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Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by golemotron on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:23PM (#15352876)
Am I the only one who wonders how what the actual difference in suffering is in free range vs. factory farming? There might be a lot of projection going on - people imagining themselves in the same circumstance as the animals and missing the mark because of the differences between our sense of life and that of other animals.

As an example, I once spoke to a person who thought the movie _The March of the Penguins_ was horrific because the penguins just stood there week after week in the freezing cold doing nothing. That may be perfectly fine for a penguin. It might even be like what a adept meditator would experience in a life of meditation.

Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by goatlover on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:35PM (#15352958)
Animals aren't totally different than us. We share a lot of similarities biologically, and even in our brain structures. It's safe to assume that herd animals need a decent amount of space to roam around, and that crowding is stressful and possibly causes mental illnesses.

This is even more true of animals like pigs. Imagine dogs living their lives out in kennels. Also consider the change in behavior in zoo animals when their habitats are redesigned to more closely resemble their native habitats.

Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by golemotron on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:41PM (#15353008)
Thanks. That really has me wondering about the penguins now. Hundreds of thousands of years and evolution has made no accommodation for their emotional well being.
Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by goatlover on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @09:33PM (#15353836)
Why would evolution make an accommodation for their emotional well being if the penguins are fit enough in their environment to pass their genes on?

That being said, I have no idea what it's like to be a penguin, or how much they suffer. I did watch March of the Penguins and it seemed the males huddling together deep in Antarctica during the winter were uncomfortable.

Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by minikites on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:36PM (#15352973)
Chickens peck at themselves when caged and cows get stuck on fences trying to retrieve their calves when the calves are separated from them. It's not that difficult to see the suffering in factory-farmed animals.
Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by mikestew on Thursday September 28, 2017 @01:14PM (#15358930)
There is ample documentation of the difference in behaviors between factory-farmed animals and free range. People aren’t just making this up.

But as an aside, I’d argue that you’re bordering on the “Africans don’t mind the heat of the cotton fields” line of thinking to make ourselves feel better about owning slaves. Like with the animals, even the slightest bit of effort in the way of research will tell you that’s not true.

Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by nol13 on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:36PM (#15352970)
Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by golemotron on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:38PM (#15352980)
I'm not sure I'm convinced that's happiness. I jump like that when I need to pee.
Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by nol13 on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @07:17PM (#15353239)
^clearly a bot account

(but there are ~hundreds of similar vids if not convinced)

Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by robertwiblin on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:33PM (#15352949)
We talk about this in the episode! :)
Re:Ending factory farming as soon as possible by golemotron on Wednesday September 27, 2017 @06:36PM (#15352966)
I'm curious but not 3 hours and 16 minutes curious.