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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
3 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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?
4 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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
5 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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.
What does Christmas mean for animals?
6 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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
7 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
� 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
What does Christmas mean for animals?
Geese
8 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
‘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
9 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
� 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.
10 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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.
11 THE TRUE COST OF CHRISTMAS
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N.E., Thorogood, M. and Mann, J.I. (2009). Cancer
incidence in British vegetarians. British Journal of Cancer
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http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v101/n1/pdf/6605098a.pdf
27. Cancer Research UK (2009). Press release: Vegetarians
less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters
http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressrelease/
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