Devantae Mcgrone

3/9/2015
Bell
English/AP Human Geography

The Dirty Six

In just one hour in the United States, more than one million land animals are killed for
food. Before their slaughter, most of these farm animalsnearly 10 billion each yearendure
lives of abuse with virtually no legal protection at all Considering this staggering figure, the
mistreatment of farm animals is among the gravest animal welfare problems in the nation.
Instead of being recognized as the social, intelligent individuals they are, chickens, pigs, cows,
turkeys, and other animals are treated as mere meat-, egg-, and milk-production units and
denied expression of many natural behaviors. And six standard agribusiness practices are the
most egregious of all (humanesociety.org).

The Dirty Six is an agribusiness practice that is very harmful but is very popular in the
United states that is done to domesticated animals. These animals endure lots of pain there whole
life and then are slaughtered. There are many type of abuse from force feeding to animals put in
cages as small as a sheet of paper. So many of these animals are mistreated and all end up being
killed to be sold, at least they can have a decent life before their time. The Dirty Six need to be
outlawed in the United States and the animals should receive better care before they are killed.

The first of The Dirty Six is fast growth of birds.About nine billion birds are slaughtered
every year. According to studies done by the University of Arkansas, if humans grew as fast as

todays chickens, wed weigh 349 pounds by our second birthday (turningclockback.com). The
fast growth of these birds cause by selective breeding. Selective breeding causes structural
deformities like detachable legs and chronic pains.

Another practice of The Dirty Six is battery cages. Battery cages are wire enclosures
stacked several tiers high, extending down long rows inside windowless warehouses. The cages
offer less space per hen than the area of a single sheet of paper(humanesociety.com). These
birds cannot move around freely and do any natural habits. Many U.S. egg producers overcrowd
chickens in this cruel way. To continue the topic of birds cruelty, another practice is the force
feeding for Foie Gras. Foie gras means fatty liver in french and its a delicacy around the world.
They come from ducks or geese. The ducks and geese are force fed to enlarge the livers. They
get pipes shoved down their throats two to three times a day (humanesociety). According to the
Humane Society This deliberate overfeeding causes the birds livers to swell as much as 10
times their normal size, seriously impairing liver function, expanding their abdomens, and
making movements as simple as standing or walking difficult and painful (humanesociety.com).
The birds can't live a regular life with these kinds of health problems.

Birds arguably get the most abuse than the other farm animals. The Humane Society
reports At the slaughter plant, birds are moved off trucks, dumped from transport crates onto
conveyors, and hung upside down by their legs in shackles. Their heads pass through electrified
baths of water, intended to immobilize them before their throats are slit (humanesociety.com).
This is another practice of The Dirty Six which is called electric stunning of Birds. During the
whole process the birds endure extreme pain and suffering (humanesociety.com).

Long-Distance Transport is probably the most painful and stressful practice for the
animals. The Humane Society says Overcrowded onto trucks that do not provide any protection
from temperature extremes, animals travel long distances without food, water, or
rest(humanesociety.com). The animals sit on these truck for long periods of time. These type of
acts puts a lot of stress on an animal and is just a cruel practice. The last practice of The Dirty
Six is Gestation Crates and Veal Crates. According to the Humane Society they are individual
metal stalls so small and narrow the animals cant even turn around or move more than a step
forward or backward. The pregnant cows or sows are placed in the gestation crates.

As you can see all these practices are very abusive and are legal in the United States.
Many people disagree with the thought of animal cruelty, saying that its impossible to eliminate
all pain but you can greatly reduce it. Something simple as giving animals more space than a
battery cage can greatly help. Some people may say that even the justice system inflicts pain on
people (death penalty) and put them in cages (jail). In the justice system the people are usually
found guilty of a crime and the animals haven't broken any law.
The Dirty Six is ver cruel acts and should be banned in the United States. These same
practices are banned in many places like europe, the United States should follow immediately.
Animals feel pain just like us and have a to a good life.
Works Cited
Diane. "The Dirty Six: Worst Practices in Agribusiness | Turning the Clock Back." Turning the
Clock Back. N.p., 19 May 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
5. D SIX (n.d.): n. pag. Humanesociety.org. Web.
"Your Food Before It's Food." Treatment. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.