Rogerian Argument

Josh felt shocked by the holocaust like set-up of these slaughterhouses. Large numbers of animals clustered together with no sanitation methods shouldn’t be allowed. Instead of being raised, the chickens we eat are now being “grown” in half the traditional time, reaching twice their normal weight. With the veils put up around these massive factories, consumers are kept in the dark about exactly what is it they are paying for. For Josh, the motives of vegetarians have finally become clear. It is scary to think about the genetically modified meat we are putting into out bodies and the short and dirty life those animals lived before being slaughtered, and all this is controlled by just four super-corporations. Not only are the animals being mistreated, the farmers are as well. Treated almost like slaves, these farmers live in constant debt and under constant pressure from the corporations. They have no freedom when it comes to decisions about their crops and harvesting methods.

The U.S.’s rapid consumption of meat has required a change in our farming techniques. With such a high demand for beef and poultry, companies were forced to innovate their methods, leaving only the strongest, most “efficient” companies to run the businesses nationwide. As long as consumers continue to buy these products, they are endorsing the methods used by these companies.

The compromise we need to reach is one in which companies have the right to do whatever they feel most efficient but only as long consumers are not kept in the dark about the companies’ practices. Consumers have the right to make an educated decision, and companies should be responsible for putting up glass walls around their factories. Only then will it be a fair vote when consumers choose their purchases in the grocery store.