Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How to take a Stand against Animal abuse.

Flouresent lightbulbs flicker, and in the dimness you can make out thousands of chickens squashed tightly together in a small pen. The smell of dirt and stale air hits your nostrils, and you have to hold your breath because the stench is so bad. As you adjust your eyes to the darkness, you can see that the chickens can't move-there's no space. Plus theres the fact that the waste has not been cleaned up, and the chickens have been pinned to the ground in the muck. Because of all the hormones being pumped into them 24/7 their small bodies are not strong enough to hold themselves up. These chickens will only have a very short lifespan-about 45 days, before they are slaughtered and shipped to a grocery store near you. How does this happen? You ask. Unfortunately animal abuse, such as non free range farming and animal testing has become an increasing problem because it is the cheapest way to raise meat and test products. Fortunately there are ways you can take a stand against this. Ways such as supporting animal welfare organizations, researching brands that are against animal abuse and buying/eating organic. 

In 2005 32.5 million cattle were slaughtered.About two thirds of this number were injected with hormones to make them grow faster and add weight to maximize the producer's profits. So, why eat organic? Well,  According to the "European Union’s Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health" 3 out of 6 hormones that are injected into beef are synthetic, and they include: Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol. These hormones can lead to developmental problems, and could result in breast,prostate or colon cancer. Buying Free Range meat is also a way to support the ethical treatment of animals. Buying Free Range ensures that the animals had access to the outdoors, or lived on the fields of the farm, not in cramped cages that they live in when farmed under non Free Range circumstances. If you buy organic/Free Range, you are not only supporting animal welfare, but are also choosing the healthier option for your body. Although, there are more things you can do to take action against animal cruelty. Animal testing is a big problem, and you as a consumer contain a lot of power-watch what you buy and consider where it came from before you place it on the cashier. 

Animal testing is where products are tested on animals before they are put on the market, or where animals are used for experimentation for medicine or other products, such as dog or cat food. Countless procedures are preformed on them to see how the food affects their bodies. A quote from the PETA website sums up animal testing perfectly "Right now, millions of mice, rats, rabbits, primates, cats, dogs, and other animals are locked inside cold, barren cages in laboratories across the country. They languish in pain, ache with loneliness, and long to roam free and use their minds. Instead, all they can do is sit and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them."Even if your not an animal lover, is this really right? If these were people this sort of testing would be unacceptable. Because animals can't speak, does it make animal testing accepted? Next time, while shopping turn the bottle over and look to see if the product was animal tested. If we all do this then we can make a difference. 

If you are really serious about making difference-support the organizations that create Animal welfare campaigns. Organizations such as PETA (people for the Ethical treatment of Animals) There are many ways that you can contribute to PETA, you can make donations, sign there petitions and help spread the word. Many people do not realize what happens to animals behind closed doors in laboratories and what lies beneath the packaging in meat. PETA also has very powerful videos that show the ugly, but hard truth. Videos of Cows being burned with red hot pokers, pigs being electrocuted and what happens during animal testing. These websites play a big part in spreading the word and exposing companies for what they really are. 

Facing the truth is hard, and some tend to shy away from it and pretend that it isn't happening. However  animal abuse IS happening. Everyday Chickens, cows and pigs and others are being crammed into crowded into pens, being blinded and operated on, slaughtered and skinned. We can do something about this. Buy Organic/Free Range, look at the labels of products before you buy-do they preform animal testing?Support the Animal Welfare organizations, they have countless ways for you to get involved. The animals that are stuck inside cold, hard cages can't pretend this doesn't happen, and neither should we, they can't speak up for themselves, it is up to us to speak out for them. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Outline:

Persuasion Essay outline:

Introduction:
a)  Hook: Introduce with a really short story (to give imagery and set the mood)
1. Use story to describe the conditions of factories and slaughterhouses.
b)    Thesis statement: Unfortunately animal abuse has become a evident problem because of companies killing animals unethically. They do this because it is the cheapest and efficient way, no matter how cruel. However there are ways to not support this. Introduce the main points
1.   Eating Organic/Free Range meat
2.     Researching what brands support anti animal abuse
3.     Support organisations such as PETA
Point I
a)    Organic eating
1.    Organic means that the animals are not pumped with hormones, which means it is a healthy choice for you.
2.    Hormones injected to add weight include: Zeranol, Trenbolone, and Melengestrol These can cause health probems and can lead to breast, prostate or colon cancer.
b)   Free range meat.
1.   Free range meat according the U.S department of Agriculture is when the animals have access to the outdoors, as well as living on the fields.

Point II
a)  Make sure to look at labels to see if the company performs animal testing.
1.Many companies use animals to test their products before releasing them on the market.
2. Look at the back of the bottle to see if the company is against it. An example of a company against animal testing is the Body Shop.
Point III
a)  Look at organisations such as PETA
1.   PETA stands for the ethical treatment of animals. Uses campaigns to create awareness.
2.   Support these organizations by being aware of the brands that practice unethical actions.

Conclusion:
a)  Refer back to main points
1.   buy organic/free range
2.   look out for products that do not perform animal testing.
3.   Support the animal welfare organization.
b)  End with a image-the animals that suffer from abuse can’t pretend that this doesn’t happen-and neither should you.



7 comments:

  1. Your opinion about the subject was made very clear from the beginning as the story you had created a repulsive image of the subject. You then went on to describe the current situation well and made the reader feel sympathy for the animals. You even gave possible solutions to the problem which allowed the reader to have an easy way to help the situation. Very well written essay!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You wrote a very eye-opening and persuasive essay! I think that the hook at the beginning was really strong and that you listed useful suggestions to help these animals (eating organic, supporting PETA, etc.) It could have been even stronger if you had used a personal example, but I think that it was still convincing. Other than the few grammatical errors, your essay was really well-written and I really enjoyed reading it. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What i loved about this essay was you're intro. The detailed description of this pathetic environment for the animals really grabbed the readers attention and almost immediately acted like an inspiration to stand against animal abuse. The detailed imagery fed to us was very powerful. You used a lot of facts to back you're essay up, using a very confident and serious tone. I think the essay was very well written.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought your introduction for the story was really captivating and made me what to read more. Right for the start you were able to make me feel sympathetic for the animals through the imagery of the chickens and the melancholy mood of the story.
    I also like how you outlined what any individual can do to help like eating organic food, supporting PETA (and looking into other organizations), searching for animal testing on labels and buying free range meet. You were able to inspire me with this essay by including what I can do to help and by including the imagery of the chickens. Your message was very powerful. This was a very good essay to read.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your use of emotion throughout the piece was incredibly strong. You made us care right from the very start about the animals and your statement was clear that you did not support the abuse and testing of animals. I would have like to have seen you include some information on being a vegetarian as that is one of the best ways to stop animal abuse. Otherwise a very compelling and persuasive essay! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your use of inclusive language is effective.

    Your organization is well-planned, with good development of your ideas. Your evidence is convincing.

    Paragraph one is particularly effective with your use of imagery to add interest and give us an emotional reaction. Good work, Islah!

    ReplyDelete