But it isn’t just animal cruelty that makes live hang slaughter such a horrible practice.  This special form of torture requires excessive water use, both to fill water tanks and to clean after the chickens vomit and defecate from the pain.  That’s why Foster Farms’ slaughterhouse, which purchases its water from the city of Livingston, uses three to four million gallons of drinkable water each day—more than every other water user in Livingston combined.  And to make matters worse, Livingston gets its water from the Merced Subbasin, which struggles with over-drafting like much of California’s basins.

It can be difficult to take legal action to stop animal cruelty, even cruelty as egregious as live hang slaughter.  So Animal Legal Defense Fund is suing Foster Farms over its unreasonable water use, arguing that the waste of water violates California’s Constitution.  If you want to hear more from Cristina Stella, an attorney behind the case, make sure to check out her interview with Mariann Sullivan on the Animal Law Podcast.

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!