Thank you for this candid, fact-based, succinct portraiture of the grim reality of industrialized animal agriculture. Through my own years of animal advocacy and activism, I can confirm that everything you're saying is correct, to the very best of my knowledge. What's also abhorrent is that our tax dollars subsidize and indemnify this creation and maintenance of hell on earth. I'll be sharing this and paying for a subscription to support your work.
It is abhorrent, Sarah... But as the famous quote goes: “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” Veganism is here to stay. And this disgusting industry will die much faster than most people can imagine. I will do everything in my power to speed up this process. Thank you so much for your trust and encouragement - it means the world to me!
You're absolutely right, what is going on in the animal industry is truly hell on earth for these wonderful beings. And all of them are individuals with a soul and a right to live. The impact on our societies that tolerate these cruelties should not be underestimated. It's like a layer of horror that is supposed to be normal.
Thank you for your feedback, Susanne! It is an unspeakable disgrace that our society allows this to happen. Those of us who truly understand the magnitude of this issue will not rest until this industry is gone forever. It will not be easy, but we WILL get there. There is not the slightest doubt in my heart.
Thank you so much, Michael! And sorry for not being more active on this platform. My life is insanely packed at the moment. I barely find the time to write my articles... But I'm trying my best 💚 Sending a big hug!
Thank you so much for this article. It's well written and concise and I have been sending it to some of my family members to show them what happens in this despicable industry.
Being a vegan is a curse some times because some days I just stop and think about what happens to these innocent animals and I just tear up. I hope one day we can end these atrocities.
Hi John, thank you for leaving this honest and touching comment. I know that being vegan can feel like a curse, but in reality, it is the biggest gift we could have asked for. To spin your perspective a little, I can really recommend this talk by James Aspey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHOcox2lvQo
I'm involved in various kinds of animal rights activism. And I see how our ranks are growing every week. We will not rest until animal exploitation is a thing of the past, I give you my word. Sending you a big hug!
P.S.: If you want to support Vegan Horizon, feel free to recommend the newsletter to any curious vegans you meet. 💚
I appreciate your supportive comment. I will be sure to watch the speech later today-thank you for the recommendation.
I only recently discovered your blog, and you have a lot of excellent articles that I will be sharing with my friends and family. Thank you for everything you're doing for the animals.
Thank you for sharing this; I really needed the reminder. Lately, I’ve been feeling exhausted and unwell, and despite taking various supplements, nothing seems to be helping. I’ve even been contemplating trying meat again after years of being vegetarian, simply because I’m so worn down. Watching those videos from the dairy industry has reminded me just how upsetting and disheartening the entire situation is. Honestly, I feel quite lost. Reading up on the vitamin industry—especially some of the insights from agent131711’s Substacks—has left me feeling like no matter what I do, it’s impossible to win. And by “win,” I mean just barely get by without constantly feeling fatigued. My partner and I already eat as much organic produce as we can, yet we’ve both been feeling more run-down and susceptible to illness over the past six months.
I’m open to any suggestions because the thought of going back to eating meat is shit, knowing the immense suffering that goes on.
On that note, I’ve been thinking about an idea that, while going against our ethics as vegans and vegetarians, could still be a meaningful step forward. Since we seem to be among the few who genuinely care about animal welfare, perhaps we could channel our efforts into advocating for the development of truly humane, stress-free methods of slaughter and better treatment standards throughout animals’ lives. As harsh as it sounds, if we could create and promote a more compassionate way of executing animals, ensuring they experience no fear or pain, it might alleviate some of the worst suffering. If we could present this to meat eaters—not to stop them from eating meat immediately, but to encourage higher welfare standards and more humane practices—it might lead to real improvements. At least this way, we’d be reducing some of the unimaginable suffering that occurs daily.
TLDR; we may not like killing animals but some do it anyway, if we can at least improve their death methods, it’s a step.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and personal story! First of all, let me highlight that animal products are not at all needed for a healthy life - we are actually healthier without. This has long been confirmed by the the world's leading authorities in nutrition and dietetics. See: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/nutritional-adequacy-of-a-vegan-diet
Meat consumption brings a range of serious long-term health risks.
If you feel unwell, I recommend getting your bloodwork checked - preferably by a plant-based / vegan-friendly physician (medical doctors don't learn much about nutrition in their studies, and often wrongly attribute health problems in vegans to their diet/lifestyle). If you feel constantly fatigued, get your iron and B12 values checked. You'll also find plant-based diet advice online, including supplementation and tips for optimizing absorption.
For optimal health, try following a whole-food, plant-based diet - if you're not doing that already. I recommend watching the documentary 'Forks over Knives'.
There has been a lot of research into "painless" killing methods. The sad reality is that the industry doesn't go with the state of the art, anyways. They use what is cheap. See here, for a horrific example: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/a-dark-chapter-of-humanity-called
Let's do our best to stick with - and advocate for - a plant-based diet. And let's make it our mission to follow available advice on doing it in a nutritious and healthful way <3
I’ve seen the documentary’s you mention and have spent the entire day watching many clips from kinderworld that was enough to jolt me back into why I went veggie in the first place. I’m just going to have to work on figuring out the energy thing. Iron and B12 appear fine and we eat a lot of good organic veg from a local farm. It’s just been a bad few months that got me questioning how I’d feel back on meat as a possible solution but luckily for now I’ve realised it’s not worth it even if it did improve energy levels. Life is such a pain in the ass. I just wish it was easier and there were more shops with cheap decent vegan food. Literally everything is meat and dairy when you go to the majority of shops. Thanks anyway and keep up the good work <3
First of all, I am very thankful for your activism and sharing info on vegan matters. I find your articles bold and hard-hitting, the type I would never be able to write myself.
Second of all, I believe the more accurate title for this piece to be 'Livestock farming is the biggest man-made source of suffering in the world'. The passage that the suffering created by livestock farming is bigger than the one found in nature is not convincing, imo.
- livestock are more numerous than big wild mammals and birds, certainly fish, small mammals and sentient invertebrates trump their numbers, and by a large margin.
- as for the value judgement, I agree that human-made suffering of livestock is more evil than that of wild animals.
This all means that livestock are the second biggest group of suffering individuals and probably the first group when it comes to suffering that could easily be solved, meliorated.
I can provide a bibliography on Wild Animal Suffering if you are interested.
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, and for sharing your critical thoughts. I really appreciate your time and effort.
You are right: fish and small mammals certainly trump the numbers of farmed animals.
However, that doesn't mean that they represent the largest source of suffering on this planet. Small mammals and fish just living their lives doesn't equal suffering. Most of them, I assume, have quite good lives in the wild. Of course, some of them will be killed by predators - but that's only a few moments, whereas they have lived the rest of their lives in freedom. Farmed animals, however, live their entire lives in confinement. Many of them never see the sun in their entire life. 99% of animals in the U.S. are factory farmed - and we take everything from them that could possibly make their lives worth living. There are billions of farmed animals. And they experience SO much more suffering than free animals in the wild that I'm still positive that the livestock sector is the biggest source of suffering on this planet. If you still don't agree, I'm very curious to hear your thoughts. :)
Thanks again for your time, and for your interest in my work - and have a wonderful day!
Here is a biomass visualization: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/total-biomass-weight-species-earth/ Notice how much large the populations of sentient species of fish (and probably invertebrates) are compared to the farmed animals. Also, biomass does not equal nr of individuals, so the numbers of wild animals sentient individuals are much larger than this, mainly because they are smaller than farmed animals.
Now, with this being said, you make a good point about the difference between the suffering of wild animals and of farmed ones. Still, I believe a more accurate title for your article to be 'Livestock farming is not only one of the biggest but also the worst source of suffering in the world'.
I am very passionate about the ethics of wild animals so I look forward to an answer from you.
All the best and, once again, I am thankful for your work and advocacy.
You raise some very valid and interesting points here. Thank you very much for linking these insightful sources. I think what we can agree on is that livestock farming is the biggest human-made source of suffering in the world - thus the biggest source that is directly relevant for our decision-making.
While it is certainly philosophically interesting to think about the "ethics of wild animals" as you call it, we will - for better or worse - likely never be able to control the behavior of all wildlife. When it comes to environmental protection and animal welfare, as a general principle, our focus should be on what we can directly influence (such as consumption of animal products) and not on dynamics that are far beyond our control.
While the title you have proposed ('Livestock farming is not only one of the biggest but also the worst source of suffering in the world') may be more precise, it raises other questions, such as "what exactly does 'worst' mean?" - and I also think that it is too long to serve as an effective title for a blog post.
Nonetheless, I really appreciate that you have shared your sources and very valid thoughts. I appreciate your passion for this topic, and will certainly read the articles you have linked. Thank you so much for your time and interest! Given that my blog is very young and doesn't have a big following yet, it means a lot to me.
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m afraid I have to correct you here. That’s not at all what the science says - quite the opposite. Check this out, hope this helps:
I'm sorry to hear about the situation with your son. And I totally understand that you were worrying about him.
Animal products aren't a health-promoting long term solution, though. This may have positive effects in the short run. But research is clear: consuming animal products brings various long-term health risks. This isn't vegan propaganda. This is a well-documented and internationally recognized fact.
Thank you for this candid, fact-based, succinct portraiture of the grim reality of industrialized animal agriculture. Through my own years of animal advocacy and activism, I can confirm that everything you're saying is correct, to the very best of my knowledge. What's also abhorrent is that our tax dollars subsidize and indemnify this creation and maintenance of hell on earth. I'll be sharing this and paying for a subscription to support your work.
It is abhorrent, Sarah... But as the famous quote goes: “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” Veganism is here to stay. And this disgusting industry will die much faster than most people can imagine. I will do everything in my power to speed up this process. Thank you so much for your trust and encouragement - it means the world to me!
You're absolutely right, what is going on in the animal industry is truly hell on earth for these wonderful beings. And all of them are individuals with a soul and a right to live. The impact on our societies that tolerate these cruelties should not be underestimated. It's like a layer of horror that is supposed to be normal.
Thank you for your feedback, Susanne! It is an unspeakable disgrace that our society allows this to happen. Those of us who truly understand the magnitude of this issue will not rest until this industry is gone forever. It will not be easy, but we WILL get there. There is not the slightest doubt in my heart.
Thank you for keeping up the spirit. I know, too, that we will not stop.
Good job!
Thank you so much, Michael! And sorry for not being more active on this platform. My life is insanely packed at the moment. I barely find the time to write my articles... But I'm trying my best 💚 Sending a big hug!
Not just for the donors. We’re ruining our poor planet and our own lives
Thanks David, very true. But change is possible - we won't give up so easily.
Thank you so much for this article. It's well written and concise and I have been sending it to some of my family members to show them what happens in this despicable industry.
Being a vegan is a curse some times because some days I just stop and think about what happens to these innocent animals and I just tear up. I hope one day we can end these atrocities.
Hi John, thank you for leaving this honest and touching comment. I know that being vegan can feel like a curse, but in reality, it is the biggest gift we could have asked for. To spin your perspective a little, I can really recommend this talk by James Aspey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHOcox2lvQo
Trust me, we will bring this disgusting industry down - much faster than many would dare to imagine today. See here, for example: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/animal-agriculture-has-no-chance
I'm involved in various kinds of animal rights activism. And I see how our ranks are growing every week. We will not rest until animal exploitation is a thing of the past, I give you my word. Sending you a big hug!
P.S.: If you want to support Vegan Horizon, feel free to recommend the newsletter to any curious vegans you meet. 💚
I appreciate your supportive comment. I will be sure to watch the speech later today-thank you for the recommendation.
I only recently discovered your blog, and you have a lot of excellent articles that I will be sharing with my friends and family. Thank you for everything you're doing for the animals.
Thank you for sharing this; I really needed the reminder. Lately, I’ve been feeling exhausted and unwell, and despite taking various supplements, nothing seems to be helping. I’ve even been contemplating trying meat again after years of being vegetarian, simply because I’m so worn down. Watching those videos from the dairy industry has reminded me just how upsetting and disheartening the entire situation is. Honestly, I feel quite lost. Reading up on the vitamin industry—especially some of the insights from agent131711’s Substacks—has left me feeling like no matter what I do, it’s impossible to win. And by “win,” I mean just barely get by without constantly feeling fatigued. My partner and I already eat as much organic produce as we can, yet we’ve both been feeling more run-down and susceptible to illness over the past six months.
I’m open to any suggestions because the thought of going back to eating meat is shit, knowing the immense suffering that goes on.
On that note, I’ve been thinking about an idea that, while going against our ethics as vegans and vegetarians, could still be a meaningful step forward. Since we seem to be among the few who genuinely care about animal welfare, perhaps we could channel our efforts into advocating for the development of truly humane, stress-free methods of slaughter and better treatment standards throughout animals’ lives. As harsh as it sounds, if we could create and promote a more compassionate way of executing animals, ensuring they experience no fear or pain, it might alleviate some of the worst suffering. If we could present this to meat eaters—not to stop them from eating meat immediately, but to encourage higher welfare standards and more humane practices—it might lead to real improvements. At least this way, we’d be reducing some of the unimaginable suffering that occurs daily.
TLDR; we may not like killing animals but some do it anyway, if we can at least improve their death methods, it’s a step.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and personal story! First of all, let me highlight that animal products are not at all needed for a healthy life - we are actually healthier without. This has long been confirmed by the the world's leading authorities in nutrition and dietetics. See: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/nutritional-adequacy-of-a-vegan-diet
Meat consumption brings a range of serious long-term health risks.
If you feel unwell, I recommend getting your bloodwork checked - preferably by a plant-based / vegan-friendly physician (medical doctors don't learn much about nutrition in their studies, and often wrongly attribute health problems in vegans to their diet/lifestyle). If you feel constantly fatigued, get your iron and B12 values checked. You'll also find plant-based diet advice online, including supplementation and tips for optimizing absorption.
For optimal health, try following a whole-food, plant-based diet - if you're not doing that already. I recommend watching the documentary 'Forks over Knives'.
There has been a lot of research into "painless" killing methods. The sad reality is that the industry doesn't go with the state of the art, anyways. They use what is cheap. See here, for a horrific example: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/a-dark-chapter-of-humanity-called
Let's do our best to stick with - and advocate for - a plant-based diet. And let's make it our mission to follow available advice on doing it in a nutritious and healthful way <3
Sending a big hug!
I’ve seen the documentary’s you mention and have spent the entire day watching many clips from kinderworld that was enough to jolt me back into why I went veggie in the first place. I’m just going to have to work on figuring out the energy thing. Iron and B12 appear fine and we eat a lot of good organic veg from a local farm. It’s just been a bad few months that got me questioning how I’d feel back on meat as a possible solution but luckily for now I’ve realised it’s not worth it even if it did improve energy levels. Life is such a pain in the ass. I just wish it was easier and there were more shops with cheap decent vegan food. Literally everything is meat and dairy when you go to the majority of shops. Thanks anyway and keep up the good work <3
Hello
First of all, I am very thankful for your activism and sharing info on vegan matters. I find your articles bold and hard-hitting, the type I would never be able to write myself.
Second of all, I believe the more accurate title for this piece to be 'Livestock farming is the biggest man-made source of suffering in the world'. The passage that the suffering created by livestock farming is bigger than the one found in nature is not convincing, imo.
- livestock are more numerous than big wild mammals and birds, certainly fish, small mammals and sentient invertebrates trump their numbers, and by a large margin.
- as for the value judgement, I agree that human-made suffering of livestock is more evil than that of wild animals.
This all means that livestock are the second biggest group of suffering individuals and probably the first group when it comes to suffering that could easily be solved, meliorated.
I can provide a bibliography on Wild Animal Suffering if you are interested.
Dear Petricia,
Thank you so much for your positive feedback, and for sharing your critical thoughts. I really appreciate your time and effort.
You are right: fish and small mammals certainly trump the numbers of farmed animals.
However, that doesn't mean that they represent the largest source of suffering on this planet. Small mammals and fish just living their lives doesn't equal suffering. Most of them, I assume, have quite good lives in the wild. Of course, some of them will be killed by predators - but that's only a few moments, whereas they have lived the rest of their lives in freedom. Farmed animals, however, live their entire lives in confinement. Many of them never see the sun in their entire life. 99% of animals in the U.S. are factory farmed - and we take everything from them that could possibly make their lives worth living. There are billions of farmed animals. And they experience SO much more suffering than free animals in the wild that I'm still positive that the livestock sector is the biggest source of suffering on this planet. If you still don't agree, I'm very curious to hear your thoughts. :)
Thanks again for your time, and for your interest in my work - and have a wonderful day!
Hello and sorry for my late response,
You are right that, more often than not, death for wild animals is rather quick and even when not, some hours of agony will not cancel a regular life.
However, there are two things here that philosophers preoccupied with the topic usually like to point at:
1 Most animals live very short and very bad lives; in fact, the lives of the vast majority of animals in the wild consist mainly of dying. That is because they are killed shortly after being born. This point is very well made by Oscar Horta in the paper 'Debunking the idyllic view of natural process' https://www.stafforini.com/docs/Horta%20-%20Debunking%20the%20idyllic%20view%20of%20natural%20processes.pdf
2 Even regular lives of animals in the wild are filled with misery, fear, hunger and so on.
See the section 'How Wild Animals Suffer' from here: https://longtermrisk.org/the-importance-of-wild-animal-suffering/#How_Wild_Animals_Suffer Also here are some details: https://www.animal-ethics.org/situation-of-animals-wild/
Here is a biomass visualization: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/total-biomass-weight-species-earth/ Notice how much large the populations of sentient species of fish (and probably invertebrates) are compared to the farmed animals. Also, biomass does not equal nr of individuals, so the numbers of wild animals sentient individuals are much larger than this, mainly because they are smaller than farmed animals.
Now, with this being said, you make a good point about the difference between the suffering of wild animals and of farmed ones. Still, I believe a more accurate title for your article to be 'Livestock farming is not only one of the biggest but also the worst source of suffering in the world'.
I am very passionate about the ethics of wild animals so I look forward to an answer from you.
All the best and, once again, I am thankful for your work and advocacy.
Dear Petricia,
I'm very sorry for the late response!
You raise some very valid and interesting points here. Thank you very much for linking these insightful sources. I think what we can agree on is that livestock farming is the biggest human-made source of suffering in the world - thus the biggest source that is directly relevant for our decision-making.
While it is certainly philosophically interesting to think about the "ethics of wild animals" as you call it, we will - for better or worse - likely never be able to control the behavior of all wildlife. When it comes to environmental protection and animal welfare, as a general principle, our focus should be on what we can directly influence (such as consumption of animal products) and not on dynamics that are far beyond our control.
While the title you have proposed ('Livestock farming is not only one of the biggest but also the worst source of suffering in the world') may be more precise, it raises other questions, such as "what exactly does 'worst' mean?" - and I also think that it is too long to serve as an effective title for a blog post.
Nonetheless, I really appreciate that you have shared your sources and very valid thoughts. I appreciate your passion for this topic, and will certainly read the articles you have linked. Thank you so much for your time and interest! Given that my blog is very young and doesn't have a big following yet, it means a lot to me.
Have a wonderful day!
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m afraid I have to correct you here. That’s not at all what the science says - quite the opposite. Check this out, hope this helps:
https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/think-you-have-a-health-argument
I'm sorry to hear about the situation with your son. And I totally understand that you were worrying about him.
Animal products aren't a health-promoting long term solution, though. This may have positive effects in the short run. But research is clear: consuming animal products brings various long-term health risks. This isn't vegan propaganda. This is a well-documented and internationally recognized fact.
If you still think there is a credible health argument to be made against veganism, read this: https://veganhorizon.substack.com/p/think-you-have-a-health-argument
Vegans aren't fighting nature. Vegan living is actually one of the best ways to protect nature. See: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth