Animal Welfare Speech
Opening: Today, I would like to discuss some of the global issues surrounding animal welfare, relayed from digital news sources. Across the world, animals are being subjected to mistreatment, abuse, and exploitation for human gain. It is a heart-wrenching topic, but it is one that needs attention in order to change. The majority of us have worn wool, leather, and fur and eaten meat. However, we don’t usually consider the impact of these actions on our bodies, the environment, and the animals involved. This would mean recognizing the activities that are being propagated across the world, and using this awareness to make ethical choices and to promote proper treatment.
Issue: Used for food First, I would like to muse on several of the facts about animals being used for food.
Facts:
• There are several reasons why people are cutting meat out of their lives. Because I am both an omnivore and an animal rights advocate, I have come to face the conflicting issue of my own eating habits. But here is what I have had to consider in order to gradually be eliminating my meat consumption. • CRUELTY: More than 16 billion animals who are killed for food every year in the U.S. have little legal protection from cruelty. They are neglected, mutilated, genetically manipulated, & put on drug regimens that cause chronic pain and crippling. They are transported through all weather extremes, and killed in gruesome and violent ways. For example, dairy farm workers cut off cow’s tails to make milking easier, burn off their horns, strike them with poles, and inject them with hormones that painfully inflame their udders. • If you wouldn’t eat a dog or cat, for example, why eat a pig or a cow? Dogs and pigs have the same capacity to feel pain, but there is prejudice based on species that allows us to think of one animal as a companion and the other as dinner. Most people don't know that pigs are very similar to “man's best friend”. Pigs are friendly, loyal, and very
Issue: Used for food First, I would like to muse on several of the facts about animals being used for food.
Facts:
• There are several reasons why people are cutting meat out of their lives. Because I am both an omnivore and an animal rights advocate, I have come to face the conflicting issue of my own eating habits. But here is what I have had to consider in order to gradually be eliminating my meat consumption. • CRUELTY: More than 16 billion animals who are killed for food every year in the U.S. have little legal protection from cruelty. They are neglected, mutilated, genetically manipulated, & put on drug regimens that cause chronic pain and crippling. They are transported through all weather extremes, and killed in gruesome and violent ways. For example, dairy farm workers cut off cow’s tails to make milking easier, burn off their horns, strike them with poles, and inject them with hormones that painfully inflame their udders. • If you wouldn’t eat a dog or cat, for example, why eat a pig or a cow? Dogs and pigs have the same capacity to feel pain, but there is prejudice based on species that allows us to think of one animal as a companion and the other as dinner. Most people don't know that pigs are very similar to “man's best friend”. Pigs are friendly, loyal, and very