By Shanieka Perrier |Staff Writer|

Think about how you feel when you’re biting into a big, juicy and delicious hamburger. Now, did you know that innocent animals are put in cages and then slaughtered in order to make that hamburger?

Some food establishments are now seeking to implement changes in the way they house the animals they use to create their foods.

I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, but I would rather eat from animals that are not stuffed in cramped cages. The healthier the animal, the better the food will taste.

Burger King is one of several food chains that are now providing cage-free animal products. Burger King became the first major U.S. fast food chain to pledge that all their meat and eggs will come from cage-free animals by 2017.

I think this change will be a good incentive for Burger King to increase consumer sales, and I think this will appeal to people who have never been interested in dining there before.

Jeni Haines and Joseph Budenberg work for Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), a nonprofit organization that aims to end the use of animals for food. FARM was on campus recently to bring awareness to students about making informed food decisions in today’s society.

Most animals used for food are not housed in livable conditions and are harshly processed. Stop and think about how your food was prepared the next time you take a bite from a chicken or ham sandwich.

You don’t have to be a vegan, but you can make better food choices by simply eating less meat. You can limit your intake of meat to three or four days a week.

While on campus FARM showed a video to students that depicted animal cruelty. The video showed chickens raised in cramped cages and how male chicks were simply thrown away at birth for not being of any use to the egg industry.

I thought that video was pretty gruesome to watch. The video showed how animals are poorly treated before they are slaughtered.

Some students have become more conscious about what they eat after watching the video. “I think it’s perfect for people like me because we can see what we’re putting into our mouths,” said student Chris Villanueva.
I think that our meat will turn out a lot better if it’s taken care of properly.

If consumers eat foods that are grown properly, then they will benefit because the food will be healthier. Burger King’s changes are great. It shows that they care about both consumers and animals.

It’s very important for Americans to be food conscious to maintain healthy lifestyles. “It was pretty bad, I guess it will change some ways people eat,” said student Marco Leguizamo.

Fast food isn’t going away anytime soon. So why not change the process in how we make fast food? I think that other fast food restaurants should go the same route as Burger King and implement these changes. If we encourage these changes to be made, it will beneficial to everyone.

To learn more, go to www.10Billionlives.com.