Hello-

There is absolutely no way to justify the greed and cruely upon which factory farms are built.

Thanks so very much, Ellen, for helping to get the word out!

Dear "anonymous"
I am not "condemning" family farmers who do not abuse their animals before they kill and eat them. As a matter of fact I have family who does just that (and nothing will change their mind about it). They are doing what they have been taught for generations to do.
What I am saying based not on your "internet research" but in my own personal experience living in an area FILLED with family farms and also factory farms (West Virginia) I have not only had the pleasure of sharing a road with numerous trucks full of pigs snout on top of snout on top of little curly tail and turkey filled crates, but also to meet and play with the piggy named Paul before seeing him in chop shape on the grill. ASIDE form what I've seen with my own eyes are the health problems I've suffered from eating animals. 6 years ago i was diagnosed with Crohns disease, I was SICK. Put on chemotherapy pills, steroids, corticosteroids, sulfur pills (for inflammation) and a diet that didn't help at all. Awfully funny that when i started cutting out meat and milk I went into remission... If you'd like to have some personal experience of your own, you come on over to WV and check out the person the that is "testing" your milk. I'm sure Joe Bob and them would love to have ya for a nice "piggy Paul" dinner. :)

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/02/factory-farm-workers-face-first-ever-felony-cruelty-charges/

http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/turkey-investigation.asp

to all those being defensive with being meat eaters and to those who are vegetarians

RESPECT. Respect each other's views and be open minded. HOWEVER, it has been my experiance that everyone seems to have a hard time with this.

I am an omnivore who not only LOVES to EAT MEAT, but builds my livelyhood off of it as i work on a hog farm.

I wish everyone would take the moment to think of the fact that without meat many would starve and live in poverty. In third world countries there are people starving with full bellys. you may ask how is this possible? their bellys are lacking protein and a complete source of amino acids.

It is true you can find different sources of protein and amino acids from non-meat products. HOWEVER, it becomes more difficult and a wider variety of foods must be found, when eating a small amount of meat can do the same job.

It is more economically fesable to eat meat as you not only have to consume less for the same nutrition, but you are supporting the Agricultural industry, which is a staple in american society.

With out Agriculture we would not be the country we are. The diversity in agriculture is all apart of america. 1 in every 5 people has a job that in some way relates to agriculte. Yes a Cheif and a Fashion Designer are examples of occupations that indirectly pertain to Agriculture.

I leave you with that, so maybe you will think before you decide to bash the american agricultural industry. it is what it is and for the past centuries it has helped this country thrive.

SUPPORT WHO YOU WANT, BUT IN THE END SUPPORT AMERICA.

It's too bad you only have one side represented here. Of course I am willing to admit that there are a few bad apples in everything we do but the side represented here is just that; the bad apples that scatter the agricultural industry. I also believe that he was very misrepresenting and basically lied. The comments here also are a perfect example of what the "public" does not know about where their food comes from and how it gets to their plates. I challenge everyone who agrees with this author to take a drive through America's Heartland and see what really happens. Look and see all the cattle still grazing in the pasture; see all the corn and wheat growing and how beautiful it is and then remember that its on the backs of these farmers that America was built. Realize that without these families yours would not eat. These people have one of the toughest jobs in the world, trying to grow and raise enough food to feed the worlds growing population. Then when you sit down to your table at Thanksgiving this year, if you are eating tofu (which is soy raised on American Farms), a Ham, bread (from wheat raised on American Farms), or even an apple pie (apples from Colorado's Orchards and the crust made from wheat raised on American Farms) give thanks to those people who have dedicated there lives to making sure your table is covered this year.

I voted for Obama and support neither killing unborn children OR the greed of soulless corporations who have turned torture into profit. Maybe if we stop the consumption of genetically altered and diseased animal products we would be able to think clearly and act with conscience... we are what we art right??
I also think it very interesting that although the topic at hand not only affects your own personal health and well being but that of your immediate family, friends and generations to come, still you choose to only use it as an opportunity to "Obama Bash".
Tell me, when you sit your child(ren) down for their daily serving of E-Coli and enough hormones to make a small boy grow ovaries and ovulate, are you being a good parent? Are you nurturing the health of your babies?? Maybe it's just TOO convenient to drive through the dollar burger menu, maybe more simple and convenient than actually taking the time to CARE about what we feed our babies.
And as in most things in life, the ignorant and closed minded will defend and deflect from the destruction of our health, and our planet until it, and WE are extinct!!! TIME TO EVOLVE!!!

I would love to have someone who voted for Obama explain to me why it is NOT ok to kill animals...but it is ok to kill unborn children.

Ellen, I live in North Carolina, in the country, surrounded by hog, turkey, chicken, and cattle farms. My husband and I have witnessed, firsthand, atrocities that have made a lasting impression on our lives. My husband, a builder, was contracted on multiple occasions to repair hog houses for local farmers. He now refuses to go near a hog barn. He described pigs living in their own feces, their skins caked with excrement. He saw pigs exhibiting flu-like symptoms, with mucus draining from their snouts. The air that the pigs breathe everyday is foul. By the time they reach market weight, there is barely room in the hog house for the pig to turn around. On one occasion, my husband noticed several pigs in a hog house with a red X spray-painted on their backs. He asked the owner what that indicated, and he was told those pigs were marked by the inspector for destruction because they had the flu. However, the ones that were not marked but nonetheless were exposed to the virus were going to market (and to the table). At night when the pigs are loaded on the trucks to go to market, their screams and squeals tell a story that only the most heartless or desensitized can bear. My friend, a truck driver, told me about a load of pigs he delivered to the corporation. While in the yard unloading the pigs, he heard screams coming from the building he had backed up to. He looked inside and saw a pig with its intestines breaking through its anus. A worker snatched the pig while another worker stapled the pig's rear together to hold in its intestines. How can anyone comfortably eat a pig that comes from this environment? I could tell more stories...and not just about pigs. The farmers who surround us...my neighbors...are good hard-working people. These farms are their livelihoods, and they earn far more being a farmer for the corporation than they could if they were not contracted with the corporation. Years ago, a farmer could turn his pigs out into the sweet potato fields after the fall harvest...no more! The corporation that contracts with the farmer will not accept pigs that ever see the light of day or are fed something other than the feed the it (the corporation) prescribes and provides. This is an emotional issue that cuts to the heart of peoples' morals, personal standards, traditions, tastebuds, and pocketbooks. Thank you Ellen for bringing this issue to the table.

To clarify Foer's claim on global warming: a UN Food and Agriculture in 2006 entitled "Livestock's Long Shadow" found that globally animal agriculture is responsible for fully 18% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, which is 40% more than the entire transportation sector. A subsequent Univ of Chicago study found that the average American would do more to reduce their carbon footprint by going vegetarian than by driving a prius. Meat production is so much worse for the environment than vegetable growing because (a) livestock are inherently inefficient - requiring up to 10X as much feed to produce a pound of protein, as serving vegetable protein directly, (b) factory farms raising livestock require huge amounts of electricity, water and gasoline to run, (c) animals emit methane in large quantities. The claim is not new. For years, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has been urging people to go vegetarian as the single most useful thing they could do to stop global warming.

I saw the video of the sensationalized vegetarian that was on Ellen yesterday. I can respect vegetarians because that is the choice they have made, but he clearly made his mistake when he couldn't answer where he learned about H1N1 and he said more than once that over 99% of all meat is factory farmed? Not true. Ellen should be willing to have someone on from the National Cattleman's Association, National Pork Producer's Council or the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association on her show to share their side. Don't cuss the American Farmer with your mouth full and your gut hanging over your belt!

I am heartsick over some of the comments left by the meat eaters. Why are they so defensive? I would love to address most of their comments but it would take all day. What I can say is just read the book! Don't be afraid of the truth all you angry omnivores.
It is amazing just how misinformed these people are. It might be a good idea to offer some more links to help educate because education is what will turn this animal abuse, environment abuse and health abuse around. Thank you Ellen for having Jonathon on. I would love to see John Robbins or Frances Moore Lappe on also. Please don't let all the haters keep you from sharing vegan information.