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I want to introduce you to someone.
When devastating floods hit Iowa
Nikki was washed away from a factory farm.
Nikki swam for miles before making her way to a levee, where she built a nest,
gave birth to seven piglets, and spent the next week protecting them from the
flood.
Hi, I'm Steve-O.
Pigs like Nikki are some of the smartest animals on earth, even smarter
than the dogs and cats we live with.
Like dolphins and elephants, pigs understand how mirrors work,
and like some primates
they've even been taught to play simple video games.
Nikki has dreams when she sleeps at night
and her piglets understand their names and respond when called.
Like dogs, pigs are loyal and affectionate
and they love a good belly rub.
As terrible as the flood was for Nikki and her babies,
it actually saved their lives
because what came before was even worse.
At a nearby factory farm
Nikki had spent her entire life locked in a metal cage so small she could barely move.
Pigs like Nikki are raised in such cramped conditions that they often
go insane from stress
abuse,
and lack of mental stimulation.
On that farm Nikki's piglets would have been taken away from her just weeks after they were born.
They would have been castrated and had their tails chopped off,
all without pain relief.
If they were sick,
or if they didn't grow fast enough,
they would have been killed by being slammed head first into the ground
or by being tossed into bins and gassed to death.
All of this is standard in the pork industry.
Older piglets are crammed into filthy pens. They never spend a day outdoors
They never feel the sun on their backs or grass beneath their feet.
At just six months old they are stuffed onto transport trucks and shipped to
slaughter plants where they're hung upside down, stunned with electrical tongs,
and have their throats slit.
The sad reality is that nearly all farms,
whether large or small, local or distant,
treat pigs like Nikki with incredible cruelty.
That's why I stopped eating meat
and it was so easy it's ridiculous.
There are delicious meat-free alternatives to anything you can eat and they are way healthier.
Cutting cruelty out of my diet has benefited every area of my life.
I feel so much better physically, mentally, and spiritually it's amazing.
If you make the same choice, every year you will
personally spare thirty-one animals like Nikki from a life of daily misery.
And, you'll be in good company. About fifteen million Americans have decided to ditch
meat entirely, and many more are eating less meat.
According to the American Dietetic Association
there are a lot of health benefits to going meat-free.
Bottom line,
a cruel diet is bad for your body
and a kind diet is good for your body.
But now let me introduce you to someone else.
Symphony was one of millions of egg-laying hens confined on a single farm in Ohio.
Sympony's life was also saved by a natural disaster.
Tornadoes demolished the dark warehouse she was kept in
and Farm Sanctuary volunteers rescued her from the wreckage.
Chickens like Symphone are intelligent, unique individuals with personalities
every bit as varied as those of dogs and cats.
Scientists have found that chickens like Symphony can anticipate the future
and that they pass knowledge down to their children.
Sadly, actions that would be felony animal cruelty if done to dogs and cats are
perfectly legal when done to Symphony and other farm animals.
At the hatchery, egg industry workers quickly separate the male chickens from the females.
Because male chicks don't lay eggs, they're not useful to farmers
and so they're killed on the first day of their lives.
If Symphony had been a boy
she would not be alive today. Her tiny body would have been crushed by being tossed,
alive and fully conscious, into a giant grinding machine.
This is standard practice in the industry.
But what was in store for Symphony was even worse. First, part of Symphony's sensitive beak
was sliced off.
They, she was packed into a wire cage so small she could barely move.
Until her rescue she had probably never even fully spread her wings.
Chickens like Symphony often lose their feathers from constantly running against the metal bars
and their feet become crippled by the wire flooring.
Chickens and turkeys raised for meat have been genetically selected to grow so large
that they often suffer heart attacks, crippling leg disorders,
and chronic pain.
Like most farm animals they get no individual veterinary attention.
Instead, a sick bird will slowly suffer to death on the floor of the barns.
A worker might also break her neck or club her to death if she becomes sick.
There are no laws that effectively protect the welfare of chickens and turkeys at the slaughter plant.
This footage was taken at a small, organic, free-range chicken farm that invited
filmmakers in take video.
Even at the very best farms,
the treatment of animals is far from humane.
Few of us would want to subject Symphony to a horrible death like this one.
By leaving chicken off your plate,
you can spare thirty-one animals like Symphony each year from this cruelty.
Lastly, let me introduce you to ***.
At just four years old, *** was so sick and crippled from her life on a farm
that she was unable to even stand before being rescued and brought to Farm Sanctuary.
Cows like *** are intelligent.
They remember faces for years, and when they solve a problem they'll sometimes jump in the air with excitement.
Like other cows, *** has a best friend
and a group that she prefers to hang out with.
Sadly, on today's farms cows endure mutilations without pain relief
including de-horning,
having their tails cut off,
castration, and branding with a hot iron.
Female cows like ***,
including those on organic and local farms, spend most of their entire lives
standing on filthy concrete floors
or crammed into small mud lots.
All of the footage you're seeing represents the standard treatment of animals on today's farms.
Pigs, cows, and chickens aren't the only ones who endure unnecessary suffering
for the sake of our taste buds.
Scientific studies have made it clear that fish feel pain and suffer like other animals.
They just don't have the vocal cords to scream.
Marine biologists tell us that fish are also intelligent and unique individuals who can be highly social.
They sometimes eavesdrop to pick up new information,
and they will often rub gently against one another for pleasure
just like a cat rubbing against your leg.
Yet fish endure unimaginable cruelty.
As they're dragged up from the water the intense change in pressure can rupture their swim bladder
or cause their eyes to pop out of their head.
Many are cut into pieces while still fully conscious.
The massive trawler nets used to catch wild fish also catch and kill millions of
dolphins, turtles, and other animals each year.
Today many fish are confined on fish farms,
crowded, feces-filled pools where they're packed so tightly together
that they can barely move around.
I hope that you'll remember Nikki.
She's every bit as intelligent, affectionate, and able to feel pain
as the cats and dogs we live with.
You wouldn't personally do any of the things you saw in this video to Nikki, Symphony, ***,
or any other animal,
so i'm sure you don't want to pay others to hurt them for you.
Each of us can choose to leave Nikki and other animals off our plates
and replace them with
delicious animal-free foods that we already know and love.
By making this choice, every year you will personally spare thirty-one
individuals like Nikki from a lifetime of misery.
And it's easier than ever.
There are meat-free items in every grocery store
and in many restaurant chains as well.
Ethnic restaurants like Chinese, Mexican Italian, and Thai offer delicious meat-free options.
And i'm here to help.
Meal suggestions, recipes, and other information
to help you make the switch are just a click away. On behalf of Nikki, ***, Symphony, and every other animal at Farm Sanctuary, thank you.