory farms are kept out of site and animals are locked in sheds with no windows. Peter Singer (1990) recognised that animals are no longer being //raised//, they are being //produced//, and therefore not recognised as animals. Industry continues to keep the association between animals and meat blurred up to the point of packaging. Meat products don’t use the name of the animal but rather use other names like pork, beef or tenderloins. By doing so, there is separation between the animal (that we could love) and the meat (that we eat). By purchasing meat pre-packed in cuts of meat at the supermarket allows consumers to avoid the responsibility of killing the animal as there is no resemblance of it ever being an animal (Grauerhaoulz, 2007, p348).====

__Is factory farming rational?__
**“Meat’s essential value, not just as any old food, but as the food above all others,** **derives directly from its capacity to represent to us most tangibly our power over the rest of the natural world”** (Fiddes, 1994)

====As a society, power is demonstrated through the rationalisation of meat production and meat consumption. As the dominate species we control the use of animals for meat, making it efficient, cost effective and predictable. A process termed, McDonaldisation (Ritzer, 2012). That is to systematically put in place a process by which streamlining and simplifying practices will ensure maximum output for the least amount of cost (Ritzer, 2012). However, the risk of having rational systems eventually produces irrational consequences (Ritzer, 2012). The irrational consequences for the meat industry and in particular the CAFOs are precisely the issues presented in this report: poor animal welfare, disruption to our environment and poor human health.====

__Who is affected?__
====At a direct level, the communities surrounding the CAFOs and the factory workers are affected, but globally, we all are. Despite the abundance of meat produced through factory farms, the distribution of food throughout the world remains unbalanced (McMichael, 2007, p. 1256). As developing countries gain in wealth and knowledge, the desire for meat products to enhance the health of the population will increase (Gill, 2010, p. 323). The challenge will be to address the current systems in place by reducing their effects, and simultaneously minimise the health and environmental damage that is likely to occur in the growing countries. Strong social demand for sustainable farming practices is directing the change within wealthy countries (Lebacq, 2012, p. 311). Particularly as animal welfare advocacy groups, like Voiceless (2013), reach out to the general population through television ads, and l ocal governments provide free community events to promote sustainable living and educate on environmental issues. For example, Brisbane City Council's Green Heart Fair (2013). ====

__Are there any solutions or alternatives?__
====Strategies for alleviating the continued environmental and health impacts of factory farming are being discussed with examples at all levels of public health being addressed – upstream, midstream and downstream. Some examples include, government incentives for mitigating technologies (McMichael, 2007, p. 1254), converting methane to energy (Pew, 2008, p.53), elimination of agricultural subsidies (Henning, 2008, p. 75), development of nitrification inhibitors (Gill, 2010, p. 330), moving CAFOs away from population centres (Henning, 2007, p. 76), establishing new agrarian farming (Henning, 2008, p. 78) and eating less meat, in particular red meat (McMichael, 2007, p. 1254) or eating none at all.====

====The short animation presented above gives the viewer an insight into the problems associated with factory farming, where the invisibility of factory farming is given a name - "The Meatrix". Analysing it further, we can see that the blue pill Moopheus is offering to Leo is actually our social construction of meat eating. That is, the dominant ideology and one that is not questioned. The red pill, however, is our awareness, or witnessing of the actions which then allows us to deconstruct our beliefs. In doing so, it gives us the power back to make choices where before we had none. This video was not about whether we should we be eating meat at all, it was about being aware of industrial meat production and the negative consequences that are involved. We //do// have the choice to purchase meat, dairy and eggs from more ethical and environmentally friendly sources.====

** Finally, learning reflections... **
====Throughout the research of this topic, I have become more aware of my decision making processes and became clear about the morals I hold, and most importantly, why. Part of the learning involved a clearer understanding of exactly how detrimental eating meat is – especially on the environment. Consequently, I make greater effort to source only free-range meats and buy milk from local dairy farms. I have also learned that my behaviour and what I communicate to others is vital in creating a new social reality. One where there is respect for the environment, one where there is respect for the animals that we consume, and one where there is respect for human health.====

Be aware. Make choices. Take the red pill. Disclaimer: Please note the red pill is metaphorical only! No need to swallow any red pill you find to get the idea. :)

Now for your viewing pleasure, Part II and Part II 1/2 of The Meatrix.....

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 * Reference List**

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 * Reflection Task: **

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