Scaling Back on Industrialized Meat

When it comes to meal planning, many Americans think of meat as a vital part of any given breakfast, lunch or dinner menu. Bacon or sausage for breakfast, a sandwich with sliced deli meat for lunch, and a rotisserie chicken for dinner is just one example of what a daily meal plan in an American household may look like. Even if the meat in one or two of these meals is substituted with non-meat alternatives, meat makes an appearance several times per week in the diets of most Americans. In fact, Americans eat more meat per capita than citizens of any other country. While meat has been a natural part of the human diet for thousands of years, the system by which meat is obtained for consumption has changed drastically in the last 100 years, spurring many impacts on sustainability that ripple into all parts of society, far beyond the dinner table.

            Industrial meat production has created a serious disconnect between humans and meat. In earlier days, humans were forced to face the death of the animals that they intended to eat first-hand. The processes of hunting and raising animals for butcher kept people honest to themselves about the consequences of their decision to eat meat. Today, a mere 6% of Americans go hunting each year. It is not uncommon for an American to scoff at the idea of going into the woods and shooting an innocent deer, elk, moose, or bear while having no problem going to the store and buying a cut of beef or a pound of bacon. This phenomenon is the stem of the ignorant eating problem that is all too common in today’s society, in addition to the many other problems that surround factory farming.

            One film that sheds light on the ignorance surrounding meat, that is held by many Americans, is Matt Ross’ 2016 film, Captain Fantastic. This movie documents the Cash family’s fictional journey of leaving their home deep in the Washington forest to drive nearly 1,500 miles to Arizona, home of a group of relatives who couldn’t be more different from the socially nonconforming Cash family. Upon arrival, the Cash’s lifestyle comes in direct conflict with typical American ways of life. Having grown up living off the land, the five children have never experienced the modern lifestyle that most Americans take part in. This difference in life experience leads to several cumbersome situations, ranging from innocent questions to heated debates. A number of the differences between the Cash family and their stereotypical American relatives surround food, specifically meat. One prominent example is driven by the youngest member of the Cash family, Nai. At the young age of 6, Nai doesn’t understand that not everyone eats only meat that they have raised or hunted themselves, as his family does. At a family feast, Nai inquires about what method was used to kill the chickens. He confidently asks, “How did you kill those chickens? With an axe, or a knife?” The hostess, who has already proclaimed that the chicken was “local, organic and non-GMO” is left dumbfounded, with nothing more to say than that she bought the chicken pre-cooked. It is obvious that she doesn’t want to begin to think about the death behind the meal that they are about to eat.

 While simultaneously critiquing the American society’s attitude towards issues such as parenting and the education system, Captain Fantastic makes readers think about our understanding of where the meat that we eat comes from. While witnessing the Cash kids’ shock in regard to their relatives understanding of the origins of their meat, some viewers may begin to question their own understanding of the meat industry. Throughout the film, the kids bring up numerous other ideas, including the U.S. obesity epidemic in relation to the western diet. These conversations may spark many thoughts among viewers, including the correlations between health and diet that typically wouldn’t be addressed in a film of this genre. While the views of the Cash family may come off as borderline offensive, the children’s stark calling out of poor diet choices that cause people to become “fat like hippos” emphasizes the point that the Western Diet, which relies heavily on industrialized meat, isn’t doing Americans any good.

The strong critiques on industrial meat brought about in Captain Fantastic bring up the question: how would changing the way that people procure meat impact the earth’s ecological and social future? The Cash kids are strong and healthy, yet have never tasted a hamburger or bacon. Some Americans would likely view this as deprivation, but seeing as how each of the five kids is healthy and strong, it is obvious that they have been brought up on a nutritious diet. Despite the fact that the entirety of their sustenance comes from vegetables from the garden or meat killed by hand in the woods, the Cash family’s life seems in many ways simpler than that of a stereotypical American family. Even though the Cash family’s lifestyle may be a bit extreme for the taste of most American families, it provides a good reference point for inspiring positive change. If the Cash family diet, which is predominantly plant-based with occasional animal products provided by hunting or hand-raising animals for butcher, were to become the norm in America, we would see changes across the board in terms of sustainability.

Environmentally, industrial livestock production is problematic in numerous ways. Perhaps the most obvious issue with the meat industry has to do with greenhouse gas emissions. According to the EPA, 9% of annual greenhouse gas emissions stem from agriculture. While this may seem minor, this adds up to a whopping 592.8 million metric tons of Co₂ equivalent emissions per year. And not surprisingly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated that within agriculture, the area with the most room for improvement in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is industrial cattle farming. In addition, factory farms are a large contributor to nutrient pollution that affects waterways across the country. With the high density of animals found within confined feed operations comes extreme amounts of manure. Large volumes of manure are often stored in holding tanks known as lagoons, where waste can be washed into nearby waterways by rainfall. The nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, can severely harm aquatic life by reducing oxygen levels in the water. 

In addition to the environmental benefits of cutting back on factory farmed meat, numerous social benefits await the America that chooses to loosen its tight bond with the confined animal feeding operation industry. Working conditions in such operations are grim, and the impact that confined feed operations have on local communities is overwhelmingly negative. In the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a year of Food Life, Camille Kingsolver describes her experience driving by confined animal feeding operations at the young age of 11. “The odor was horrifying to me, and the sight of the animals was haunting: cows standing on mountains of their own excrement, packed so tightly together they had no room to walk. All they could do was wearily moo and munch on grain mixed with the cow pies under their feet.” Camille continues, “The outdoor part of the operation seemed crueler than anything that might go on inside a slaughterhouse. Whether or not it was scheduled to die, no living thing, I felt, should have to spend its life the way those cows were. When we got home I told my parents I would never eat beef from a feedlot again. Surprisingly they agreed and took the same vow.” If more Americans were to live just a bit more like the Cash family, and follow Camille Kingsolver’s lead to boycott industrial beef, the environmental and social benefits would be immense.

While foregoing meat altogether and requiring all Americans to go vegetarian or vegan is not a truly viable option, it is possible to become more socially and environmentally sustainable when it comes to diet choices. All Americans need to do is look at the examples of the Cash and Kingsolver families. It would be a stretch for most families to become as self-sufficient as the Cash’s, but small changes can always be made. Whether choosing to substitute a deer shot on a family hunting trip for pasture raised sheep, or beef for ground beef originating from a confined feed operation, every bit makes a difference towards creating a future that is more environemntally and socially sustainable. 

Dana Baughman

1,406 words