Paul McCartney Narrates “If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls..”

50
by Michael dEstries December 7, 2009
Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

Hot on the heels of his hometown of London being named the most vegetarian-friendly city in the world, Paul McCartney has teamed up with PETA to narrate a new video on factory farming.

“I’ve often said that if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian,” the legendary rocker opens the exposé.

The video offers a brutal and graphic view at what happens in slaughterhouses everyday around the world. Check it out below:


Categories: Animals, Eats
Tags: .

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • ratking

    sir paul – you are my true heroe! if everybody would be like you this world would be a paradise! so – the only thing i can do is to thank you so much for everything you do for these helpless innocent poor creatures! may god bless you and your wonderful family here and in heaven!!!

  • http://www.plantpeacedaily.org JC

    A Holiday Thought…

    Aren’t humans amazing Animals? They kill wildlife – birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.

    Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative – and fatal – - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.

    So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions of more animals to look for cures for these diseases.

    Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.

    Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and once a year send out cards praying for “Peace on Earth.”

    ~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm by C. David Coates~

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  • Jill

    Horrifying but absolutely truthful. Anyone who eats meat of any kind should at least see and acknowledge the terrible suffering they support. Everyone must make their own choices, but they should be informed choices. You can’t just close your eyes and open your mouth and think it doesn’t matter.

    Great job, Paul. I know Linda is proud!

    • Dan

      “Anyone who eats meat of any kind should at least see and acknowledge the terrible suffering they support. Everyone must make their own choices, but they should be informed choices.”

      I couldn’t agree more. I think most people just have no idea what’s happening.

  • Emily and Lisa

    This isn’t a terribly well-thought out argument, especially considering the point they’re trying to make here doesn’t have anything to do with their supporting evidence. Throughout the video, it’s stated again and again “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian”, but this really doesn’t make much sense because assuming that watching something will discourage a particular behavior is unrealistic. As a counterexample, take the DARE anti-drug program they constantly push on kids in elementary schools. Students are told of the horrors of drugs and shown startling images which, while they are not as graphic as what is shown in this video, still have somewhat of a shock value. But just look at the rate of drug use in this country – a 2004 study conducted by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that over 19.1 million people engage in the usage of illegal drugs, throwing the effectiveness of the entire program into question. The same methodology is being applied in this argument as well. This argument seems to rely heavily on this use of appeal to emotion – it is assumed that by flashing a few shocking images and providing statistics that are not even cited by a reputable source (an extensive search both on the page of the video and PETA’s site turned up nothing), the viewers are expected to completely change their lifestyles. In the later part of the video, they discuss the drawbacks of eating meat – even going as far to imply that eating meat causes climate change – but discuss none of the benefits and do not acknowledge the other side of the argument at all.

    In addition, the fatal flaw is made of stereotyping the entire farming industry with the claims the video has made. True, they’ve shown some pretty revealing footage of abuse on these farms, but where did they even get this footage from? Are we to assume that they unbiasedly chose these farms at random and obtained the footage? They seem to be implying that this is happening everywhere, perhaps on a global scale, but how many different farms were even showcased in this video? They all seem to blend together after awhile and again, because they have not cited their sources, we have no idea what countries were visited. We have no idea if these factory farms are even in America! They also imply that because workers on factory farms are poorly paid and unmonitored, they are liable to get into trouble, but can you really apply this to all circumstances? Many people work with animals on a daily basis – be in a farming situation, at an animal shelter, or what have you – and are relatively unsupervised. Does this mean that they will abuse animals given the opportunity? This fails to take the individual into account and applies a very general rule to everybody. Finally, the gratuitous use of celebrity appeal makes the argument appear a little less than legitimate. Is their argument so inherently weak that they need Paul McCartney to speak for their cause and include random pictures of celebrities to prove their point?

    While PETA’s intentions are noble, there are better ways to get your message across than relying on shock value alone.

    • frank

      JERK!

      • rachel

        taking drugs is totally different issue that has no relation to the use of animals in factory farms ……this vidio will shock and above all evoke empathy which im sure a DARE advert dose not .empathy is the key here .as humans we can feel the pain of another its not all about shock although it is disgustingly shocking that a man or woman can inflict such brutal harm on another thinking feeling creature im sure in your mind you have made a fair judgment in comparing the two issues ,im not sure its helpful in any way ……………..this vidio shoud be played in all schools o the children get a real taste of life .thanks for any one involve din the making of it .it ws brave and above all needed ………….my love gos out to any suffering creature and i am in proccess of changing what i buy and consume due to it

    • D

      Thank you,
      Family farmers are very compassionate about the animals they raise. Do not generalize that we are all evil. and I know my cows do not put out as much GHG in a year as your car which many drive to the store every other day does. If we really want to save the planet we need to stop driving our car every day and don’t keep our houses at 70 deg in the winter. And buy our meat locally from local farmers and local butchers. These prople know how to raise and butcher humanely.

      • Cristina

        So people who raise animals for the only purpose of killing them are actually compassionate with them?. You should look up the word “compassionate”. Who do you think you’re fooling?.

      • marielle

        D,
        I agree with you. While I myself am a vegetarian, I have much more of a problem of the raising of animals in terrible conditions in factories, bred to die, and living their lives aware of their impending death. of course pigs and cows in slaughterhouses are aware of their deaths and witness the deaths of others. I think this is a disgusting practice, however I don’t expect the world to adapt to vegetarianism too easily. A friend of my dad’s always said he’d never eat an animal he wouldn’t kill himself. I think this is a good approach to meat eating. I believe that hunters in tribes who go out and shoot some animals to feed their family for days are behaving the same as a lion would in stalking it’s prey- that is natural, and un-wasteful. if you are a small farmer who raises your animals well, and takes good care of them, and kills them as humanely as possible, that I feel isn’t as bad as large corporation farms. I personally could never kill an animal, but I do not feel it’s my place to judge those who make a living for it, if they believe they are doing the right thing.

      • http://www.herwinsvegancafe.com herwin

        “family farms”… o brother, i dont want to even start about that…
        @ Marielle. even “family farm” animals have to go to the same slaughterhouse where the factorie animals are slaughtered, because law doesnt allow that consumption animals are slaughetered at the farm. Long frightful trip, than brutally killed.

        i dont believe in the myth that small farmers are compasionate to their animals and really care, just because they are “small farmers.”

    • Kim

      Although I do believe that it IS happening on a world-wide scale, even if it wasn’t and these were just isolated events, isn’t once enough? Isn’t 10 times enough? Isn’t 100 times enough? Isn’t 1,000 times enough? An animal should never, EVER be abused. Not even once. Think through your argument again and please stop being so ignorant.

    • Jen

      You must be one of the many morbidly obese people that argue against these kind of things because all you do is eat meat and McDonald’s and whatnot.

    • platipus

      i have to agree with you im sorry for all you right wing nuts out there but i have seen no evidence in that and with all the salmonila poisionings out there it is partial caused by improper hygen and bathroom habits mainly not washing your hands. and as for the creulity i have seen countless videos about this ad it has no shock value to me. i have seen far worse on a farm when i worked on 1 and with the massive volume that americans eating meat it is not a wonder on the way they treat them due to the shear volume. I would also like to state the obvious that plants are no safer than meat it just that you people think that plant have no emotions and feelings. there have been documents that when exposed to electricity that plants will grow around spots that cause “pain” to them. so the next time you see a huge tomatoe think of how it may or may not have feeling for you ripping off its huge fruit.

  • L

    Emily and Lisa: you’re putting quite a bit of energy into arguing against a PETA video on a celebrity-oriented internet blog. Instead, why not put that energy to use and write an essay, where you won’t simply come across as a random blog commentator; it’ll make you just a tad more credible :)

  • Manchevsky VI Voltaire Al Hakim

    Horrifying scenes in dead, and the only reason for this is generating more and more human defecation around the globe. But, since we (” Humans” )are deep in to our addictions stacked in this 3-dimensional world of illusions, everything comes and goes easy for us – “Humans” We dare call our self human and gentile – polite when we reach fork and declare like one of the biggest invention of Man-kind. Fork…

  • rebecca burke

    sorry you can criticse the video all you like it doesnt take away the fact that

    Meat IS a major contributor to global warming – FACT!

    We dont have to eat meat to survive or steal milk from cows to gain nutarrients

    Animals do suffer on these farms! They die for heavens sake! It doesnt matter if Mother Teresa took a job on these farms while alive and nursed them on their way to slaughter! So what if there are more “humane” farms – it’s like giving people soap and mood music on their way to the showers in Nazi death camps.

    Animals feel pain and experience suffering imagine the fear an animal feels on its way to slaughter, the smell of blood, witness on any video of a slaughterhouse the resistance these animals show to moving – and then criticise. It doesnt matter whether Paul McCartney or Joe Bloggs from the street narrates this video the truth remains!

    • D

      please give us a list of the facts that animals produce more GHG than cars….where is your source list?

      • j

        well i am personally a vegetarian……i do not think all meat eaters are evil… though some are. for example my mum was a vegetarian and she ended up in hospital because she did no have enough
        protein/iron. so now she eats meat for her health. the footage of this video should be enogh to make you vegetarian.

      • Sam

        j, you do not need to eat meat for protein so i am not sure why ur mom was so quick to change her eating practices.

    • Richard

      “Stealing” milk for nutarrients (sic)!!!
      “Nazi death camps”!!!!

      Are you for real?!?! Get a grip. If you think that a slaughter house for animals is the same as a death camp employed by the Nazis I really feel sorry for you because you’re outlook is seriously fucked

      • s

        What?!?!?!? how are they not alike? the death camps and slaughter houses are the industrial killing of scared beings. So how are they different?

      • ZOE C

        Richard, I’m sorry to say but you’re an idiot.

        It’s an extremely logical comparison. Just because we were lucky enough to have been born humans, on the top of the food chain, does not give us the right to determine who we can slaughter for something as petty as culinary advantage. As the most intelligent species, we should also be capable of the highest form of compassion, should we not?

        Not only do the animals know their inevitable fate and are in extreme fear and distress because of it, many do not die after their throats are slit and are left to bleed out. Many are still alive when they reach the “tail cutter”, “belly ripper” and skinning process… they are skinned alive. If that doesn’t sound like pure torture, I don’t know what does. I do not mean to be insensitive by any means- but meeting death by gas and not having your remains eaten sounds more humane than what I described above. Were you in a concentration camp? I hope not. Have you visited a slaughterhouse? I’m going to guess not. So shut up.

        For the people that believe humans are so high and mighty that they can abuse and destroy anything in their paths… then maybe you should know that 3/4 of grain and corn produced is fed to animals raised for slaughter. If this food was fed to humans instead, it would FEED THE ENTIRE WORLD. Pretty simple solution to world hunger huh?

        And those of you denying that livestock emissions contribute more GHG (main cause of global warming) than all the cars, trucks, planes, ships, trains in the world COMBINED- then you should know it is a proven fact found in the OFFICIAL global warming handbook by LiveEarth…. know your **** before you speak.

        Vegetarians live ten years longer than meat eaters. Vegans, on average, fifteen years longer. We are 40% less likely to die of cancer and far less likely to develop diabetes, obesity and heart disease to name a few.

        J- your mom, though she had good intentions, obviously did not do any research into being a vegetarian. There is plenty of sufficient protein in beans, nuts, soy products, legumes…. so many things. Eating bean and rice together is a complete protein, tons of iron in spinach… and daily multi-vitamins formulated just for vegetarians to make sure you didn’t miss anything!

        I could go on and on, but point is… do your research. I’m a vegetarian because I love animals and think that eating the decomposing flesh of a carcass that was once a living, breathing creature is barbaric. But over my eighteen years of vegetarianism (I’m 21) I have discovered so many more reasons that enforce my choices. Even if you don’t give a flying **** about animals, you’ve got to care about the planet, starving children or at least your OWN health, right? I am yet to find a negative reason to being vegetarian. If someone on here thinks they have one, please attempt to state your argument with some form of logic instead of spewing random words that help you sleep at night. Thanks for comin out.

        PS- I apologize if I’ve repeated something stated in the video, I don’t torture myself with watching those anymore.

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  • Dustin Cox

    I would like to thank a farmer and rancher today. For the FACT the word FACT is used so loosly these days but the FACT is i didn’t have to grow my owe food today. i didn’t have to milk, feed, clean a corral so I could have ceral today. I didn’t have to get up and gather the eggs, or harvest the pig for a very healthy breakfast today. Last night i had a great steak that was very nutritious. I didn’t have to raise that beef for 18 months risking the death and profits of my livelyhood. But i had a great steak. I love animals i understand what animals were created for. They were created to benifet man. Man is responible to care for all Gods creations for their use to man. I know farmers and ranchers are very good to their animals. The better the animals are treated the happier they are the happier they are the better they perform. I suggest you look up America’s Heartland and learn what American Farmers, Ranchers, processors, packers, transporters, are doing for you. We love you but any time you what to start raising your owe food we suggest you do because we love doing it and you will to.
    Dustin

  • http://PrimmSpringsSoysage.com Mary

    I own and operate a vegetarian/vegan food business where I make Primm Springs “Soysage” in Nashville, TN. Ironically, Tennessee is one of the largest sausage processing states. But, along comes Mary Alice with her little soysage business. I’ve been in business for 10 years. Little by little, I am converting meat eaters to a vegetarian diet. My slogan reads “Whole Hog Soysage…We keep the Hog WHOLE! Log on to FoodNetwork.com and click on “healthy eating”. Then type “Soysage” in the search bar and you can view a video of how my soysage is made. Thanks to Paul and so many others that use their powerful positions to get the word out how awful the animals are treated before they are so brutally killed.

  • Cole

    okay first of all, im reading the comments here, and eating meat DOES NOT IN ANY WAY mean you support it, i eat meat but i find this COMPLETELY disgusting!! if you eat meat it does not mean you’r a terrible person, it’s just a life choice, people need to realise that no this is not right, but that in eating meat your a terrible person. guys chill out, i get that you hate animal abuse, i do too, but blaming people like me, who eat meat is not the answer. you want to make a change? stop pointing the fuckin’ finger and do something.

    • muni

      make change, isnt this what the video is for, to help people who eat meat understand it isnt worth it, if there was no demand for meat, there would be no meat industry, thus this abuse wouldnt happen. so if you dont like animal abuse, ‘fucking do something’ and stop eating meat.

  • Tiffany

    Two great books which are written by non- alarmist people are Eating Animals and Food Inc. Lots of research went into these books. I would like to see what you would think after that. There is a real problem in this country with meat consumption on every level. We must take our blinders off. And by the way, their is so much scientific evidence that animal products are bad for us and completely unnessesary. Please don’t get defensive and educate yourself.

  • Hemant Patel

    Man can live fully healthy and survive by having only Vegetarian Foods…
    But no…He doesnt want to live Only for Health…He wants to have meat Tastes in foods…
    So what He will Do?
    He will Kill innocent Animals and Creatures and Eat their Meat…
    how Disgusting it is…that Man Kills Innocent Animals for his tongue n Stomach ..

    Man like Cole who has commented above that being a meat eater is not horrible..
    Cole ..U meat eaters are indeed horrible!
    U contribute in those killings of innocent animals because U buy Meat and Eat Meat! Understand!!!

    I was socked and amazed when a Muslim Preacher in India Mr Jakir Naik was validating ..the Eating of Meats..
    he gives the reasons- Since We have canine teeth..God made us meat eaters n we r allowed to eat meat
    Then He said some specific animals (Muslims call them Halal animals)
    Have some special ammino acids which are very essential for Human body!

    What d stupid Reasons That Muslim Preacher was Giving…Shame on him!

    There are millions of People living healthy Lives only by having Vegetarian Foods..but these Meat eaters will always find some Reasons to Eat Meat…
    Sad….

    Have

    • Ray Croc

      Where is PETA getting its facts? And how do workers getting payed low wages make them commit evil acts? Where are these shocking images being filmed? And why does it generalize that the farming industry is the animals boggy man? This campaign has as many holes in it as swiss cheese! And humans were designed to eat meat over the course of thousands of years so we could eat meat whether it is cooked or raw and grew teeth for grinding and chewing muscle and fat tissue, thats how evolutions works. This is an actual fact proven by Darwin. And anyone who says that meat causes global warming clearly needs to get some reliable sources, global warming has yet to be proven as major threat to mankind!

      Im not saying I support animal abuse, what few farms that do do this need to be removed. Im sure if another species was at the top of the food chain wed be held in pens and slaughtered to….also ray croc is just an ironic blog psoting name for such a situation

      • squasher

        Ray you are SOOOO wrong. Darwin put forward a theory (look up the word) which he did not prove in any way whatsoever. You should actually look at our teeth and compare them to other meat eaters. We in no way have similar teeth. Ours are not sharp but flat. Our canines are tiny compared to carnivores. True canines are much longer and sharper and are designed to bite through and hold the animal and then tear the meat off. Our canines cannot do this. We are designed to chew because our jaws are hinged to enable this. Carnivores are not. I could go on for quite a while giving many more reasons.

  • Emma

    It just makes me so sad that people even got this way, though it doesn’t surprise me. There’s so much violence in this world(not just talking about the violence with animals) and it tears my heart out to watch these videos and know that the people who should be watching it, aren’t. I’m 19 and have been a Vegetarian for 17 years and I’m the one watching this video. But the ones who don’t know this goes on aren’t watching it. Yikes, I just wish all this evil wasn’t happening. Maybe someday:/

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  • Hazel

    Emily and Lisa:

    Wake UP! The images depicted in the video take place every day, on every factory farm and slaughter house in the country and around the world! You need to educate yourself on these realities before you make naive comments. The video is trying to do exactly that, shock clueless people like yourself to REALIZE what these animals are forced to endure everyday. Do you have a clue how veal calves or pregnant sows are treated during their short miserable lives? Or the “acceptable” number of animals who are skinned and dismembered while still fully conscious in each and every slaughter house? These are the realities of today’s factory farms which clearly a lot of people like yourself are not aware of. Thank God for people like Paul who are willing to expose the truth.

  • http://coedrock.com/main/pg/profile/furniturerep dark knight rises

    Man can live fully healthy and survive by having only Vegetarian Foods…
    But no…He doesnt want to live Only for Health…He wants to have meat Tastes in foods…
    So what He will Do?
    He will Kill innocent Animals and Creatures and Eat their Meat…
    how Disgusting it is…that Man Kills Innocent Animals for his tongue n Stomach ..

    Man like Cole who has commented above that being a meat eater is not horrible..
    Cole ..U meat eaters are indeed horrible!
    U contribute in those killings of innocent animals because U buy Meat and Eat Meat! Understand!!!

    I was socked and amazed when a Muslim Preacher in India Mr Jakir Naik was validating ..the Eating of Meats..
    he gives the reasons- Since We have canine teeth..God made us meat eaters n we r allowed to eat meat
    Then He said some specific animals (Muslims call them Halal animals)
    Have some special ammino acids which are very essential for Human body!

    What d stupid Reasons That Muslim Preacher was Giving…Shame on him!

    There are millions of People living healthy Lives only by having Vegetarian Foods..but these Meat eaters will always find some Reasons to Eat Meat…
    Sad….

    Have

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  • Jen

    Makes me SICK. After watching this and a few others, I have not eaten meat in 5 months and will continue not to until my meeting with God. STOP THE TORTURE!

  • Really?!?!?!?

    So, not to sound extreme, but what’s next?… Criminalizing Earths natural predators for their “acts of senseless violence” If you PETA people out there want to say that “WE” are all the same (Humans and animals) which even that is an odd statement within itself as humans ARE animals, then punish accordingly. I love how the reactions are completely different when an “animal” kills a “human”. “Blah Blah, it’s in their nature”. I for one will say that the video was a bit “turning” for me, but let me say this. I live in a very large farming community and have seen first hand that what is shown in this video is recorded documentation of specific situations. We see nothing like that around here. I would personally like to know where this footage was taken.

    • http://www.herwinsvegancafe.com herwin

      thats a very good point, about the natural predators.
      but you see, prey animal and predator, both can live their natural and free life, and basically the predator keeps the prey animals healthy by eating the animals that are usually weak, sick, or old. Its a very balanced and healthy situation.

    • georgina

      Really???? Really.

      Sounds like you have been desensitized, that you are the product of your environment, therefore you see nothing wrong with it. And to say that what is next is to criminalize predators is simply ridiculous because animals either kill because they are hungry or because they feel threatened, including humans. At least they are equipped to do so, while humans have to hack animals away, piece by piece with tools that we were not born with.

  • http://None Dakota moore

    I totally agree man the way peole treat animals is so wrong .

  • Iona Peers

    I watched it, i found it awful, although I did find my appetite aroused, and did go and make myself a bacon sandwich. However, I’m not completely heartless and did think of the poor animals whilst eating it. All my love, sincere carnivore
    Iona Peers of Middlesbrough Town.

    • sylvia

      Iona, you are a very sick individual!!! You found your appetite aroused while watching the video!!!

  • http://www.youtube.com/ gerardo

    omg, so sad, wish i could treat those sic bastards like they treat those innocent creatures.

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  • Matthew

    I find there is a great misnomer amongst vegetarians or vegans and the treatment of animals. I do believe abuses of farm animals needs to stop and I find the actions in the video quite appaling but I also support our right to eat meat. I think going vegetarian is an overreaction to bad treatment of farm animals, people will say well how can any treatment of farm animals be humane when it involves killing them for meat. Lets take the following scenario Im sure vegetarians would love…that we never domesticated chickens or pigs from the wild and they were living their lives out in the wild. Well, would you vegetarians protest the predator animal that kills the wild pig or chicken for food because you believe its wrong or “inhumane”?? Why not protest or talk about the Lions in Africa that kill the zebra, wildebeast, etc..?? A fact of life is living creatures are food for other living creatures, whether it be humans, mammals, insects, fish, and even plants i.e. carniverous plants. Im sure you have stepped on a spider whether by accident or on purpose…is that wrong? Wait a minute, then you say they dont have feelings. What about the feelings of the zebra killed by the lion? Sometimes death in the animal world like the human world is fast, sometimes slow…its just nature. We do our best to make life for all less painful. This is just a farm animal lover AND meat lover’s take on animal rights and vegetarianism.

  • Gabriela

    This video changed my life. I became vegetarian because of it. It have been 4 amazing month feeling so much better and happier. My mood changed and I feel with so much energy. I can’t be grateful enough to Sir Mc Cartney and PETA for their wonderful job.
    Love

  • Rikusdarkangel17

    For those of you who are trying to be witty with “why don't we criminalize wild animals for killing other animals?”, wouldn't you consider yourself to be above the intelligence of a wild animal? What sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom? Our wits… our ability to show a wide range of emotions.. and our humanity. We have the ability to be sympathetic to the needs of those who do not have the capabilities that we have. Isn't that enough?

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