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Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry.
1st class shipping--small paperback as pictured, unmarked and with a corner crease on back. I package carefully and send right away, including giftwrap and a hand drawn bookmark. happier meals, indeed.
95 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2005
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June 23, 2026
AN ACTIVIST LOOKS AT THE CURRENT SITUATION, AND PROVIDES SOME SUGGESTIONS
Danielle Nierenberg is an American activist, journalist, and author; she is the president of ‘Food Tank: The Think Tank for Food’; she is also a scholar-in-residence for NYU Steinhardt’s program. She worked at the Worldwatch Institute from 2001-2012.
She wrote in the Summary of this 2005 book, “Over the last half century, the human appetite for meat, milk, and eggs has soared in both industrial countries and the developing world. Globalized trade and media, lower meat prices, and urbanization have helped make diets high in animal protein a near-universal aspiration. Meat production has also entered a new era, propelled by cheap feed grains, limited grazing land, readily available antibiotics, and the overall move toward industrializing agriculture.
“Today, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), or factory farms, account for more than 40% of world meat production… they are now the fastest growing form of meat production worldwide. The greatest rise in industrial animal operations is occurring near urban areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where high population densities and weak public health, occupational, and environmental standards are exacerbating the impacts of these farms.
“Factory farms were designed to bring animals to market as quickly and cheaply as possible. Yet they invite a host of environmental, animal welfare, and public health problems. Crowded and unhygienic conditions can sicken farm animals and create the perfect environment for the spread of diseases… Factory farms also provide ideal conditions for transmission of illness from livestock to people, and epidemiologists warn of a potential massive outbreak in congested areas near these operations.
“Factory-farmed meat and fish contain an arsenal of unnatural ingredients… Meanwhile, the overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in livestock and poultry operations is undermining the toolbox of effective medicines for human use.
The industrialization of meat production has been accompanied by consolidation in the meat industry, so that today a handful of multinational corporations controls most meat production. With this greater concentration, many farmers have lost the connection to their animals and control over their farms. Consumers too, are increasingly removed from the origins of their food and have little sense of that goes into the hot dogs, hamburgers, milkshakes, and omelets they consume.
“Addressing these concerns will require a different approach to the way we raise animals, and a new attitude towards meat as part of the human diet. Ways to reduce the negative consequences of raising and slaughtering large numbers of animals include: educating consumers about the benefits of organic and grass-fed livestock and of vegan and vegetarian diets, supporting small-scale livestock production, encouraging producers to adopt alternative production methods, and improving occupational and welfare standards for both animals and industry workers.” (Pg. 5-6)
She notes, “Meat once occupied a very different dietary place in the world. A cuisine based on grains and vegetable protein, such as beans, was not some ‘fringe’ diet, but the way most people ate from day to day for much of human history. Beef, pork, and chicken were considered luxuries, eaten on special occasions or to enhance the flavor of other foods.” (Pg. 9)
She explains, “factory farms, or … CAFOs, are operations that crowd hundreds of thousands of cows, pigs, chickens, or turkeys together, with little or no access to natural light and fresh air and little opportunity to perform their natural behaviors. These facilities can produce millions of animals each year.” (Pg. 11)
She reports, “Because margins in the industry are so narrow, producers try to squeeze out profit wherever they can. They speed up slaughtering and cutting lines and often fail to provide the proper equipment. They force their employees to work in filthy, cold, and slippery environments and require them to put in long days, sometimes more than 12 hours at a time. All of these conditions make meatpacking one of the most dangerous jobs in America… because many of these workers are undocumented immigrants or struggle at the very bottom of the economic ladder, many don’t report their injuries…” (Pg. 19)
She states, “Like human sewage, CAFO waste is extremely high in nitrogen, much of which comes from animal feed---or rather, from the fertilizer used to grow it. In a sense, factory farms owe their existence to the advent of chemical fertilizer, which has allowed for the uncoupling of livestock and crops. Natural manure, when used to fertilize crops enriches the soil and is a key input to a healthy farm. But when farmers get their fertilizer in a bag, they don’t need to use manure…” (Pg. 27-29)
She notes, “Hormones used to increase milk and meat production can end up in the water and soil, disrupting the endocrine systems of fish and other wildlife… Hormone-rich runoff from fields fertilized with manure can also threaten human heath… But it’s not just our air and water that are being contaminated. Surprisingly, animal waste can also seep into oil wells, threatening oil supplies.” (Pg. 32)
She asserts, “Factory farms provide the perfect conditions for disease to spread from livestock to people, and epidemiologists are warning of a potentially massive outbreak of disease in congested urban areas near factory farms… With each farm housing tens of thousands of animals, operators are unable to monitor all stock regularly, making it hard to detect an outbreak before it spreads to the whole herd. The movement of products over long distances, from farms to processing plants to consumers, further increases this risk.” (Pg. 33-35)
She reports, “At industrial dairy operations that use milking machines, where conditions can be unsanitary, cows often suffer from mastitis, a painful bacterial infection … Mastitis costs the U.S. dairy industry billions of dollars a year in treatment and lost production. But rather than addressing the conditions that perpetuate the disease, researchers with the USDA have introduced a gene into dairy cows that enables them to produce a protein that kills the bacteria.” (Pg. 53)
She points out, “Even some corporations are beginning to change their minds about how meat is made. In 2000, bowing to pressure from animal rights and public health groups, McDonald’s announce that it would require producers to expand the space for hens in battery cages and that it would not buy from producers who force hens to lay additional eggs, through starvation… McDonald’s also now requires its suppliers to stop giving birds certain classes of antibiotics to promote growth… Since McDonald’s is one of the largest chicken buyers in the United States, the decision to change its standards will likely have a domino effect on the entire meat industry.” (Pg. 61)
She acknowledges, “But changing the ways agribusiness corporations do business is a difficult challenge. For years these companies have defended factory farming as the most efficient, cost-effective way to produce meat, especially as demand increases… Some critics say that improving farm animal welfare is too expensive and could drive up the cost of food. But a recent report… finds that NOT implementing animal welfare would lead to only a… small rise in retail prices.” (Pg. 64-65)
She concludes, “Changing the meat economy will require rethinking our relationship with livestock and the price we’re willing to pay for safe, sustainable, and humanely-raised food. Meat is not just a dietary component, it’s a symbol of wealthy and prosperity. Reversing the factory-farm tide will require thinking about farming systems as more than a source of economic wealth. Preserving prosperous family farms and their landscapes and raising healthy and humanely-treated animals are their own form of affluence.” (Pg. 67)
This book will be of keen interest to vegetarians/vegans, animal welfare/rights advocates, and animal lovers.
Danielle Nierenberg is an American activist, journalist, and author; she is the president of ‘Food Tank: The Think Tank for Food’; she is also a scholar-in-residence for NYU Steinhardt’s program. She worked at the Worldwatch Institute from 2001-2012.
She wrote in the Summary of this 2005 book, “Over the last half century, the human appetite for meat, milk, and eggs has soared in both industrial countries and the developing world. Globalized trade and media, lower meat prices, and urbanization have helped make diets high in animal protein a near-universal aspiration. Meat production has also entered a new era, propelled by cheap feed grains, limited grazing land, readily available antibiotics, and the overall move toward industrializing agriculture.
“Today, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), or factory farms, account for more than 40% of world meat production… they are now the fastest growing form of meat production worldwide. The greatest rise in industrial animal operations is occurring near urban areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where high population densities and weak public health, occupational, and environmental standards are exacerbating the impacts of these farms.
“Factory farms were designed to bring animals to market as quickly and cheaply as possible. Yet they invite a host of environmental, animal welfare, and public health problems. Crowded and unhygienic conditions can sicken farm animals and create the perfect environment for the spread of diseases… Factory farms also provide ideal conditions for transmission of illness from livestock to people, and epidemiologists warn of a potential massive outbreak in congested areas near these operations.
“Factory-farmed meat and fish contain an arsenal of unnatural ingredients… Meanwhile, the overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobials in livestock and poultry operations is undermining the toolbox of effective medicines for human use.
The industrialization of meat production has been accompanied by consolidation in the meat industry, so that today a handful of multinational corporations controls most meat production. With this greater concentration, many farmers have lost the connection to their animals and control over their farms. Consumers too, are increasingly removed from the origins of their food and have little sense of that goes into the hot dogs, hamburgers, milkshakes, and omelets they consume.
“Addressing these concerns will require a different approach to the way we raise animals, and a new attitude towards meat as part of the human diet. Ways to reduce the negative consequences of raising and slaughtering large numbers of animals include: educating consumers about the benefits of organic and grass-fed livestock and of vegan and vegetarian diets, supporting small-scale livestock production, encouraging producers to adopt alternative production methods, and improving occupational and welfare standards for both animals and industry workers.” (Pg. 5-6)
She notes, “Meat once occupied a very different dietary place in the world. A cuisine based on grains and vegetable protein, such as beans, was not some ‘fringe’ diet, but the way most people ate from day to day for much of human history. Beef, pork, and chicken were considered luxuries, eaten on special occasions or to enhance the flavor of other foods.” (Pg. 9)
She explains, “factory farms, or … CAFOs, are operations that crowd hundreds of thousands of cows, pigs, chickens, or turkeys together, with little or no access to natural light and fresh air and little opportunity to perform their natural behaviors. These facilities can produce millions of animals each year.” (Pg. 11)
She reports, “Because margins in the industry are so narrow, producers try to squeeze out profit wherever they can. They speed up slaughtering and cutting lines and often fail to provide the proper equipment. They force their employees to work in filthy, cold, and slippery environments and require them to put in long days, sometimes more than 12 hours at a time. All of these conditions make meatpacking one of the most dangerous jobs in America… because many of these workers are undocumented immigrants or struggle at the very bottom of the economic ladder, many don’t report their injuries…” (Pg. 19)
She states, “Like human sewage, CAFO waste is extremely high in nitrogen, much of which comes from animal feed---or rather, from the fertilizer used to grow it. In a sense, factory farms owe their existence to the advent of chemical fertilizer, which has allowed for the uncoupling of livestock and crops. Natural manure, when used to fertilize crops enriches the soil and is a key input to a healthy farm. But when farmers get their fertilizer in a bag, they don’t need to use manure…” (Pg. 27-29)
She notes, “Hormones used to increase milk and meat production can end up in the water and soil, disrupting the endocrine systems of fish and other wildlife… Hormone-rich runoff from fields fertilized with manure can also threaten human heath… But it’s not just our air and water that are being contaminated. Surprisingly, animal waste can also seep into oil wells, threatening oil supplies.” (Pg. 32)
She asserts, “Factory farms provide the perfect conditions for disease to spread from livestock to people, and epidemiologists are warning of a potentially massive outbreak of disease in congested urban areas near factory farms… With each farm housing tens of thousands of animals, operators are unable to monitor all stock regularly, making it hard to detect an outbreak before it spreads to the whole herd. The movement of products over long distances, from farms to processing plants to consumers, further increases this risk.” (Pg. 33-35)
She reports, “At industrial dairy operations that use milking machines, where conditions can be unsanitary, cows often suffer from mastitis, a painful bacterial infection … Mastitis costs the U.S. dairy industry billions of dollars a year in treatment and lost production. But rather than addressing the conditions that perpetuate the disease, researchers with the USDA have introduced a gene into dairy cows that enables them to produce a protein that kills the bacteria.” (Pg. 53)
She points out, “Even some corporations are beginning to change their minds about how meat is made. In 2000, bowing to pressure from animal rights and public health groups, McDonald’s announce that it would require producers to expand the space for hens in battery cages and that it would not buy from producers who force hens to lay additional eggs, through starvation… McDonald’s also now requires its suppliers to stop giving birds certain classes of antibiotics to promote growth… Since McDonald’s is one of the largest chicken buyers in the United States, the decision to change its standards will likely have a domino effect on the entire meat industry.” (Pg. 61)
She acknowledges, “But changing the ways agribusiness corporations do business is a difficult challenge. For years these companies have defended factory farming as the most efficient, cost-effective way to produce meat, especially as demand increases… Some critics say that improving farm animal welfare is too expensive and could drive up the cost of food. But a recent report… finds that NOT implementing animal welfare would lead to only a… small rise in retail prices.” (Pg. 64-65)
She concludes, “Changing the meat economy will require rethinking our relationship with livestock and the price we’re willing to pay for safe, sustainable, and humanely-raised food. Meat is not just a dietary component, it’s a symbol of wealthy and prosperity. Reversing the factory-farm tide will require thinking about farming systems as more than a source of economic wealth. Preserving prosperous family farms and their landscapes and raising healthy and humanely-treated animals are their own form of affluence.” (Pg. 67)
This book will be of keen interest to vegetarians/vegans, animal welfare/rights advocates, and animal lovers.
April 25, 2013
I used this book to help me write a research paper and it was very informative even though I already knew most of the information. I liked how short it was. It got to to the point without dragging on.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews