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TerpenesByMS t1_iqwfd62 wrote

Reply to comment by Meatrition in Differences in public and producer attitudes toward animal welfare in the red meat industries -- The results indicate a polarization between the public and livestock producers in their attitudes toward animal welfare, knowledge of husbandry practices and trust in livestock people. by Meatrition

So this study is claiming basically that:

  1. General public have worse opinions of meat industry than people in the meat industry

  2. This means unfair regulations get in the way of business? Unclear.

  3. People in the meat industry believe they are being nicer to meat animals than the general public.

For #3, did the researchers measure how many justifying beliefs people in the meat industry had for continuing to slaughter animals? Bandwagon effect is a big deal, and people will explain why their bad actions were OK a bunch of different ways as long as others are still doing it. Some famous psychology experiments showed us this.

Without turning over the stone of why these survey results come out this way, we are painting an incomplete picture and presenting it as complete, eh Meatrition?

Look, I get the point about how Temple Grandin, etc., had a positive impact on animal welfare in the meat industry. Sorta like gas chambers were an improvement over ovens for the slaughtered during the Holocaust. Pardon the visceral analogy, everyone. This whole line of reasoning about meat workers being kind to animals that are raised for slaughter is one of the most striking examples of mass denial in human history.

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