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The True Cost of ChristmasA special report by the Vegetarian Society

highlighting the plight of animals at this time of year.

www.costofchristmas.org

2 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS

What does Christmas mean for animals? / 3

• Turkeys / 3• Pigs / 5• Geese / 7

‘Hidden’ ingredients / 8

Why animals matter / 8

What about environmental impact? / 9

What about our health? / 10

Going veggie / 10

References / 11

The True Cost of Christmas

A special report by the Vegetarian Society

highlighting the plight of animals at this time of year.

Christmas is typically a time of year when family, friends and loved ones gather and spend time together – enjoying food,

drink and exchanging gifts.

Traditionally, this is a time for peace and goodwill to all mankind – but what about the animals, the environment and your

health?

This report explains what is really behind our seasonal festivities. Nowadays, the vast majority of people in the UK sit down

on Christmas day to tuck into a roast turkey (or other bird/joint of meat) with all the trimmings, including sausage and

bacon, alongside roast potatoes and other vegetables which may have been cooked in goose fat. According to those

organisations promoting turkey meat, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a traditional roast turkey! However, it is

thought that Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas and its consumption was a luxury until the 1950s

when refrigerators became commonplace.1


Around 17 million turkeys are slaughtered in the United Kingdom each year, with approximately 10 million of

these killed solely to meet the Christmas demand.2a

Given the opportunity, turkeys will naturally cover a wide area eating vegetation, seeds and grains. Wild turkeys

are strong fliers with a wing span of six feet, typically roosting high up in trees. The four main types of turkey

production consist of conventional enclosed housing (broiler sheds), barns, free range and organic systems,

with a number of turkeys kept for breeding to provide chicks to rear for meat production.

� BREEDING AND REARING

Parent or adult birds experience a number of welfare

problems having been selectively bred to produce huge

amounts of breast meat. Their large size and broad

breasts have caused male breeding turkeys (stags) to

suffer from degenerative hip disorders resulting in chronic

pain. Artificial insemination (AI) is routine due to the fact

many birds are unable to mate naturally. This procedure

involves the males being repeatedly ‘milked’ for semen

collection, whilst females (hens) have to endure the

process of being caught and inseminated by tube/syringe.3a

The surplus chicks reared (referred to as ‘hatchery waste’)

are killed by a number of permitted methods.2b

� HOUSING

The majority (90%) of turkeys reared for their meat are

kept in windowless sheds, with some containing as many

as 25,000 birds. Heating, ventilation and lighting are all

automatically controlled.2a The stocking density for

broiler-type housing of turkeys is 260cm2/kg, and as the

birds grow and approach slaughter age they become more

tightly packed together.2c Broiler sheds typically contain

flocks of around 10,000 birds housed on litter (usually

wood shavings). The litter is not changed during the

turkey’s time in the shed and so becomes increasingly

covered in the birds’ faeces. Turkeys do not scratch around

in the litter in the way that chickens will and this

Turkeys

What does Christmas mean for animals?


means the condition of the litter deteriorates more quickly.

Many turkeys die in these sheds every year, including

young birds that never learn to reach food and water

points (these birds are known as starve-outs).3a Turkeys

reared in barns are slightly less densely stocked compared

with conventional sheds (around 410cm2/kg).2c Barns are

large sheds with more natural lighting and ventilation. As

these are not often purpose built for rearing birds, bad

ventilation, draughts and heat stress can all cause

problems. Due to a lack of environmental stimulation and

overcrowding, aggression and cannibalism often have to

be controlled in these barns by de-beaking.3a

� ROUTINE MUTILATIONS

Turkeys have to endure a number of routine mutilations,

such as beak trimming and toe cutting. Beak trimming is

mostly carried out to prevent or control behaviour which

could result in injury. It involves slicing off about one-third

of the beak, usually with a red hot blade when the turkey

is around five days old (breeders may be de-beaked again

at 14 to 18 weeks). This can be extremely painful for the

bird and studies on de-beaked chickens have shown pain

to be prolonged and perhaps indefinite.4

� OTHER WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS

The selective breeding for rapid weight gain, along with the

use of high nutrient feed, has meant that many turkeys are

unable to support their own weight. This leads to

lameness and leg/hip joint infections.5 Lameness may also

be the result of foot ulceration caused by turkeys having to

stand on wet, dirty litter.

� TRANSPORT

Before turkeys are slaughtered some will have to face

being caught and transported packed into crates, all of

which can cause considerable pain and distress.4 Turkeys

are considerably larger and stronger than chickens and

can be nervous and easily frightened.

� SLAUGHTER

The natural lifespan of a wild turkey is around 10 years, but

they are normally slaughtered between 9 and 24 weeks

old, depending on the size of bird being produced. In 2011,

16.9 million turkeys were slaughtered in the UK2d (15.2

million in 2010).2e The majority of birds are killed in large,

semi-automated slaughterhouses. Turkeys are removed

from their crates and hung upside down by their legs from

shackles on a moving line. At slaughter, turkeys can weigh

anything from 5-28kg and the pain caused to heavy

birds whilst they hang in shackles is considerable. This

pain is worsened by the fact that many of the birds, and

especially the larger ones, will suffer from diseased hip

joints. The shackles carry them to an electrically charged

stunning water bath through which the bird’s head is

dragged in order to render the bird unconscious and

insensible to pain before its neck is cut. For a bird to be

stunned, rather than receiving an electric shock, the

electric current must pass through its brain before

contacting any other part of the body. As turkeys have a

large wingspan, their wings hang lower than their heads

and so these are in danger of entering the stunning bath

before their heads. In these cases the birds are not

stunned prior to neck cutting.6 Due to the additional

demand for turkeys at Christmas, ‘Seasonal

Slaughterhouses’ are used and many turkeys will be killed

by having their necks dislocated. Research has shown that

this does not usually have an immediate effect and

therefore unconsciousness may not be instantaneous.3a


Around 9.8 million pigs were slaughtered in the UK in 2011.2f Pigs are reared primarily for bacon, ham, pork and

sausages. Over 70% of pigs in the UK are reared under very intensive conditions, being closely confined indoors

for their entire lives.7

Pigs are highly inquisitive, social, intelligent animals which originally lived in woodlands, foraging for nuts,

seeds, roots and grubs. They will not soil their resting area and the myth that pigs are somehow dirty comes

from their wallowing in wet mud. As pigs do not sweat they do this to cool down in hot weather (also protecting

them from sunburn) and to rid themselves of pests and irritations.

� BREEDING AND REARING

Sows are first mated when they are six to eight months

old, with the majority of sows in the UK being serviced by

artificial insemination (AI). Pregnancy lasts approximately

four months and a sow will give birth (farrow) to an

average litter of 10-12 piglets. These are prematurely

weaned after a minimum of 21 days (weaning would

naturally occur at 12-14 weeks) and a week later the sow

will be serviced again.2g The average number of pigs

reared per sow was 23 in 2011.9 Sows produce around

four to seven litters before they become exhausted and are

slaughtered after three to five years for sausages, pork

pies and other low-quality products.8 They spend at least

two thirds of their lives in pregnancy.

� PIGLETS AND YOUNG PIGS

After weaning, the majority of young pigs are reared in

groups in small pens (batch pens) or metal cages. Those

with slatted or perforated floors without bedding often

cause injury to legs and feet. Under The Welfare of Farmed

Animals (England) Regulations 2007 the amount of

unobstructed floor area available to each pig ranges from

0.15m2 (10kg pig) to 1m2 (pigs over 110kg).2h

�� SOWS

There were around 432,000 breeding sows in the UK in

2011.2i The majority of these are kept indoors. Sows used

to be confined in sow stalls. These are barred stalls barely

larger than the sow so she is unable to turn around.



Sow stalls are still commonly used outside the UK, but an

EU-wide ban will come fully into force 1 January 2013.2j

Housed on concrete or slatted floors with no bedding,

intensive farming systems mean that pigs cannot display

their natural tendencies and instead show unnatural

behaviours such as tail biting, bar biting and head shaking.

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations

2007 state that a pig should be able to turn around, stand

up, lie down and rest without difficulty.2h This, however, does

not apply when the sow is moved to a farrowing crate.

� FARROWING CRATES

A week before intensively kept sows give birth they are

moved into farrowing crates – metal crates which are barely

larger than the sow itself. The sow’s movement is severely

restricted and she is unable to turn around. Any attempt at

movement means the sow will unavoidably rub against the

crate bars causing sores, abrasions and swellings. Sows

will remain in these crates for three to four weeks until the

piglets are weaned. The strong instinct to build a nest (out

of natural materials such as grass or straw) is frustrated.

Close confinement can cause muscle weakness, lameness

and inflammatory swellings of the joints.8

Farrowing crates are used as it is claimed that piglets

would otherwise be crushed by the sow lying on them.

However, when the sows are prevented from maneuvering

and lying down carefully, piglets are in danger of being

crushed by the sow clumsily dropping down. Studies have

found piglet mortality is no different between crated and

un-crated systems.10 One study compared the behaviour of

sows housed indoors (farrowing crates) and outdoors in

paddocks have shown that if the environment allows then

pigs will spend hours making a nest to give birth to their

young in. In comparison, confined sows with no access to

material to build a nest spent a large part of their last

hours prior to giving birth pawing, rooting, nosing and

biting parts of the crate. Depriving sows of space and

material to perform natural nesting has shown negative

effects on behaviour, such as psychological stress,

reduced piglet survival and the savaging of piglets.11

� MUTILATIONS

Pens are typically overcrowded, poorly lit and without

bedding. Pigs can become bored and aggressive with

tailbiting and excessive fighting occurring. Piglets therefore

often have their teeth clipped and tails docked. Piglets are

generally not castrated in the UK as they are slaughtered

before sexual maturity. All of these procedures may be

performed in the first few days after birth without a vet

being present. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England)

Regulations 2007 state that if the piglet is older than one

week then these should be carried out under anesthetic by

a veterinary surgeon.2h

� OTHER WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS

Intensive farming methods have lead to increased disease

problems, particularly amongst piglets. Viral pneumonia,

meningitis, swine vesicular disease, blue-ear disease,

scours, infertility and diarrhoea are just some of the

diseases that can affect pigs.2k

� SLAUGHTER

Pigs are usually slaughtered around four to seven months.

Pigs intended for pork are usually slaughtered one to two

months younger than pigs for bacon. The natural lifespan

of a pig is 10-15 years. Around 9.8 million pigs were

slaughtered in the UK in 2011.2f Pigs are stunned first then

killed by being shackled and hoisted before having the

blood vessels in their throat slit (sticking). The animal then

bleeds to death. Pigs are usually stunned electrically – an

electric current is applied by means of two electrodes in

the form of tongs. These are placed on either side of the

brain, usually either side of the neck behind the ears so

that sufficient current is passed through. The current

should induce a state of immediate epilepsy (electroplectic

shock) in the brain, during which time the animal is

unconscious.12 Factors which should be taken into account

regarding the welfare of pigs at slaughter include operator

error as a result of high throughput, tiredness, insufficient

instructions, animal position and inadequate knives.13


� GOOSE FAT

The keeping of geese for their fat, grease and feathers

dates back as far as 2500BC when ancient Egyptians kept

them for food and fattened them deliberately. The 1930s

and 40s saw goose fat being used for medicinal purposes,

whereby goose fat was applied as a poultice for chest

colds, and sore throats were treated with a spoonful of

‘goose grease’. It is thought that the use of goose fat in

cooking came about in the late 1950s. Despite vegetable

and nut oils being widely available, and a much healthier

cooking option, goose fat has been imported from France

since the late 80s. In recent years it has been promoted by

‘celebrity chefs’ as an essential Christmas cooking

ingredient and is now widely available.14 It is difficult to know

whether goose fat has come from birds used for foie gras, a

cruel ‘delicacy’ created by force feeding ducks and geese

until their livers swell to many times the normal size.14

� WELFARE CONSIDERATIONS

Geese are bred for their meat, feathers and fat, with around

15 million geese and ducks killed in the UK in 2011.2l A

report produced in May 2009 by the Farm Animal Welfare

Council (FAWC) highlighted welfare at slaughter or killing. It

describes how geese are often inverted and shackled

unsupported prior to pre-stunning and throat cutting, even

though this is contrary to the good practice described in

the Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of

Livestock. The report also mentions that pre-stun shocks

must be painful and the wingtips of larger birds, such as

geese, hang below the head leading to problems in the

electrical water-baths where the birds will not receive

adequate stunning. It is permitted for geese to be

slaughtered in the same line used originally for ducks,

despite the significant difference in their size.15


Geese


‘Hidden’ ingredients

Why animals matter

Christmas is a time when typically more food and drink is consumed, and numerous gifts exchanged. Some of

these may contain ‘hidden’ animal derived ingredients such as animal fats and other by-products of slaughter.

The Vegetarian Society provides numerous useful information sheets, on various topics, such as clothing (e.g.

leather/fur), alcohol (what’s used to make your wine, etc) and other stumbling blocks. These can all be found

on our website www.vegsoc.org/veggieaware.

What happens to animals ultimately depends upon how we value or see them, and, therefore, where we place

them in our society. Animals are capable of experiencing emotions, whether these are positive or negative.

From the everyday experience humans have of observing animals, it is apparent that they feel pain, hunger,

thirst, heat, cold, fear, anger and that they are also curious, affectionate, playful, outgoing and become

withdrawn, lonely, frightened, etc. These emotions are no different if the animal is kept as a companion animal

or farmed for its meat. The majority of humans are distanced from the source of their meat as they never meet

the animal, see how it is kept, reared, slaughtered and processed. They see only the meat in clean shiny

packaging.

Turkeys, for example, are not generally considered appealing. However, they possess well-developed vocabularies, with

twenty distinct vocalisations identified. They are able to recognise one another by their voices as well as their head

characteristics. Turkeys also use their snoods (which hang down from their foreheads) to communicate emotions through

colour changes. The colours range from white to red to blue.16 As mentioned earlier in this report, pigs are extremely

intelligent. Examples of this include a pig’s ability to respond to verbal communication whereby piglets living with humans

quickly learn their own names and follow simple voice commands. Pigs have also been shown to make comparisons and

grasp the relationship between objects without even being given instructions.16


� SUSTAINABILITY – PRODUCING ENOUGH FOOD

In 2011 the government’s Foresight Report stated that the

case for urgent action in the global food system is now

compelling and that the food system must become

sustainable.17 It’s essential that all sectors of the food

system are honest about the problems we face and start

working together to achieve sustainability. With the world

population expected to rise to 9 billion by 205018a our

requirement for food will increase. With dwindling

resources and an already increasing number of

undernourished people in the world, the effects could be

devastating.

� A VEGETARIAN DIET

A vegetarian diet not only benefits animals but also the

environment as it is a much more sustainable way of

producing food. Studies have shown that a vegetarian diet

requires fewer resources, such as land, water and energy.

Raising cattle is one of the most damaging components of

agriculture.19 They cause the most environmental damage

of any non-human species through over-grazing, soil

erosion, desertification, tropical deforestation for ranches

and growing soya for their feed, in addition to their

gaseous emissions and manure products. A report by

Greenpeace (2009) highlighted that the cattle sector is

responsible for about 80% of all Amazon deforestation.20

Meat is now the single largest source of animal protein in

all affluent nations’ diets21 and demand for animal flesh is

expected to more than double by the year 2050.18b Within

this timescale the livestock population is expected to rise

from 60 billion farm animals to 120 billion.3b In order to

meet this growing appetite, animals will no doubt be

reared more intensively and cheaply with factory farming

and aquaculture (fish farming) causing further pollution,

water and land usage. If nothing is done, the

environmental impact of meat production can only

increase. Diet is an important tool in working to achieve

environmental sustainability. Studies on world food security

estimate that an affluent diet containing meat requires up

to 3 times as many resources as a vegetarian diet.22 Going

vegetarian is an easy way to lower your own environmental

impact and help ensure worldwide food security.19,23,24

Please visit www.vegsoc.org/environment for further

information on ‘Why it’s green to go vegetarian’.

What about environmental impact?Consumerism is far greater at this time of year, along with the amount of excess waste being produced. What

we choose to eat is one of the biggest factors in the personal impact we have on both environmental resources

and world food supply.


What about our health?

Going Veggie

Many vegetarians simply believe that it is wrong to kill animals when there is no need to. Others love and

respect animals and want to minimise their suffering. Some vegetarians are specifically opposed to intensive

farming and choose vegetarianism because it sends a strong signal, guarantees you won’t be eating an animal

reared in appalling conditions, and avoids the distress experienced by all animals slaughtered for their meat.

Whatever your personal perspective, as a vegetarian you are helping to reduce the suffering of farmed animals.

For further information about all aspects of achieving a healthy, balanced vegetarian diet please visit

www.vegsoc.org.

The true cost of Christmas is one of detriment to animals, the environment and health. A vegetarian Christmas

is not only a compassionate one for animals, it also respects both you and the planet.

The current food system is highly weighted in favour of intensive animal farming, meat and dairy industries –

while promotion and marketing of the UK’s fruit and vegetable farmers is neglected. This comes at a time when

the public is being told to eat at least five a day to help avoid the 70,000 premature deaths and reduce the

£8 billion cost to the NHS caused by diet related ill health.2m According to the World Cancer Research Fund,

there is “convincing evidence” that eating 50g of processed meat a day (such as two rashers of bacon)

increases the likelihood of developing bowel cancer.25

A study by Key et al in 2009 revealed that vegetarians were less likely to develop certain cancers than meat eaters. The

research looked at the incidence of twenty types of cancer and followed over 61,000 individuals, (meat-eaters,

fish-eaters and vegetarians), for a 12 year period.26 Professor Tim Key, lead author of the study and a Cancer Research UK

epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, said: “Over a lifetime about one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer. So

if 33 people in every hundred get cancer this would come down to about 29 with everyone following a vegetarian diet,

which is 12 per cent lower. Our large study found the likelihood of people developing some cancers is lower among

vegetarians than among people who eat meat. In particular vegetarians were much less likely to develop cancers of the

blood.” Approximately one third of cancers are directly related to diet, and this study shows a very interesting link to blood

cancers which had not been widely recognised in the past.27 While we would not claim a vegetarian diet to be a cure-all, it is

a step in the right direction with vegetarians suffering fewer health problems such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes.


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2009-07-01-vegetarians-less-likely-to-develop-cancer-than-

meat-eaters

The Vegetarian Society, Parkdale, Dunham Road, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 4QG

0161 925 2000 www.vegsoc.org [email protected]

Registered Charity No. 259358 Registered Company No. 959115 (England and Wales)

Patrons: Rose Elliot MBE, Jerome Flynn, Mary McCartney, Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Wendy Turner Webster

True Cost 2012

the true cost of christmas - all-creatures.org · their natural tendencies and instead show...

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