Remembering Big Ben: why we must push to end factory farming at COP28

A life in a factory farm is no life. At #COP28, conversations about industrial food systems must factor in livestock and the terrible impact of factory farming on animal welfare and our climate.?

Chickens are the most widely bred species in the world, with more than 72 billion reared annually. Many will spend their entire lives in a factory farm.

Since my twenties I have taken care of chickens rescued from these cruel places.

It is always so good to watch rescued chickens regain their natural behaviour and to see their personalities emerge. Feeling the sun for the first time, they push their faces up to it and spread their wings…And although they have never been able to forage for food on factory farms or feel soil and grass beneath their feet, their natural instincts soon kick in. It is wonderful to see them exploring, pecking, searching for insects.

One of the most memorable characters I cared for was a rescued broiler chicken named Big Ben.

He was the gentlest of birds and absolutely enormous because he had been bred to grow so quickly. He was very soothing company, and he liked to come and just sit beside me. He was never pushy with the other chickens for food – a true gentle giant. When he sat with me I felt like he was so grateful for his freedom and the joys he was experiencing.

Unfortunately, Ben was only with me for a few months.??

Sadly, the life spans of rescued meat chickens are short.? This is because meat chickens are bred and fed to grow quickly which puts a great strain on the hearts, lungs, and legs. Just a few months after we rescued him Ben died suddenly of a heart attack – it was terribly sad. The vet told us there was nothing we could have done to save him.

The world’s largest meat production companies are still responsible for the industrial scale use of animals like Big Ben. They are also responsible for overuse of our world’s resources and an enormous carbon footprint. Across Brazil, China, the US and the Netherlands, annual consumption of chicken alone creates the same climate change impact as keeping 29 million cars on the road for a year.

But the biggest environmental impacts within the factory farming system are from the production of crops used to feed farmed animals.?

Using land to grow crops to feed farmed animals that will eventually become our food is a highly inefficient and destructive practice. For every 100 calories of crops fed to farmed animals, only 17-30 calories end up reaching humans in our food chain. Meat and dairy provide only 18% of overall calories and 37% of protein for humans. But they use 83% of farmland and are complicit in the devastating destruction of wild animal habitats.

As meat demand increases and factory farming spreads around the world, the number of animals trapped in the system, and the devastating environmental impact of factory farming will only grow. That’s why negotiations on how to tackle climate change at COP28 must address this silent culprit and governments must impose an immediate ban on any new factory farms.

I am proud to lead World Animal Protection as we campaign to change global food systems that cause horrendous suffering to billions of animals while simultaneously destroying our planet. At COP28, I am hopeful that leaders from around the world will come together to address the impact of cruel factory farming.?

For the sake of animal welfare, and our planet, we need to switch to a humane and sustainable food system, with an emphasis on plant-based diets and a smaller number of animals living in high welfare conditions, not on factory farms.?

Find out more about why we need to put a stop to horrific factory farming so that we can safeguard farm animal welfare, our climate, and the environment:?

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/our-work/food-systems/no-future-for-factory-farming?

#EndFactoryFarming #FoodSystems?