The #AnimalWellness Podcast: How Big Of A Tent Can We Build As We Rally To End Factory Farming?

WASHINGTON, DC, USA, May 21, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- At a time when the nation’s network of factory farming and mechanized slaughter plants is breaking down – disassembling overweight and crippled animals at an indescribably fast pace, killing and throwing away millions more on the farm because of a mass production system on auto-pilot, and the slaughterhouse workers heading for the respirators – can vegans and farmers who are paying attention to the lives of animals unite to rid the nation of these diabolical systems?

It’s an uneasy union, but an essential one. Vegans and vegetarians remind us of the importance of conscious choices about animals and health, and their lives are plain evidence that we don’t need meat to thrive. Conscious farmers and meat eaters — noting that meat-eating has been part of the human experience since pre-history, and unlikely to fade away — say there’s a better way. They can reduce, they say, 95 percent of the suffering that animals endure on factory farms.

Indeed, even with the newfound awareness of the horrors of factory farming, perhaps only five percent of Americans are vegans or vegetarians. But there are now tens of millions of others who are considering the idea of consuming less meat and sourcing more consciously. They are obtaining meat, milk, and eggs from sources that do not cause unending misery and torment for the animals, that don’t despoil the environment as much, and don’t treat workers like they are a different kind of chattel. Isn’t it so much better that these consumers shun eating meat from factory farms and opt for meat that comes from animals raised in less intensive systems? That act reduces suffering in an immense way and it strengthens the community of farmers who may themselves be the most powerful force of all against factory farming.

Today, we talk with Will Harris, a fifth-generation farmer, who was years ago steeped in the industrial-farming strategies but turned away from them to make animal welfare the centerpiece of his business. He’s running a business, but he’s also proving the worthiness of a different model of animal production. In south Georgia, with the accent to prove it, Will runs White Oak Pastures in the small town of Bluffton, where his business is the largest employer. No cages, crates, or confinement sheds. Only pastures and forests. No transport to slaughter — only slaughter on the farm.

On today’s podcast, he reminds us that farmers are among the most powerful voices against a system of production that does so much harm in so many ways. Click here to listen to the episode with Will Harris.

The Animal Wellness podcast is a regular segment that not only delivers timely information but offers insights and analysis you won’t hear anywhere else. We’ll offer in-depth discussions of local, state, or federal policy and elections, and the effects of laws and regulations on corporations. We hope you’ll listen today, and also check out earlier episodes by clicking here.

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Wayne Pacelle is the founder of Animal Wellness Action, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, and former president of the Humane Society of the U.S. Pacelle is a two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Bond, and Humane Economy.

Marty Irby is the executive director at Animal Wellness Action. Irby worked in the United States House of Representatives for Congressman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) serving as Communications Director and Animal Protection and Agriculture Policy Advisor. He is a former president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association.

Joseph Grove is a freelance writer and six-time recipient of awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. His background also includes hosting a radio show called Jargon on WQMF FM in Louisville, Ky., and podcasts for Bisig Impact Group and Southern Gaming and Destinations.

Marty Irby
ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION
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