1 June 2026

Billie Eilish may have sparked a debate about the morality of eating meat, but now even The New York Times is getting in on the action with this weekend’s opinion piece, What the Meat Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know (spoiler alert: most hog farms use gestation crates - severe confinement throughout a pig’s pregnancy).

Looking at that package of bacon in the supermarket, it’s difficult to remember that this was once a sentient animal. It’s funny how, on packaging for milk and eggs, they show pictures of cows happily grazing in a country meadow. . . but not on meat. I guess they don’t want to remind us the contents are actually parts of a pig, chicken, cow or other animal that was once alive.

How did we get to the description of certain animals as products, rather than beings? Who decides which animal is food and which are pets? It’s certainly not universal; cows are sacred (i.e. not food) for most Hindus, and Guinea Pigs are a Peruvian delicacy. For families in rural Africa, a goat might be their only source of food.

I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about the average American who consumed over 200 pounds of meat and poultry in 2025 and yet is still subjected to daily marketing campaigns designed to get them to eat more.

Some people choose not to eat anything with a face. But facing the issue doesn’t demand an all-or-nothing approach. Choosing to consume a plant predominant diet can benefit our health, reduce environmental impacts, and lessen reliance on a food system that has become more factory and less farm. Consuming fewer animal foods (smaller amounts, less frequently) means that humanely raised animals can become an affordable part of one’s food budget.

It’s especially important that we consider how our farm animals are treated now, as the House has already approved a Farm Bill that includes language to overturn state voter-approved animal welfare laws. This could wipe out state laws that are critical to ensuring food safety, restricting harmful pesticides, supporting independent family farmers and ranchers, protecting the environment, and implementing more humane agricultural practices.

Yes, there are farmers who claim to love their animals - raising and slaughtering them “humanely” - but with 28 billion pounds of pork produced in the US annually (93% raised in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or “factory farms” with 14K animals), it’s likely that most pigs are not getting the family pet treatment. I don’t work in the farm industry, so I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on with the animals raised for meat, dairy and eggs, but I’ve seen enough documentaries and news reporting to know that there’s a lot of cruelty going on. Less regulation is not likely to lead to more humane conditions.

People are having trouble affording food. A deregulation handout to major hog farms like the Chinese-owned Smithfield may bring prices down a bit, while also incentivizing inhumane practices and a low quality product (the body keeps the score, in pigs too). It’s not the win-win I’d hoped for.

There’s a lot of great stuff in the Farm Bill too - I’ll go into that when it passes, but right now, it’s important that we pay attention to the part of the bill called Save Our Bacon (ironically, as “saving one’s bacon” traditionally means to avoid harm, especially to one’s body). I think a more apt name would be Pork Barrel for Big Ag. Essentially, if passed as written by the House, this Farm Bill brings us all down to the lowest common denominator of animal welfare, something 84% of Americans oppose.

If you support animal rights - or even just states’ rights - I urge you to contact your senator and voice your concern about these dangerous provisions.

If this has piqued your curiosity about plant base eating, be sure to sign up for a plant based potluck this summer during PCRM’s potluck palooza (there are two this month, here in Northern Westchester).