Name _________________________________________________

Date _____________
Honors EESMr. Dillman

The Meatrix Trilogy

Period ____________

The Meatrix I
1. What is The Meatrix?
a. The Meatrix offers information on the issues surrounding factory farming, as well as

alternatives to conventionally-raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs.

2. What is a factory farm?
a. A factory farm is a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals

for food. Over 99% of farm animals in the U.S. are raised in factory farms, which
focus on profit and efficiency at the expense of animal welfare.
3. What happens to the animals on a factory farm?
a. On todays factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy,

windowless sheds and stuffed into wire cages, metal crates, and other torturous
devices. These animals will never raise their families, root around in the soil, build
nests, or do anything that is natural and important to them. Most wont even feel
the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day theyre
loaded onto trucks headed for slaughterhouses.
4. Why are the animals given antibiotics? What is the problem with this?
a. Because they are in such closed quarters, sickness spreads quickly. The issue is that the
viruses and bacteria becomes immune to the antibiotics because they are used so heavily.
5. What is happening to family farms?
a. Family farms are slowly disappearing and being replaced with factory farms.
The Meatrix II: Revolting
1. What has happened in regards to sustainable eating in the past few years?
a. Sustainable eating has been growing and trending.
2. What happens to cows in dairy factories?
a. They are being locked up and milked, and being separated from their babies.
3. What is rBGH? Why is it given to cows?
a. rBGH is an artificial growth hormone given to cows to make them large and gain weight.
4. What happens to the calves?
a. They are separated from their mothers and fed a milk replacement derived from cow blood.
5. What can be caused by this?
a. The spread of mad cow disease.
The Meatrix II 1/2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

At this factory, how many cows can be processed in single day?

What often happens to the workers in the processing factories? THEY GET INJURED OR SICK
SPEED IS the name of the game.
As a job, meat-packing is Dangerous
Due to the speed of the processing, what gets all over the meat? FECES. What bacteria does this
substance contain? What problems can this cause? E. COLI

The Meatrix 360 Interactive Go to the following section of the site (or type/paste in this link:
http://www.themeatrix.com/educate ). Then Click on Meatrix Interactive 360 then Roll-over and click
on the different parts of the scene. Read and describe any 10 of the words below:
1. The precautionary principle
a. The precautionary principle says that if we think an activity will cause you harm, we should
take measures to protect ourselves.
2. Feed
a. Cows should be fed grass, but many are fed antibiotics and unsavory byproducts instead.

Name _________________________________________________
Date _____________
Honors EESMr. Dillman

The Meatrix Trilogy

Period ____________

3. Policy & legislation

4. Health
5. Community
6. Family farms
7. Cows
8. Milk
9. Processing
10. Workers
11. Downer cows
a. It is simply a cow that on examination ought to rise but doesn't.
12. Pesticides
a.
13. Antibiotics
a. Low daly doses of antibiotics are often fed to cows to ward off diseases and make them grow
faster. This contributes to an increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
14. rBGH
a. milk from cows injected with artificial growth hormones may cause health problems.
15. agribusiness
16. waste recycling
17. waste
a. waste is often over applied to fields, causing many problems.
18. water pollution
a. Runoff from factory farms has polluted streams and killed millions of fish.
Write: Before viewing these videos, how much did you know about agribusiness? What was some new
information you learned from these videos? What is the goal of these videos? Do you think these videos
will change how you eat? Why/why not?

I knew quite a lot about agribusiness because I am a member of PETA. I learned about the blood
replacement for baby cows. The goal of these videos is to show the side of farming that you arent
shown. No, because I already eat sustainably, I see no reason to change my diet.