Unpacking Chile’s Animal Industrial Complex: The Livestock Industry
Chilean Consumption & Culture
Currently, Chile ranks as the second-highest per capita general consumer in Latin America, simultaneously holding a position among the top three countries with the highest ecological footprint in the region (based on population). In fact, Chile depletes its natural “resources” so quickly that these resources often cannot replenish at a sustainable rate.
Beyond the consumption patterns of individual lifestyles, Chile’s wider culture is defined by speciesism and anthropocentrism, which shapes the lives of the people (and animals) who live there. Anthropocentric speciesism involves not only arbitrary discrimination based on species but also entails a complex web of domestication, subordination, and exploitation of other animal species, forming a social order based on domination.
In this blog, the second of two articles I’ve written about Chile’s animal industrial complex, I will attempt to explore how these cultural dynamics support the institutionalized and systematic exploitation of farmed land animals. Most of the data has been taken from the National Institute of Statistics of Chile’s (INE) “Fairs and Slaughterhouses” Bulletins from 2002-2021. This data offers insight into the productive matrix that supports and satisfies the population’s meat consumption in Chile.
The Trade Of Animal Species
Inherent to the animal industrial complex is the appropriation and trade of animal species. Between 2002 and 2021, a total of 23,932,150 animals were traded at commercial fairs, with 83% being cows, 6.5% pigs, 5.5% sheep, 4% horses, 0.5% goats, and 0.1% mules. Notably, the number of traded animals decreased more than 21% over the two decades.
Slaughter “Benefits”
The INE classifies the number of animals entering slaughter and processed for consumption as a “benefit.” Between 2002 and 2021, 130,617,563 mammals (goats, sheep, cows, pigs, and horses) entered slaughterhouses. Pigs experienced a 47% increase from 3.7 million in 2002 to 5.5 million in 2021. The total number of mammals increased 30% from 5.3 million in 2002 to 6.9 million in 2021.
Regarding birds entering slaughterhouses from 2002 to 2021, 5,087,306,431 individuals were recorded, with broiler chickens constituting 96% of this figure. Notably, the total number of birds increased 61%, from 184 million in 2002 to 296 million in 2021.
Perhaps the rise in animal “benefits” could be attributed to the growing number of animal products exported to other countries, as indicated by the Chilean Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies. Additionally, domestic animal product consumption is linked to the demographic increase resulting from massive migration to Chile, where traditional meat and dairy consumption is intertwined with other cultural practices. In 2000, Chile had 177,332 immigrants, increasing to 639,724 in 2015 and reaching 1,645,015 in 2020.
Finally, animals who are slaughtered end up being processed into meat products. Between 2002 and 2021, a total of 14.5 million tonnes of meat products were produced, with 29% from cows and 68% from pigs. In 2002, the total tonnes produced were 567,592, escalating to 818,385 tonnes in 2021.
In parallel, 444,162,216 kilograms of chicken products were created in 2002, rising to 751,905,419 kilograms in 2021 — a 69% increase over 20 years. The total amount of farmed bird products accumulated over two decades was 12,894,194,935 kilograms, primarily from broiler chickens (85%) and turkeys (14%).
Intensive Breeding And (Re)Production Centers
A crucial area to delve into within the livestock industry is the intensive breeding centers, where production and reproduction coexist, encompassing gestation, breeding, weaning, disease, and death. This cycle of (re)production is marked by extreme violence — no longer limited to taking a life but also preventing animals from living an independent existence, confining them within structures designed solely for subjugation and exploitation until they are no longer useful.
This statistical record comes from the INE’s “Livestock Production” database and covers the period between 2013-2020. However, it likely excludes many informal animal breeding facilities.
Chicken Farms
Intensive breeding, within an industrial context, involves the management of life and death for commercial purposes. The goal is to perpetuate animal lives that end up being devoured by humans, accepting death and suffering as simply part of the process (and part of the business profit). In turn, the humans who consume these animal lives ignore or are indifferent to their suffering and exploitation, viewing them as mere objects or means to satisfy some human desire (often disguised as necessity).
Eggs are often promoted as a complete, rich, healthy, easily digestible, and, of course, cheap source of food. However, all of this comes at the cost of the pain, exhaustion, and death of hens and chicks, whose fleeting lives are collectively exploited.
Between 2013-2020, there was an average of 5,232 active workers on chicken farms, 96% of whom were permanent employees (86% men, 14% women). The remaining 4% were temporary workers, with 68% men and 32% women.
During this period, farms recorded a total production of 31.6 million eggs, with an average of 90% allocated for human consumption and the remaining 10% for incubation.
The incubation of eggs shows an upward trend, reaching a total sum of 3 million during this period. In parallel, chick production, in the same timeframe, totaled 2.5 million.
Pig Farms
Now, let’s examine pig farms. Records classify pigs based on their physiological and productive condition, including those bred for reproduction, males used for “service” (i.e., insemination), service males being reared pre-insemination, females in reproduction, females being reared before reproduction, disposal females, piglets, rearing pigs, and fattening pigs.
Between 2013 and 2020, the average number of active workers on pig farms was 2,677, with 97% being permanent employees (90% men, 10% women). The remaining 3% were temporary workers, composed of 92% men and 8% women.
During this period, there were 42.8 million pigs within breeding centers, averaging 5.3 million pigs annually. Among these pigs, 9% were designated as “breeders,” and 91% were intended for “fattening.”
The breakdown of pigs intended for fattening between 2013-2020 reveals that less than 1% were “disposal females,” 13% were piglets, 17% were pigs in rearing (pre-fattening), and those already in the fattening process constituted 70% of the total population recorded in these breeding centers.
Between 2013 and 2020, the birth and mortality rates indicate that 3.6 million females gave birth, averaging 26 live piglets per female. Following weaning, an annual average of 255,590 piglets died, totaling 2 million during the recorded period.
Within the breeding processes, a total of 873,745 sick pigs and 492,162 dead pigs were recorded between 2013 and 2020.
Being exploited from birth to death, the high mortality of confined pigs is unsurprising, given that weaning can arbitrarily occur the day after birth or the next month. Maternal milk, designed to nourish offspring, is denied its natural role in strengthening piglets until a “natural” weaning process occurs. Piglets are denied the opportunity to wean from their mothers naturally in an industrial setting.
Health Consequences Of Intensive Breeding
Intensive breeding and production systems are breeding grounds for infection, disease, cannibalism, decay, and pollution. Exploited animal populations, with homogenous genetic traits, facilitate the spread of viruses, leading to potential epidemics. Because animals are forced to grow and reproduce at unnatural rates, they have a weakened ability to fight off pathogens. Consequently, animal populations within the animal industrial complex are epidemiological hotspots.
As evidence of the above, recall that various pandemics and endemics originate from the capture and production of animals from different species, including SARS 2002-03, Ebola, Swine Flu 2009 (H1N1pdm), and Avian Influenza. Zoonoses remain a latent possibility, considering the close contact between humans and the millions of animals crowded in markets, factory farms, breeding centers, dairies, slaughterhouses, and livestock transportation.
In each of these contexts, pathogens are cultivated in environments of highly chronic and prolonged stress, inhibiting the immune response of each organism. Factors like poor air quality, ammonia, fecal dust, mixed bodily fluids, infections, and parasites further compromise the defenses of each organism against infections, primarily through their respiratory systems. Animals in industrial contexts are also surrounded by dead animal carcasses, eggs and eggshells, food scattered on the ground, feathers, rats, insects, and protozoa — none of which indicate high standards of hygiene.
It might be tempting to believe that producers, in their business decisions, are unaware of the violence and environmental health impacts of their economic activities. However, I believe this would be naive. Farming animals is a traditional business, and negative effects are likely factored into their calculations, managed as costs as long as the anticipated benefits are realized.
Final Reflections
The process of sustaining meat consumption involves acquiring or renting land, building infrastructure, breeding and marketing animals, hiring reliable labor (mostly men), and then shifting production from local communities to specific national and global target audiences.
In this context, the consumption of animal-based products is firmly rooted in historical traditions and modern lifestyles, influencing our habits and personal preferences based on the information managed and the financial capacity of individuals or households.
The above data raises various questions. To have factory farms, supportive laws favoring specific economic sectors are essential, indicating that both the government and media are responsible for concealing the nature and impact of industrial operations. In this context, the ethical concerns about factory farming extend to its environmental and health impacts.
Future researchers should compare Chile’s ministerial environmental alert system statistics with those of the animal industrial complex to gauge the industry’s accurate impact on humans, non-humans, and nature. Also, examining communities affected by chicken farms, dairies, intensive poultry and pig breeding centers, and slaughterhouses could reveal their awareness of the environmental harm and exploitation of animals. Understanding the normalization and acceptance of animal exploitation in society is crucial, shedding light on how it influences people’s mindsets, values, and shared culture.
Gathering data on the existence, reproduction, and slaughter of farmed land animals can assist in monitoring historical trends in production and consumption. This information can help animal advocates with lobbying efforts, pressure campaigns on businesses and government, and educational initiatives targeting diverse age groups. The aim is to raise awareness about animal exploitation and explore potential alternatives in production and consumption, because allowing these deadly places to exist makes every living being lose more than we gain.
In this context, efforts to dismantle the animal industrial complex must be accompanied by the cultivation of a compassionate culture among the human population, extending our solidarity. This culture should advocate for alternative consumption and industries, thereby exposing and overshadowing those based on animal exploitation.