The growing popularity of fast food has brought about ruthless competition in the fast food industry. Fast food chains are constantly trying to please growing consumer demand by selling more food at lower prices. In order to do so, these fast food giants continuously incorporate new "efficient" business practices which provide better services to customers resulting in bigger sales and larger profit margins. In most cases, these practices are obvious. For instance, precooked hamburger patties, computer systems, and drive-throughs were each introduced to minimize production time in turn allowing for increased sales. Nevertheless, less obvious business practices have also been implemented which most consumers fail to recognize. All together, increased fast food popularity has led to the adoption of business practices involving the careless treatment of modern day farm animals.
First of all, fast food is prepared from unhealthy meat. Most animals raised as food for fast food restaurants come from "factory farms." At each of these factory farms millions of animals live torturous lives. Fast food companies choose to purchase from these farms because they minimize all production costs and provide cheap, inexpensive meat. With this as the goal, the inhumane treatment of animals becomes widespread. Straight from birth, cows, chickens, and hogs are treated barbarically. Cute newborn calves and pigs are immediately robbed of their mothers and forced to feed upon artificial hormones disguised as milk. From an early age, these animals become addicted to the drugs infested in the disguised milk resulting in them unnaturally fattening up at painfully unhealthy rates. Additionally, the unfortunate males are castrated without given any sedative, resulting in excruciating pain. Hens do not have it any better. From an early age, hens are "debeaked": a process that involves truncating the hen's beak with a red-hot knife.