About three billion ducks, cattle, lambs and turkeys are slaughtered each year to feed America's hungry mouths. Unfortunately, while we Americans sit back and enjoy our hearty dinners, these animals are subjected on farms and slaughterhouses to harsher conditions than we humans could even begin to imagine. If our society wants to fill our plates with the best poultry and meats, then the livestock that provide us with these delicacies deserve the best treatment. There is a need for the government to enforce stricter regulations protecting animals raised for slaughter. It’s necessary for animals and it’s necessary for us. Although the United States government has implemented many laws regarding the meat industry, very few of these laws concern the treatment of animals. Since 1967 and the passage of the Wholesome Meat Act, the law has required that all meat produced in the United States be inspected in order to establish federal regulations. Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is successful in testing samples of U.S. meat for microbial and chemical contamination, but it is not as successful in enforcing the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978. This law ensured that all livestock slaughtered in the United States were "rendered insensible before being killed." However, attempts by slaughterhouses to numb the animals often fail and every day hundreds of chickens are plunged alive into scalding lagoons and the cows are still conscious when cut open. Arguably, slaughter is not even the harshest treatment animals receive; their entire life, lived in captivity, is worse. Cattle...... middle of paper ...... and the meat that comes from these cows is much leaner and less high in saturated fats which can be attributed to heart disease. in humans. Additionally, a serving of grass-fed beef has about 92 fewer calories than an average cut of beef, saving the average American about 16,642 calories per year. It's the healthy choice and it's the right choice. Why wouldn't the government make humanely raised meat the only meat produced and sold in America? It is wrong to breed animals in an unnatural way. It's not right to force innocent animals to suffer. It is unacceptable that meat consumers are exposed to health risks that they may not even be aware of. Finally, the government is wrong to ignore the problems encountered in the meat industry. The right thing to do? Enforce tougher laws that regulate the treatment of livestock in America, and that treatment affects the meat we eat..