[moncton golden flames]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

So what is the alternative here, let them run around free and give them individual vet care? Sounds expensive.
Food prices go up, but it would provide more jobs. More vets, cage builders, etc.

if they are allowed to run around free, in natural conditions, there is very little need for vet care. most of the issues animals get from living in this type of situation, is a product of their environment. confine hundreds or thousands of animals to small, dirty & inhumane living conditions and you get diseases that can easily spread throughout the entire system. if you allow animals to free range, in plenty of space and natural conditions, there are few diseases that will spread and affect an entire population.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

They all appear to be feed and sheltered.

i'm not sure if this is arrogance or ignorance. it's actually probably a bit of both. if you believe that simple food and shelter is all that is required, tell us where you live and what you eat? why do you choose to live in a spacious house or apartment when a stick built lean-to would work almost just as well? do you ever treat yourself to good food? why don't you just eat bread and drink water every day? it's because you have a choice, and you choose to live the way you want. these pigs are not given a choice. they are just as important to the diversity of life on this planet as you are. we subject 'meat animals' to severe, disgusting conditions, just so we pay a buck or two less at the grocery store....pathetic.

i think it's time we start start treating all life as equal, and not look down on them as commodities that serve our needs, at any price.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Although very tasty, that is not how the food chain works, pigs are close to the bottom. Humans are at the top.
Not every human has a great lavish life either.

the pigs are far from the bottom of the food chain. the 'bottom' of the food chain is bacteria in the ground, that break down organic compounds and turn it into healthy soil, from which we cultivate our food. pigs, when cared for in a free range environment, sift thru the ground litter of forests, enhancing the breakdown of organic material. you could call a pig, a soil builder. their manure drops on the ground, 3 days later larvae form in the dung and provide a nutritious meal for birds and other insects, the dung provide fertilization to the soil.

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

I would worry about humans long before I worry about some animal that's only purpose it to provide us with food.

and it's this kind of attitude that promotes and encourages the industrial food system. a system that is not sustainable and is actually doing more harm that good.