Farmers

Written for https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/category/word-of-the-day/

What are livestock? A group of animals living on a farm with a varied existence. Farmers raise some for food: pigs, cows, lambs, turkeys, and chickens. Sheep are wool producers. Raising them in different places makes a difference. We treat free-range animals with respect. They have plenty of room, and we house them in comfort.

We all know what battery farming is. Animals forced into rooms where they do not have enough space to move. Cows that continually milk without a chance of a break. We would not treat humans like this, so why them? I have visited working farms with my daughter and granddaughter. She learns about them, and the money we pay helps in their care.

When my daughter was helping with lambing, when she went to college, she came home excited that she had helped birth lambs. I couldn’t eat lamb from that day. I am the same with ducks; we feed them on the pond, and in my mind they are like pets. If I worked on a farm, I believe I would become a vegetarian.

I do like eating meat and eggs. It is easier to find free-range and look for the labels. Sometimes it isn’t always possible, especially when you shop on a budget, but I try my best and make the right decision.