From Farm to Fridge -- Is Going Vegan the Solution?

In the last century, we have seen the exponential demand for food sources in answer to a dramatic population explosion. This paved the way to commercial farming by large-scale and multinational companies. I have read somewhere that meat used to be an expensive, once-in-a-while luxury. It is not an everyday fare like how it is now. Today, it's almost an indispensable commodity. As market demand grew, there came the need to discover more consistent and advanced methods of mass-producing animal products. Farm animals are given steroids, antibiotics and food designed to enhance their body mass to more than nature has designed them for. Some are genetically modified from birth, as they are engineered to simply become "products." As a result, most of the chemicals are passed on to humans who eat them, hence diseases like cancers, skin diseases, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, etc. Which raises the question, is banning meat the right thing to do? Like what this video suggests, "you may want to explore a vegan diet." 

While a lot of people believe this is so, I don't think I can altogether eliminate meat from my diet. While I agree on the premise that commercial farming is inhumane, I don't agree that we should eliminate meat altogether. Man, being an original hunter, needs meat to survive and thrive. 

So while this video is probably made to shock, I believe there are better practices out there, especially backyard farmers who give their stock only organic food and are treated humanely. Almost to a degree that they are given names, hence, are accorded as pets. When slaughter time comes, however, the local folk would consider it an additional expense to give painkillers. So an experienced butcher will do the deed. Again, that sounds brutal, but that's how it is. There is no sweet way to kill. In essence, I mean that we should only eat organically raised, free-roaming animals sourced from organic farmers than buy chemically fattened ones. 

But the way of life for most of us is hard to change. The next day, bam! We're eating at a McDonalds or wolfing down a KFC Chicken Bucket. Or enjoying dairy products from China. While it's true that the farmers who kill these animals are brutal and barbarous, we should be equally concerned about where we source our meats, if the farms they come from make sure they are treated humanely.