CHAPTER ONE WHAT IS EATING ETHICALLY I t is time for your favorite part of the school day lunch You join the school lunch line Today’s menu includes chicken strips You fill your tray and rush to your table where your friends are eating bagged lunches One friend is eating a turkey sandwich Another has a brownie for dessert When lunch ends everyone throws their leftovers away Your friend tosses half a sandwich You dump two chicken strips Yo u p r o b a b l y d o n o t t h i n k t o o m u c h a b o u t w h e r e y o u r f o o d comes from as you go through the school lunch line 5
You took more than you could eat and you do not want to get too full Your dad is making his famous burgers at home tonight It was a typical lunch You laughed with your friends and ate But did you think about what you ate You probably picked items you thought tasted good Or maybe you chose foods you knew were good for you But did you think about where your foods came from Where did the chicken strips come from before the school kitchen Was the chocolate in your friend’s brownie shipped from overseas You know throwing foods away is wasteful But did you know all your food choices affect other people as well as animals and the environment Bigger Faster Cheaper Food production involves every part of the economy It takes energy transportation and agriculture to produce foods Production has become more industrialized over the past century Today’s food industry is focused on producing foods quickly and 6
It is likely any chicken you cook at home comes from a factory farm cheaply But many parts of food production have become harmful to consumers Animal Environmental and Human Rights Abuse More than 99 percent of US chickens are raised on factory farms Most chickens raised on factory farms never see the sun or grass They often live in a huge shed packed so tightly with thousands of other 7
