Thomas Jefferson envisioned America as a nation of yeoman farmers, the small family farm, self-supporting and bartering for other goods. Now, the only place this type of agriculture exists is on labels or commercials. Farming has become far more industrialized, emphasizing the desire for profit above anything else. The cattle out in the pastures no longer have any subjectivity, but rather exist only to produce dairy or be slaughtered for consumption. The farm looks more like a factory then a farm. The treatment of the animals illustrates their "objectivity." Chickens' beaks are cut off to prevent the insanity they develop in prolonged captivity; this prevents them from pecking each other to death, thus decreasing their economic value. When it is time for them to be slaughtered, they are put in cages and lowered into scalding water. Pigs are given artificial hormones so they will grow faster and produce more meat to sell. Unfortunately, their bodies grow exponentially faster then their legs can support, so often they are dragged around by a rope. Cattle are hit with cinderblocks, then their limbs are hacked off, sometimes while still conscious. Our society will go to war for human rights violations, but animal rights activists are still shrugged off as "radical" and the food industry is still dominated by meat products.
             Until last summer, I had been eating meat for as long as I could remember. My parents ate meat and they served me meat. I naturally accepted this common practice because my parents taught me other 'unquestionable' things such as religion and language. I was told at some point that it came from a living thing, but then it seemed natural, and I didn't have to think about it. I had grown accustomed to eating meat, and I never directly had to see the violence. Last summer everything changed. A close friend showed me footage of these sick acts of violence that occur everyday in orde...