Shefali Sharma stands inside an industrial pig operation near Muenster, Germany photo: IATP
Shefali Sharma from the US-based The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy joins the count-down to the “We are fed up!” – demo rally. In the Think Forward blog she shares her impressions…
[…] The visit shocked my senses; The extreme smell of ammonia and methane saturated my pores and clothes and the extremely cruel conditions these poor animals are in made me anxious to get out within minutes of entering. We were made to wear boots and these astronaut-like suits/coveralls that would keep our clothes from smelling and would hopefully prevent infection (both human to pig and pig to human).
The producer spoke at length about his operations—his mechanized feeding process, the breeds, the way that each sow is inseminated. The details he failed to mention are just as important, like the excessive use of hormones in the industry so that sows are fertile and give birth to piglets at the same time. This is efficient for producers so that no gestation crate is empty at any given time during the year. The faster the turnover, the more uniform the sows and piglets, the greater the number of piglets born, the more profitable the business.[…]
Read the impressive article on the Think Forward blog written by staff of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
