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JahAsiaRobinson
Ms.Young
ENGII
25May2016
TheLivingConditionsandFeedofDomesticatedAnimals/Livestock

Peoplehavemanydifferentrelationshipswithfood.Myrelationshipwithfoodis

verylovingandaddictive.IlovemostofthefoodIveexperienced.Anycolor,taste,or
smellfoodisfood.Everysinglepersonhasastorytotellaboutfoodcountless.Oneof
mymostmemorableexperiencesiswhenmymotherandIlivedwithmygrandmother.
Mygrandmotheralwaysmadesalmonpatties,andriceormeatloafandmashpotatoes.
Weateeachmealatleasttwiceaweek,afterawhileIdidlongfordifferentfoods.
WhenmymomandIfinallygotourownplace,shewassousedtoeatingsalmon
patties,shemadeitatleastonceaweek,orwedeatoutatMcdonaldsoraChinese
place.EventhoughImolder,salmonpattiesarestilloneofmyfavoritefoods.Eating
healthyisaveryhardhabittomaintain,andifyoudonthaveselfcontrolthenyoull
crashandburn.Ihavealwayseatenunhealthyandneverreallypaidattentiontothe
thingsIateandneverreallycaredaboutwherethefoodIatecomefromeither.
Inthe
FoodInc
documentarymanyquotesrepresentswhatourcurrentfood
systemhasbeenandbecome.Knowingithasbeenthiswayforalongtime,Inowknow
andhavebeeninformingallofmyimmediatefamilytotrytobuymoreorganicfoods
andtolearnmoreaboutwhattheyrebuying.
FoodInc
isadocumentaryabouthow
foodsarebeingproducedandshowssomeofthenegativesituationsofthefoodwithin


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theUnitedStates.Theresearcherhadtriedtotakeavideoofalmostallofthe
differencesbetweentheproductionoffoodfromthebasictothetechnologicalfood
industry.AsIwatchedthedocumentaryentitled
FoodInc
,itmademerealizehowthe
producersofthisdocumentaryaretryingpersuadeandmaketheirpoint,whichisa
goodone.OneofthemainthingsIhadaproblemwithwasthewaylivestockarebeing
mistreatedandfedimproperly,whichcanleadtomanyproblemswiththemandthose
whoeatthem.Therearemanymethodsthataredisrespectfulandinhumaneaboutthe
waylivestockaretreated.

WritingforLakeForestCollegeonADifficultRealitytoDigest:TheEffectsofa

CornBasedDietontheDigestiveSystemofCattleRobinGraberreportsthatthere
hasbeenaoverproductionofcornovertheyears,asaresultofthiswenowseecornin
themajorityofprocessedfoods,aswellasanimalfeed,mostlycattle.Cattle,asin
cows,areherbivoreswhichmeantheyhaveadietarysystemonlyforgrass.Corn
changesthewaysofitsdigestivesystemwhichcausesillness.Therearemany
illnessesitcauses,E.Coliisoneofthem.E.Coliisabacteriumcommonlyfoundinthe
intestinesofhumansandotheranimals,whereitusuallycausesnoharm,saysGoogle.
AccordingtothestaffofMayoClinicsomestrainscancauseseverefoodpoisoning,
especiallyinolderpeopleandchildren.E.Coliisexposedtohumansthrough
slaughteringbecausewhentheyreslaughteredandprocessed,E.Colibacteriafrom
theirintestinescangetonthemeat.Groundbeefisonemeatthatcontainscombined
meatfromdifferentanimals,increasingtheriskofE.Coliinanimals.


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Antibioticsaredistributedtolivestockalso.Overtheyears,antibioticshave
beenaddedtothefoodofanimals.Themainreasonfordoingthisistolowertheriskof
diseaseinanimals.Livestockareputtogetherinovercrowdedareas,whicharevery
dirty.Thehygienelevelcangettoaverypoorstatethattheyareoftenincontactwith
theirownfecesaswellasfecesoftheotheranimalstheyareputwith.Becauseofthe
tightspacetheyshare,thepossibilityofcatchingdiseasesfromoneanotheris
increased.Iftheseproblemscouldbepredicteditcouldsavealotoftimeandmoneyfor
thefarmers/caretakers.Antibioticsismedicationusedtotreathealthconditionscaused
bybacteria,saysWikipedia.Accordingtothearticle
KEEPHORMONESAND
ANTIBIOTICSOFFTHEMENUfrom
thehealthychild.org

theantibioticsaresupposed
tobeusedforhealthrelatedreasonsortheantibioticsprotectanimals,fromthe
unsanitarylivingconditionsfoundinindustrialfeedlots.Nowtheyareusedfor
inappropriatereasons,routinelyadministeredtoanimalsraisedforfood.Insomecases
whichhelpsthelivestockgrowfastersothattheirpricewillbeincreased.Dairycows
givenrBGH,forexample,sometimesdevelopudderinfectionsthatthenrequire
antibiotictreatments.AntibioticsalsocreatesSTAPH,whichisanantibioticresistant
bacteriathatattackshumans.Whenbacteriaarecontinuallyexposedtosmallamounts
ofantibioticstheycandevelopimmunitytothem.STAPHinfectionscanalsocause
pneumonia,meningitis,toxicshock,skinabscesses,heartvalveinfectionsandother
seriousanddeadlymedicalconditions,saysMedlinePlus.(2011).Staphylococcal
infections.


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Therearemanyadvantagesanddisadvantageswiththeuseoftheseproducts.
Farmersseeandusehormonesandantibioticsasamajoradvantagesotheycan
increasetheirprofitsandgainthemostoutoftheirlivestock.However,health
concernedpeoplewanttodisallowtheuseoftheseproductsduetothegrowingfears
thattheycancause.Ahormonemadeinthepituitaryglandthatstimulatestherelease
ofanotherhormonecalledsomatomedinbytheliver,therebycausing
growth.(
MedicineNet.com
)Likeantibiotics,hormonescanbeproducedandplacedin
animalfeed.Steroidsarealsoaformofgrowthhormones.
Thereareavarietyofgrowthhormonesandsteroidsusedtomakeanimalsgrow
largerthantheynormallywould.AccordingtoSwan,Liu,Overstreet,Brazil,and
Skakkebaekasreportedbythewebsite
OrganicConsumersAssociation
intheirarticle
GrowthHormonesFedtoBeefCattleDamageHumanHealth,Today,therearesix
anabolicsteroidsgiven,invariouscombinations,tonearlyallanimalsentering
conventionalbeeffeedlotsintheU.S.andCanada:therearethreenaturalsteroids
(estradiol,testosterone,andprogesterone),andthreesynthetichormones(theestrogen
compoundzeranol,theandrogentrenboloneacetate,andprogestinmelengestrol
acetate).Thesesteroidsaregiventhroughthefeedorthroughimplants.Writingforthe
UniversityofGeorgiaExtensionwebsiteonImplantingBeefCattle(B1302),Lawton
Stewartreportsthat,Theimplantsaredesignedtoreleasethehormoneslowlyover
timeintothebloodstream.Thisensuresthathormoneconcentrationsremainconstant
andlow.Sincetheearistossedoutatslaughtering,theimplantdoesnotenterthefood
chain.Implantsworkbyincreasingtheamountofgrowthregulatinghormones,which


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arenaturallyproducedbytheanimal.Theimplantsaredesignedtoreleasethe
hormoneslowlyovertimeintothebloodstream.

Implantedcalvesusuallyresultina
1020%increaseinaveragedailygain(growthrate)comparedtononimplantedcalves.
Moreover,becauseoftheincreasedfeedefficiency,lessfeedisrequiredwhich
decreasesproductioncostsby510%,saysOklahomaStateUniversity.
Manythinkitsokayforlivestocktobetreatedinsuchaway.TysonFoodisa
companyaffiliatedwithCAFOs.OnTysonsmainwebsite,theyhaveasectioncalled
AnimalWellBeinginthesectiontheytalkaboutThevaluesandcommitmenttodo
therightthinganddescribehowtheirlivestockisbeingraisedandtakencareof.Tyson
specificallysaysHealthyanimalsmeansafeandhealthyfood,sowerecommittedto
makingsurethelivestockandpoultrywedependonareraisedresponsibly.Our
philosophyistouseantibioticsonlyasneededandonlywhenprescribedbya
veterinarian.Asgoodasthismaysound,animalsarestillsufferingfromtheantibiotics
andhormonesthattheyregivenalmostdaily.Theirlivingconditionsarestillunsanitary
andnothealthyforanimals,humans,ortheenvironment.
Inconclusion,Ithinkthatanimalsshouldbetreatedwithdignity.Companieslike
Tysonshouldtrytoputtheirselfinananimal'sperspective.Tofindasolution,to
preventtheoveruseofantibiotics,andtheanimalslivingconditionspeoplehaveto
knowwhattheyeatandwhereitcomesfrom.Wehavetobecomemoreeducatedon
ourfoodsupply.Ifweasasocietymakeitaprioritytobeeducatedonourfood
production,morepeoplewillputpressureonthegovernmentandcreatechange.


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WorkCited
"AntibioticsinCattleFactsAboutBeef."
FactsAboutBeef
.N.p.,24May2016.Web.
22May2016.
"ChickensDoNotReceiveGrowthHormones:SoWhyAlltheConfusion?"
ThePoultry
Site
.N.p.,n.d.Web.19May2016.
"CAFObTheTragedyofIndustrialAnimalFactories::TheIssue."
CAFOThe
Tragedy

ofIndustrialAnimalFactories::TheIssue
.N.p.,n.d.Web.02June2016.

"DroversCattlenetwork."
TheFactsaboutHormonesandBeef
.OklahomaState
University,10Sept.2012.Web.02June2016.
"E.Coli."
Causes
.N.p.,1Aug.2014.Web.01June2016.
"EffectsofAntibioticsonAnimalFeed."
Presentation
.N.p.,08Nov.1997.Web.31
May
2016.
FoodInc
.Dir.RobertKenner,MagnoliaPictures,2010.DVD.
"FactoryFarms."
ASPCA
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.


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"FactoryFarming:MiseryforAnimals."
PETA
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.
Graber,Robin."ADifficultRealitytoDigest:TheEffectsofaCornBasedDietonthe
DigestiveSystemof
Cattle."
Https://www.lakeforest.edu/live/files/1135graberreviewaprintpdf
.N.p.,8
May2012.Web.1June2016.
GrowthHormonesFedtoBeefCattleDamageHumanHealth.
OrganicConsumers
Association.
N.p.1May2007.Web.1June2016.
"GrowthHormone."
MedicineNet
.N.p.,13May2016.Web.01June2016.
"KeepHormonesandAntibioticsOffTheMenu."
TheHormonesandAntibioticsinYour
Meat
.N.p.,1Oct.2013.Web.01June2016.
"U.S.FoodandDrugAdministration."
SteroidHormoneImplantsUsedforGrowthin
FoodProducingAnimals
.N.p.,20Oct.2015.Web.01June2016.
"WesselsLivingHistoryFarm
Farminginthe1940s."
WesselsLivingHistoryFarm

Farminginthe1940s
.N.p.,n.d.Web.19May2016.