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Buddhists against factory farming
Sabre
Veteran
Factory farming causes a lot of harm to both animals and the environment. It also is a breeding ground for diseases amongst animals, like mad cow disease and chicken flu. I think somehow Buddhists should have a voice against this crazy industry, not only on a personal level - but also more outspoken as a group. Compassion is central in our practice, we can't allow what's happening to animals. If you don't know, just google for factory farming. What do you think? Any ideas to spread this message? Any tips to do something actively aside of refraining from animal products produced by such farms? Do you think this is an issue for Buddhism at all or not?
Below is some more information for you:
With metta,
Sabre
Below is some more information for you:
The external environment is seriously polluted because the internal environment in the mind is seriously damaged. The bottomless greed has pushed mankind to satisfy excessive and unnecessary demands, and take them into endless competitions, leading to self-destruction and environmental damage. Contrasting to the unwholesome and greedy mind is the spirit of simple living and contentment by those who practise the Buddha's teaching.
Living in contentment does not mean the elimination of desire of knowledge and truth, but to live in harmony with all beings and with nature. On that basis, those who understand the Buddha's teaching will limit their selfishness, to live in harmony with nature, without harming the environment. They will see what should be explored and to what level, what should be protected for future use by the next generations and other beings. Excessive greed to possess everything for themselves, or for their own group, has make men becoming blind. They are prepared to fight, make war, causing deaths, disease, starvation, destruction of life of all species, gradually worsening the living environment. By all means, they try to maximise their profits, without being concerned of the negative impact of unplanned exploitation leading to depletion of natural resources, discharge toxics into the air, water, earth, leading to environmental pollution, destroying the ecological balance.
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I think it is still not too late for all religions, all strata of the society and all nations to come together, jointly participate in the protection of the environment for all living species, based on the harmonious model which Buddhism always advocates.
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebdha006.htm
"Of two people who practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning — one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others, and one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others — the one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason, to be praised.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.064.than.html
With metta,
Sabre
1
Comments
I'm not sure what anyone can do, short of just living by setting an example and talking about it when the opportunity presents itself. Pushing your opinion and lifestyle and beliefs on other people generally doesn't have a good outcome. The word has been out about factory farming on a large level ever since Food Inc. came out, and more people every day are realizing the harmful nature of it. But not everyone is ready for it, and not everyone can afford the alternatives. I saw a meme on FB yesterday that said something like "Live as to set a good example so that those who want to see can find you and those who want to hear can hear your message." and I tend to agree with that. I'm not saying not to do anything, just that being forceful with the issue is unlikely to have the desired result.
Remember, as strongly as you feel about one thing, someone else feels just as strongly in the other direction for reasons they find just as valid as the reasons you present for your beliefs. People don't generally take kindly to being told what they think is a bunch of hooey. Things are changing though, slowly, and what it's going to take is for people to continue talking with and writing to those who make the decisions. Not to persuade other people to change their mind, but to let those with the power to make decisions, know how you feel.
Also the demand is created, rather than inherent in people. Western people eat way more meat than before. It's also a cultural thing. Take for example America and Australia where people per capita eat at least 1,5 times as much meat compared to some rich western countries in Europe - where cultural differences between meat consumption are very clear when travelling among nations. But that's just meat. Of course the industry also creates eggs and dairy products, but I suspect the same trend is happening there.
So overpopulation really isn't the issue. Yes, it does contribute to the problem, but it isn't the issue itself. It's really greed that's the problem - and that's why I think Buddhism could contribute in a solution. With metta,
Sabre
And, if you go back far enough people lives mainly on meat, and the reality is that if everyone suddenly switched to eating only organic meat and veggies/fruit, we would not have enough space to farm to feed everyone. Also, what would happen to all those animals on those factory farms if they all went out of business? not that they live wonderful lives, but they would die horrifying deaths, abandoned in those huge farms when they suddenly went out of business. I think the answer lies more in people demanding better care for the animals they consume rather than eliminating the entire idea of a factory farm. The truth is there are already laws in place to protect these animals, and they are not enforced.
I choose to not consume animals. That helps.
For the individual such decisions are the way we can directly affect the whole in a positive way.
If the individual eats animals then they can make the change to all organic, free range meats. Tastes a hell of a lot better too.
It is more expensive but I found consuming animals to be a huge incovenience so it wasn't a big deal to me as I rarely purchased meats.
Overpopulation has nothing to do with this issue. There are much better ways to feed people than slaying animals.
We most definitely can feed every single being on the planet with organic real food.
That we cannot, I view as propaganda.
It would require something that we as a whole have not had the willingness to even discuss; cooperation. We would all have to work together.
The solutions are always so simple.
One individual cannot make everybody else change, one individual must change their life style so that it fits with how they would want to see everybody else living as well.
-Be the change you want to see in the world.
-Do unto others as you would have done unto you.
What exactly do you disagree on? What I stated were mainly facts that you can check. (I linked to some sources)
Of course we shouldn't force anyone, but at least perhaps in some ways we can raise awareness and be a good example - people can and will choose to follow it. And perhaps governments can be alerted to the issue. It'll be a gradual process, it's not like all farms will close within a year (sadly). So short term effects are not to be worried about. I think it's also a bit strange to say that if that would happen, that will lead to horrible death, if many of those animals are raised to be killed anyway... If we want better care of animals, we have to get beyond factory farming and go for organic food.
Meat is food on top of the food chain, so it is a very inefficient source of food. With all that is needed, it requires a lot more land in total. The thing is, iirc, 50% of all produced grains and 75% of soy is used to feed animals. All that land would be freed up to grow other stuff. I advise you to watch the documentaries I posted where such things are discussed.
edit, seems it is much higher percentages. But tbh I did not create this thread to discuss the problem - but rather what we can do about it, and is it an issue for Buddhists?
With kindness,
Sabre
These things will continue on until there is somehow a balance.
I agree the treatment of animals isn't always the best, but this doesn't happen at all farms.
Just as a note, mad cow disease is a bacterial brain infection caused by chopped forage that didn't ferment properly. So it really isn't a disease.
@OneLifeForm Have you ever sustained an organic garden just for yourself or your family? If you have, then you have an idea of how much space, and how much food is required to feed a single person. It's quite a bit more than you'd imagine. Generally speaking, for those who are seeking to be fully self sufficient and feed themselves for a whole year (fresh, frozen and canned) it takes 600 sq feet PER person to have enough space to do so. (that comes from any # of homesteading books and other things that I've read) We have a small garden, about 48 square feet, and we're lucky to be able to have a garden at all, considering so many people just live like sardines. Anyhow, our small garden provides a few summer snacks (fresh cucumbers for example) and maybe a couple weeks worth of side dishes for the winter with beans, carrots, peas, and potatoes. I can pickles and tomatoes. It wouldn't be enough for our 5 person family to live on for 2 weeks much less an entire year if it's all we had to live on. Because of our climate, our growing season is only 3 months long. Last frost in June, first frost (we had ours last night) in early to mid September. It's not propoganda. Much of the world's land is too poisoned to sustain organic farming, and the areas that are not the soil is depleted and the plants only grow because of all of the special seeds Monsanto sells to allow plants to grow in such conditions.
Anyhow, I agree that it's not really worth arguing because the world is never going to go 100% organic vegan. It's just not. The best point I can think is to work to improve conditions on existing farms and requiring to follow the USDA existing laws and punish farms appropriately for not following the laws.
As in the two groups I mentioned above, less than 10% of monies gathered helps animals, the 90%+ goes to the 'organization'.
It is an issue for Buddhists.
It is an issue for every being everywhere.
We all eat food, we should be mindful of what we are eating.
GMO's/factory farming is a huge negative impact on the planet.
It provides zero benefit.
They are not created because "That is just the way it is, our only option" it is because as was stated earlier; greed.
If you do the research you will find that organically grown produce and other natural methods of cultivation do not make fields uninhabitable by future crops.
It plants seeds for a healthy cycle to continue onward.
Organic farming makes the soil even better.
What can we do?
Buy quality food locally, support such business with your revenue.
Make every bite you eat a vote to have healthy food one day available for all.
Treat all beings with respect. Save a bug or an animal whenever you can.
I havent yet come across the button that one can press to eradicate all suffering everywhere so until then we must continue taking babysteps as individuals and connect with others as available in our locality.
A single drop affects the entire ocean.
Our choices do matter. That is what is important to realize.
This is happening all over America and I don't doubt that this issue is making growing organic even more difficult.
The key word is Cooperation.
If we all worked together it wouldn't be a big deal, we could all make it through just fine eating real food.
The places where it is too messed up to grow, people would get together to build greenhouses and other types of farming equipment to help out, if not that then people would work to bring food into those areas.
If we all worked together, we would never once doubt that it is possible for everbody to live a satisfying life.
But also I don't often if ever hear about this in Buddhist circles.
A bit off topic, but important for people to not be misinformed.
As for the OP, factory farming is completely atrocious behavior. It is literally an animal holocaust, everyday...People who are engaged in the practice of factory farming will be reborn in hell realms because of it.
Howard Lyman is great! He comes here to speak at the local Earthsave International group sometimes. I had him come speak at my college once. He quite a nice guy! And he pretty much knows everything there is to know about animal agriculture with regards to cows.
A recent report just came out about this. Findings by leading water scientists at the Stockholm International Water Institute conclude that unless the world's population adopts a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years, we may face a global food shortage crisis nothing short of a catastrophe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/aug/26/food-shortages-world-vegetarianism
The article I read at the time that spoke of such was speaking mainly about India at the time and how thousands upon thousands of Indian farmers were killing themselves over the situations they found themselves in.
Is that the wrong way to go about it; suicide?
I have no clue what I would have done in their shoes. I have been quite fortunate so far in this lifetime as to not have to deal with that kind of ordeal.
If you are referring to what I think you are, then its probably more the latter for me. :eek:
Been that way for a long time now.
As @tmottes said, most people are uneducated about all of that jazz.
It is extremely disturbing no doubt.
What can we do?
I signed an online petition to make labelling of GMOs in California a law.
I'm sure if you google that petition then you can sign it if it hasn't already gone through.
Just because the entire EU has GMOs labelled doesn't mean they don't still have them there too.
They are still there, though now that the FrankenPhood is labelled for what it is not many people eat it.
I think it was in Food Inc. (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that they talk about Monsanto taking all of the different strains of soybeans on record and patenting them. Why did they let them do this? Nobody ever thought when that paperwork tried to go through, "Hey, this could really have some bad monopolizing ramifications somewhere down the line..." Really!?
The crap food costs money, big corporations dominate what is available to eat, they profit from crap food sales.
Crap food creates diseases/disorders, those in turn give profit to medical establishment.
Big pharma profits big time by producing all different kinds of "medications" and markets them to humans of all ages.
Those medications/crap foods are marketed big time through mass media.. Media profits through sales of ad space.
Media controls output of most information.
People watch TV.. see ads, buy crap food, other useless products, get prescribed pills..
so on and so forth.
They even have "phood" now or at least they were working on producing such revolting garbage.. ie: a goat thats milk vaccinates people.
All the negative cycles are inextricably attached, they are not separate and all work hand in hand to keep the money hand in hand.
It certainly isn't my hand that the money is coming into. Probably isn't yours either.
The rich get richer while the poor become more and more diseased in every way.
People talked about overpopulation briefly in this thread.. if you can understand what is typed in this post then you can see "population control" is already in effect.
Did you know that for people who eat GMOs, that they are not the ones most negatively impacted, it is the third generation from the GMO eater.
The third generation will be sterile, they won't be able to produce offspring. There are already 3rd generations out there in which their family has been continuously consuming genetically engineered foods.
So the ignoramus, they think, "Well hell, it isn't going to hurt me all that bad, why should I care?"
GMOs negatively affect anybody that consumes them so it isn't like the effects wait for the third generation. There is an overwhelming list of dangers associated with the consumption of such trash for this life right now, forget about any future lives, this one right now.
Some people clearly don't think so but losing control of our food is pretty much like having no control over anything.
They have us right where they want us.. almost.
What really bothers me about the markets here, just about everything is imported from the mainland or from South America and it is very expensive. Imagine living in the land of pineapples and you have to purchase one from Mexico. Most of the produce actually grown here is sold to the resorts and the resturants.
Even the fish which is caught locally is very expensive. If I were a meat eater it would be much more economical to buy a rod and tackle.
I see that many points are being brought up about growing food organically. That is great, but organic has nothing to do with GMO's.
Organic just means that there are not the same pesticides and herbicides used in the production. And that is changing day by day, as there are more products being allowed to be used in 'organic' production.
As to GMO's, unless the seeds planted are open pollenated or heirloom, they're a GMO.
There are a few seed companies left that sell these, but not very many.
It's kind of interesting that even people seeking to not buy GMO products, aren't sure what they are. I've overheard people at the garden center talking about "I hope these aren't GMO seeds. Wow, nice, they are drought resistant!" and they don't even realize that to be drought resistant they have to be GMO seeds. I just find it interesting that they want to avoid something that they aren't sure what is.
Now they have groups like "The Non-GMO Project" that put seals on various food stuffs to let the consumer know that it has been through even more testing.
The bold highlights the key word here.