“Humane” Farming

Children in 4-H youth groups across the country come together to raise animals and sell them to slaughter. Researchers examined the how children interacted with these animals, and how the experience affected their views. Researchers examined how children in 4-H programs interact with and view the animals they raise and then sell to slaughter. They find that there is an active socialization process through which the children learn emotions that make both caring for animals and killing them acceptable. They learn to emotionally distance themselves from animals by not naming them, for example, and rely on socially accepted justifications for their deaths, such as that livestock only exist to die or that the money from selling animals goes toward college.  READ MORE