Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have sprung up in recent years, confining cattle in as little space as possible, with no room for the animals to roam, with no grass for them to feed on. Genetically modified feed is trough-fed to the animals as they fight for space and trounce in their own manure and urine. The filthy, confined conditions take the spirit out of the animals. As the cattle are bulked up unnaturally, stripped of their well-being and led to the slaughter, the entire operation seems void of dignity. This method of farming doesn’t lead to prosperity — only degradation.
Reliance on CAFOs doesn’t bring down beef prices, just the beef’s quality
Even with these forced feeding operations in full swing, U.S. meat producers cannot provide enough beef and bacon to satiate the world’s demand for convenient food. Self sufficiency is a dying skill, a fading way of life. Consumers continue to shop for the “convenience” of unhealthily raised meat even as its prices soar. According to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in June 2014, the price of beef and bacon hit an all-time high in the US.
Consumers expect this kind of meat to be readily available to them every time they stop off at a restaurant or fast food joint. They depend on it being there for them, served just the way they like. In this way, consumers are practically begging for more concentrated feeding operations, which destroy the very value, quality and energy of meat. Even as these unhealthy meat production operations expand, the price of beef won’t go down — only the quality of the meat will