Slick advertizing and atractively packaged meat and dairy products in the supermarket five no hint of the ordeal animals face while on their way to the breakfast, lunch or dinner table. Here's a glimpse of this reality:

• Dairy cows are kept continuously pregnantm causing their overworked udders to frequently develop mastitis, a painful inflammation.


• Pigs are reared in mass-confinement buildings of several thousand animals or more. They lie on concerete slats, never seeing the outdoors until transported to slaughter.


• Pregnant sows spend years confined in tiny crates that are barely larger than their bodies and do not even allow them to turn around.


• Hens used for egg production are crammed into cages where confinement is so severe that their feathers are worn off from scraping against the metal wire. Their skin becomes covered in bruises and sores.


• At slaughter, a stunner is supposed to render an animal unconsious before it is killed. Eyewitnesses and industry reports indicate there is a significant failure rate in the correct use of this equipment.