Meet, Meat Industry Essay

Do you really know what is in your meat? What about what happens to the meat after it is slaughtered? Fortunately, the conditions have gotten much better throughout the years. But many years ago, in the early 1900s meat consumers bought spoiled and rat infested hams that were produced by the meat industries. Nowadays, the meat industry has improved to a certain extent. Today, about 80% of all U.S. feedlots are injected with hormones (Lerner). Americans should know what they are eating. This is important in the meat industry because they are the producers of all the meat that we eat. The meat industry has improved and is much better than the 1900s, but still not at as ideal as everyone thinks it really is.

The meat industry today is not what it was nearly a century ago. While improvements are thought to have been made, an ever changing society has brought upon new problems that have been piled on to the previously existing ones. While these problems are not like those found in The Jungle, they do parallel how by exposing what is going on in the meat industry; new regulations would be the answer to the noted problems. The increased demand for meat has made it a rushed mutated production instead of a means to raise livestock for consumers. Taking into consideration the demand for cheap meat that will be used for in quick and high demanded products such as frozen and fast food, this demand of meat has greatly skyrocketed. Animals whose sole

In spite of increasing data which points towards the unsustainability of our meat industry, a report called the “Factory Farm Nation,” published by the Food and Water Watch, indicates that the U.S. meat industry has continued to grow over the last decade.

Meat is one of the most basic building blocks of human life. We have relied on meat in one way or another virtually since the dawn of time. Humans as a whole have become almost dependent on the constant and readily available supply of meat, in some way or another. Yet, what our over consumption of animal meat has done to the meat market is unacceptable, to say the least. Industrialized meat has left such a stain on the environment, human health, and the overall well-being of the animals we consume. In the article, “Tenderloin’s a Steal, But At What Moral Price?” by John Kessler, the question of whether or not to buy the industrially raised tenderloin or spend a few extra bucks on the sustainably raised tenderloin comes up. To lessen the

Walking through your local grocery store, such as Kroger’s, you will see the isle filled of poultry, with variation from chicken, beef, veal, and steak. People often question the high cost of the meats and their quality, but do they ever question where their meat is coming from or how it was processed? I would assume the answer is no. In the New York Times article “U.S. Research Lab Lets Livestock Suffer in Quest for Profit” we are introduced to the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) and exposed to their inhumane experiments being used on our livestock’s, which in turn is the meat we buy in our stores. Although some experts such as Robert R. Oltjen, the center’s director, argue that humans are superior to

foodborne illness and large recalls of contaminated meat. For example in 2002, ConAgra was forced to recall 19 million pounds of beef that had been produced at its Colorado processing facility after their meat had become contaminated with E. coli. The result was “35 individuals were sickened and one individual died.” By the time the meat had been recalled about 80% of it had already been consumed.

Close your eyes and step into the world of an individual. You are born into a world where nights and days are never constant (attention getter). You are fed three to five times a day, but no one is there to nurture you. Not even the numerous others crammed into your living space. You grow frantic, scared, and sickly. Now open your eyes, to reality. What I have just described is one of America’s worst ghettos. You know this individual who is trapped in this environment. He is your breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the meat you eat . Today’s farms not only abuse their animals they also produce harmful diseases and environmental hazards that affect each and every one of us, regardless of whether you consume animal products or not. The U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise animals in their natural environments (preview of points and statement of purpose).

When most people think about a juicy, flavor filled hamburger – the warm buns, melted cheese; ice cold lettuce and tomato; sweet pickle; and the perfect, equal amounts of both ketchup and mustard – they are likely reminded of grilling outside at a BBQ or grabbing a bite to eat at famous burger shops like Fuddruckers or Five Guys. However, the idea of the “All American Hamburger” has been changed in the eyes of some scientists and those who prefer not to eat meat. Researchers and developers have come up with a way to grow lab-cultured meat by vitro methods. This method of producing meat has raised concerns and has been a growing topic of discussion based of the unnaturalness and potential health risks

Dutch researchers have been searching for a healthier, more environment friendly alternative for meat. For years, replicas have been in the process of being made- but now with current technology it's becoming easier than ever. A vegetable "steak" has undergone many tests to see how similiar we can make real meat and vegetable meat. The fibers are mimicted by soy proteins to give the "meat" the right texture. The taste is the hardest part to replicate because of the unique cells that are present in cows. On the other hand, in-vitro meat will begin to become regulated and eventually may become a commercial product.

Stem cell meat is also opening doors for vegetarians and giving hope to animal right activists. Animal right activist group PETA started this scientific wave of ideas of creating meat when in 2008, they announced a prize of US$1 million to anyone who could create a stem-cell version of chicken meat. 70 billion farm animals are only brought up to be slaughtered for our consumption each year, and they receive horrible treatment for their whole lifetime, from infections, limbs being cut off while conious, being only feed hormones and antibiotics that prevent disease and maximise their growth and food production. If stem cell meat gains popularity these factory farms will close down, and the animal right activists will have accomplished their

A current advancement in food science is the development of certified cultured beef. Certified cultured beef is consumable beef that is biologically cultured in a laboratory. To create this beef, there are two methods used: scaffolding and self-organizing, also known as the in-vitro method. Both the scaffolding and the in-vitro methods use tools to extract parts of an animal’s skeletal muscle to build the meat; however, the muscle parts grow differently and the developed meats vary in size.

The cattle industry produces vast amounts of strain in the environment. It is energy inefficient, pollutes water, occupies many acres of land, and deteriorates the health of the people who abuse its consumption. The government subsidizes this industry. Therefore, the price paid for meat doesn’t reflect the environmental hazards involved in the process. In order to protect our health and the health of the environment we should pay close attention to our food choices and make sure we don’t support industries that degrade it.

A short timeline of growing meat in vitro will be described further. In 1931 by Winston Churchill “We shall escape the absurdity of growing the whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium. One of the first years when it is all started, further lab based meat was mentioned in 1952 in the novel written by Frederick Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth, in 1971 publication by Russell Ross, in 1996 Tissue Culture and Art project, when Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr set up a lab in a gallery and create the first tissue cultured “steak” using frog cells, in 1997 Growing fish and meat for NASA, 1998 Patent: “Method for producing tissue engineered meat for consumption”, in 1999 Patent: “Industrial scale production of meat from in vitro cell cultures”, in 2004 New harvest is founded as a charity, in 2005 the Dutch in vitro meat project begins, in 2007 the in vitro meat consortium is established, in 2008 PETA announces $1 million price for the first in vitro meat chicken nugget, in 2008 the first international in vitro meat symposium, in 2011 Mark

Meat has been in our diet since the start of mankind. We eat meat everyday mindlessly. It is hard to avoid meat since it is everywhere we go. Meat is the majority of today’s food. There are very few vegetarian or vegan options in the food industry. Although, it has been growing more and more popular since it has become a lifestyle. The reason is to be the horrifying truth of today’s meat industry. For those who cannot bear the truth, pick up the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

In vitro meat is an animal-flesh product that does not bring harm to a developed, living animal in order for it to be produced. Every year, 10 billion animals are killed (this number is increasing) in the US, just to serve humans needs. Implementing In Vitro meat into people’s lives will allow people to eat healthier, save lives, and will reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. In theory, a single cell of an animal can be enough to feed the whole population of the world with meat. Earth’s population is predicted to rise to approximately 9 billion, thus finding a sustainable system to today’s meat production is critical.