P.O. Box 6773 Denver, Colorado 80206 Phone: 303-719-8264
Learning your ABCs
The ABCs of vegetarianism
A is for appetite. The U.S. appetite for meat causes the deaths of more than 10 billion farmed animals and 17 billion aquatic animals each year. U.S. farmed animals have virtually no protection under the law and suffer in factory farm conditions.
B is for broiler chickens, who are bred so unnaturally large that their legs often collapse beneath their grossly overweight bodies.
C is for Colorado, where 15,000 beef producing ranches raise and kill more than one million cows each year.
D is for dairy, which is intended for baby cows, not humans. Often contaminated with cow’s blood and pus, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics, dairy products also are heavily linked to human ailments including allergies, constipation, obesity, heart disease and cancer.
E is for eggs laid by hens crammed into tiny, dirty cages on today’s factory farms. When
hens can no longer “produce,” they are shipped to the slaughterhouse. F is for the free range myth. Animals on “free range” farms in general suffer intensive confinement similar to those in cages and inevitably die with a cruel slaughter.
G is for gregarious—and friendly!— which describes many farmed animals.
H is for the health of our children, for whom the American Dietetic Association says a meat- and dairy-free diet is appropriate. This publication lists numerous resources to help parents plan optimal vegetarian nutrition for their families.
I is for intensive confinement—a lifetime without exercise or fresh air. Millions of pigs, for instance, live in dirty, feces-enc
rusted, unventilated barns, crowded into pens so small that they can barely move.J is for the Journal of Animal Science, an agriculture industry publication that s
tates that 36 percent of beef cows and 39 percent of dairy cows show signs of lameness and crippling by the time they arrive at slaughter. Those who can no longer walk (“downers”) are often dragged to slaughter.K is for killing stick, which some workers use to bludgeon turkeys and chickens to death.
L is for livestock trucks, which transport animals to their grisly deaths at slaughterhouses. These trucks provide no protection for animals, exposing them to all weather
conditions, including extreme cold and heat. Thousands die on these trucks each year from exposure, suffocation, injuries and stress.M is for mutilation. Industry-standard mutilations include debeaking hens, castrating pigs and dehorning cows—all without anesthesia or painkillers. All are intended to keep as many animals in as small a space as
possible for the highest possible profit.
N is for natural behavior, which animals confined to tiny cages, stalls,
pens and corrals are never allowed to exhibit. Factory-farmed animals live never knowing what it feels like to breathe fresh air or run across a field of grass.O is for Old MacDonald’s Farm, or the myth of the old family farm, an idyllic setting with a red barn, a white fence, and grassy fields where animals romp and play. The vast majority of farmed animals live in factories where there is no sunshine, no freedom and no fresh air.
P is for pathogen. E. coli thrives in factory farms. In 2002, ConAgra was forced to recall 19 million pounds of beef after an outbreak of E. coli at a Greeley, Colorado, slaughterhouse.Q is for quantity. The idea behind factory farming is to send as many animals to slaughter and produce as many animal products in the shortest possible time. Concerns for corporate profits trump concerns for animals’ well being.
R is for the rights of animals to not be exploited in the name of food, clothing, entertainment and experimentation.
S is for strength. Just ask Kenneth Williams, professional
bodybuilder, spokesperson, trainer and pure vegetarian.T is for threatened. Hundreds of wildlife species are threatened or
endangered by ranching.U is for the unsanitary conditions in which most farmed animals live. Chickens, for example, often die of respiratory failure from breathing ammonia fumes caused by living in their own urine and excrement.
V is for variety. A variety of food is available to ve
getarians. The only things missing are cruelty and suffering!W is for waste. A staggering amount of animal waste is produced by U.S. factory farms—2.7 trillion pounds per year—which leaks into rivers, fouls the air, contaminates drinking water and spreads disease.
X is for Xerox®. Copy and share these pages!
Y is for Yes! Yes, you can make a difference. By going vegetarian, you save 100 lives a year.
Z is fo
r zero—the number of animals a person needs to eat to be happy and healthy.