The animal agriculture industry is often challenged by animal rights activists. I think a major breakdown in agriculture communication is the failure to respond to accusations of animal cruelty.
For example, many animal rights groups disagree with gestation and farrowing crates. The Humane League published an article criticizing gestation and farrowing crates, writing that the “metal cage is so tight, a pig can’t even turn around.” They start the article with a photo of a pig in a crate. The lighting in the photo is dim and the pig is dirty, making it look uncomfortable and sad.
In class, however, we discussed that farrowing crates prevent the mother pigs from falling on and crushing their piglets. The agriculture industry should publish more articles about how gestation and farrowing crates are used, and how they ultimately protect pigs. These articles would be more powerful if accompanied by videos of pigs looking comfortable in the crates.
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