Animals as Food

PIGS

Pigs have an intelligence comparable to, perhaps exceeding dogs. 

When bred for pork, almost 80% of these intelligent animals live their lives in barren, overcrowded indoor areas. To prevent fighting in such unnaturally close quarters, their tales are cut off, their ears are notched, their teeth are clipped and the males are castrated, all without anesthetic.

They spend their lives on concrete or slated floors which cause lameness and foot deformities.

Sows used for breeding live almost their entire lives confined in dark stalls without enough room to turn around. The sow is  separated from nursing offspring in a small steel device designed to stop her from rolling on her piglets. Under natural  conditions, she would virtually never accidentally kill her offspring. 

The book "Slaughterhouse" (Recommended Reading) gives graphic descriptions of pigs, inefficiently hit with the stun gun and thus fully conscious, being hacked up or dropped into boiling water to drown.  It is considered acceptable for the stun gun to miss about 5%.

"Approximately 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by parasites that can be passed on to consumers.

On June 18, 2001, the Washington Post published a story about the plight of sows in gestation crates on its front page. You can read it at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12663-2001Jun17.html 

You'll find a gallery of pig farming photos at: http://www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/photos_pork.htm   

Matthew Scully's book "Dominion: The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy" had a particularly fine chapter on modern pig farming.