Most of the eggs, milk, cheese and meat you eat likely come from factory farms. Factory farms are one of the most urgent moral crises of our time: animals feel pain, experience suffering, and {x} and are forced to live and die in conditions that, if someone subjected their cat to, would result in imprisonment.

Factory farming is cruel, disgusting and unnecessary. History will not look kindly on us for treating animals this way.

You can dramatically reduce animal suffering simply by reducing the eggs, chicken and fish you eat, since chicken and fish are subject to the cruelest conditions. It’s probably better for you anyway. You don’t have to be a vegan to make an impact.

If you struggle to give up eggs, chicken or fish, consider paying just a little bit more (as little as 20%-30% more!) to purchase products from people who raise chickens in humane conditions.

Tips

• Labels like “certified organic”, “free range”, “cage-free” don’t accurately convey living standards. “Certified humane” is the best standard and you can find it in most grocery stores.

NYC Farms I support

Egg labeling

Sometimes eggs are labeled “free range” or “cage free”. These labels (in the U.S. and EU) are regulated by governing agencies who set minimum welfare standards farmers must abide by to use these labels. (Read more here)

“Free range” conjures images like this. Most of us (myself included) feel that chickens living in such conditions are quite happy and that it’s unlikely to be immoral to eat eggs.

But most free range farms look like this:

and most cage free farms look like this: