- "A typical pig factory farm will produce 7.2 million pounds of manure annually, a typical broiler (the chickens people eat) facility will produce 6.6 million pounds, and a typical cattle feedlot 344 million pounds."
- One major company (Smithfield) "kills more individual hogs than the combined populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Columbus, Austin, Fort Worth, and Memphis-- some 31 million animals."
- It is cheaper for large animal production companies to pay fines for pollution than to change the way the factory farming system works, even though it is wreaking havoc on the environment.
- Pregnant pigs (sows) are kept in "gestation crates" that are so small that they cannot turn around. They can barely move, no bedding is provided, food is reduced to prevent too much weight gain, and they must "lie or step in their own waste to force it through the slatted floor." Contrary to popular belief, pigs are very intelligent (more so than most dogs) and such conditions can cause psychological issues. In the wild (or on a non-factory farm) pregnant pigs will spend a lot of time foraging for material to build a nest for her approaching litter of piglets. Just because they are in large hog operations does not mean they don't have these instinctual urges and the denial of this leads to much suffering.
There are far worse things that occur in "hog operations" and processing plants that I can't even relate on this blog. (Seriously, read the book!). But in my opinion, nothing good can come from food that is produced in such damaging and cruel ways.
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