[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.06,0:00:05.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I once visited a very small slaughterhouse in \NVirginia. This particular slaughterhouse rotated
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.22,0:00:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the animals they killed by day. I happened \Nto be there on a pig day. Before entering
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.00,0:00:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the slaughterhouse to observe the kill floor, I \Npeered over the wall of the holding pen outside.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.20,0:00:17.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a group of pigs milling about and two \Nslaughterhouse workers talking in the middle.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.28,0:00:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One pig approached a worker wearing \Na blood-stained smock and nuzzled his side.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.60,0:00:26.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The worker glanced down and started petting the pig,\Nwho readily laid down for a hearty belly rub.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.86,0:00:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slaughterhouse worker rubbed her belly as the pig closed her eyes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.30,0:00:34.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a look of bliss every person with a dog is more than accustomed to.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.43,0:00:40.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After a minute or so, he patted her head, saying \N"okay, I've gotta go," and headed back into the kill floor,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.26,0:00:45.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he would later stab that very same pig in her carotid artery.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.27,0:00:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As far as slaughterhouses go, the one I visited \Nwas a far cry from the industrial,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.44,0:00:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mechanized kill lines run at staggering speed \Nwith haphazard results. But in many ways,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.60,0:00:59.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I found it almost more disturbing to see \Nthe very same man shower a living being with affection
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.40,0:01:04.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only to moments later take her life. \NThis apparent emotional disconnect is hard for
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.92,0:01:09.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even meat-eaters to reconcile. There's a reason \Nmost people don't kill the animals they consume.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.84,0:01:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as much distance as we may like to place \Nbetween ourselves and the animals on our plates,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.46,0:01:20.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there' no avoiding the reality that purchasing \Nanimal products is simply a way of having others
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.16,0:01:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kill in our name. And just as we dare not think \Nof what the animals have experienced to make it to
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.04,0:01:31.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our grocery store, we equally resist considering \Nthe experience of those who took their lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.08,0:01:47.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi, it's Emily from BiteSizeVegan.org, \Nwhere you can find free resources, eCourses,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.88,0:01:51.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kids' content, and a Guided Search \Nto help you find just what you need,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.30,0:01:55.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even if you don't know what to ask! \NAnd where you'll find all the sources
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.02,0:02:00.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and additional resources for this video! \NJust go to bitesize.link/WorkerTrauma
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.76,0:02:04.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some people may wonder why I, a vegan \Nanimal liberation activist and educator,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.80,0:02:08.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would take the time to address the mental \Nhealth of slaughterhouse workers.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.58,0:02:12.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The most basic reason why their mental health \Nmatters is that the psychological anguish
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.36,0:02:17.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of any sentient being matters. And when an \Noccupation routinely causes psychological
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.76,0:02:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,harm to workers across all countries \Nand cultures, it’s worth asking why.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.48,0:02:26.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slaughterhouse workers are essentially canaries \Nin the coal mine for our collective humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.46,0:02:31.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If killing animals results in profound \Npsychological trauma for workers, it would
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.50,0:02:36.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,certainly call into question our societal belief \Nthat slaughtering animals is perfectly acceptable.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.42,0:02:40.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This belief is already a thinly \Nveiled dissociation for people who
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.14,0:02:44.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,consume animals. Ask the average person \Nto watch footage from a slaughterhouse,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.16,0:02:48.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you'll likely be met with resistance. \NIf nothing is wrong with the way that we raise,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.84,0:02:52.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,confine, and kill animals, why are we so resistant to watching?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.32,0:02:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps even more telling is the animal products \Nindustry's own resistance to transparency.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.24,0:03:02.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Starting with my own state of Iowa, many states \Nhave criminalized the exposure of what takes
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.58,0:03:07.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,place within their facilities. These so-called \N"ag-gag" laws place severe penalties of jail
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.32,0:03:11.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,time and fees upon anyone who shows the inner \Nworkings of our animal agriculture system.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.69,0:03:16.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Again, if there's nothing to hide, why take \Nsuch extreme steps to prevent exposure?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.68,0:03:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For some animal rights activists, it may \Nseem that focusing at all on the health of
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.06,0:03:25.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slaughterhouse workers pulls attention from \Nthe real victims: the animals themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.56,0:03:30.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a common misconception that being vegan \Nmeans one has no concern for human rights.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.66,0:03:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, even if our primary focus is non-human animals,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.56,0:03:39.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the psychological damage workers experience \Nfrom killing them is a powerful testament
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.66,0:03:44.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the true impact of the animals’ suffering. \NThe harm to workers flies in the face
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.46,0:03:48.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of viewing non-human animals as objects or commodities.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.00,0:03:54.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Were that true, slaughterhouse workers would not\Nbe so gravely affected by taking their lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.98,0:03:58.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You may wonder what kind of person would work \Nat a slaughterhouse in the first place?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.62,0:04:03.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps people who take sadistic pleasure in harming animals? \NWhile there are people who willingly gravitate
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.27,0:04:07.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,towards slaughtering animals because they enjoy it,\Nthey are by far a minority.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.52,0:04:13.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In reality, most slaughterhouse workers take \Nthe job as a last—or only—resort for income.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.23,0:04:16.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slaughterhouse workers typically come \Nfrom poor socio-economic backgrounds,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.56,0:04:21.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often with little to no education. \NMany, if not most, are members of vulnerable populations,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.36,0:04:24.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like refugees, people of color, and undocumented immigrants.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.54,0:04:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Former slaughterhouse worker turned animal activist Virgil Butler
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.23,0:04:32.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shared about the makeup of his coworkers\Nin a speech about his nine years
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.74,0:04:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,slaughtering chickens for the \Nmultinational corporation Tyson Foods:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.06,0:04:41.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Most...are very uneducated. Some of them \Ncan't even read a comic book without some help.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.03,0:04:47.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tyson actually employs somebody to assist with\Njob applications because most people can't fill them out.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.11,0:04:51.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They also have a lot of Hispanic people that\Ncan't speak English so naturally they can't write it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.46,0:04:56.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You've got a bunch of people here that really couldn't \Npossibly hope to get a really good job,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.44,0:05:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they're stuck working for Tyson, and Tyson knows it. \NThey pick on rural communities for that reason."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.50,0:05:05.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This makeup of the workforce is echoed across \Ncountries, from South Africa, to Denmark,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.88,0:05:11.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to Turkey, to Australia, to...really anywhere. \NThe lack of options workers face also explains
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.82,0:05:17.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why they stay, despite facing one of the highest \Nillness and injury rates of any profession,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.12,0:05:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and having to carry out horrific brutalities \Nmost people can't even imagine.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.05,0:05:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Virgil Butler describes this desperate position, \Nrecounting how workers were expected
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.03,0:05:31.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to remove improperly hung chickens \Nfrom the line "any way you can:"
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.44,0:05:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You get it off the line any way you can. \NIf that means ripping that chicken in half,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.56,0:05:38.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that means rippin' its leg off, if that \Nmeans rippin' its foot off—you do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:38.54,0:05:43.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you don't do it, you're fired. Flat out. \NThere's no choice. They'll tell you straight up:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.92,0:05:46.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you are the most expendable human beings on earth."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.79,0:05:50.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's rather telling that—at least at the time of \Nmy research for this video—
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.26,0:05:57.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when typing "slaughterhouse workers" into Google, the \Nvery first auto-suggestion is "slaughterhouse workers ptsd."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.26,0:06:01.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Studies across countries and cultures \Nshow clear evidence of psychological trauma
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.32,0:06:06.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from working in slaughterhouses, though this \Nis still a largely under-examined population.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.21,0:06:09.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Workers studied have exhibited and \Nreported a range of symptoms including:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.96,0:06:14.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anxiety, depression, recurrent violent \Ndreams, paranoia, dissociation, panic,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.52,0:06:18.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a sense of disintegration, an increase \Nin aggression in and outside of work,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.24,0:06:23.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,substance abuse, amnesia,suicidal \Nideation, and even psychoticism.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.09,0:06:26.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slaughterhouse workers are particularly \Nprone to a form of Post-Traumatic Stress
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.70,0:06:30.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Disorder (PTSD) called Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS).
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.17,0:06:35.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The concept of PITS was first introduced by sociologist \Nand psychologist Rachel M. Macnair
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.26,0:06:41.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,MacNair describes PITS as "a form of PTSD symptoms \Ncaused not by being a victim or rescuer in trauma,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.75,0:06:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but by being an active participant in causing trauma"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.56,0:06:48.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,—meaning the psychological harm results from\Nhaving caused the traumatic event.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.57,0:06:54.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,McNair argues that this resulting trauma suggests that \N"the human mind is not well suited for killing."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.91,0:06:58.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This assessment is echoed in a study in \NSouth Africa that created a timeline of the
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.92,0:07:03.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,emotional breakdown of slaughterhouse workers, \Nstarting with the trauma of their first kill:
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.50,0:07:07.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"During their first kill, slaughter workers \Nremember feeling upset and experiencing
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.76,0:07:11.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,physical shock manifested by shaking and \Nshivering. [... They] were also emotionally
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.10,0:07:15.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,disturbed by their first-time kill and noted \Nfeeling pained, saddened, and shameful."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.89,0:07:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The study relays one worker's recounting of \Nhis first kill, noting how "the traumatic
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.86,0:07:24.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience of the first kill is evident as \Nwell as how this emotive experience fades
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.60,0:07:28.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into detachment," a later phase of the \Nemotional timeline that we'll address next.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.61,0:07:33.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He recalls: "The first time when I killed it was \Nnot easy for me. I feel pity for it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.70,0:07:37.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt I just wanted to close my eyes, turn \Naround, and run away. It was really sad
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.99,0:07:42.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the more you do it the easier it gets. Like yesterday \NI had to shoot cows in the kraal [an enclosure for livestock].
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.66,0:07:46.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I climbed over the fence, walked to the cow, and just shot it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.23,0:07:49.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I feel nothing anymore. In the beginning it was very bad."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.85,0:07:54.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This eventual dissociation and emotional numbing \Nis described time and again by slaughterhouse
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.66,0:07:59.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,workers, and is part of what the South African \Nstudy refers to as the "(mal)adjustment phase."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.91,0:08:04.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In an interview with journalist Ashitha Nagesh, \NDr Chi-Chi Obuaya, a consultant psychiatrist at
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.56,0:08:09.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nightingale mental health hospital in London, \Nspoke to the "repetitive trauma" experienced
Dialogue: 0,0:08:09.14,0:08:14.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by slaughterhouse workers. With this kind \Nof "complex PTSD," Dr. Obuaya told Nagesh:
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.28,0:08:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"there’s a sort of self-loathing that tends \Nto emerge – a very strong dislike of oneself,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.96,0:08:22.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and loss of one’s identity. That’s what \None would see in this particular group,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.74,0:08:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the repetitive nature of the exposure to the
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.44,0:08:30.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trauma as a perpetrator then leads to this \Nbreakdown in the individual’s identity."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.86,0:08:36.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In his book The Nazi Doctors, psychiatrist Robert \NJay Lifton coined the term "doubling" to refer to the
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.36,0:08:42.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"formation of a second, relatively autonomous \Nself, which enables one to participate in evil."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.53,0:08:48.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doubling is essentially the act of dividing \Noneself into separate "selves"—one self to kill,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.19,0:08:52.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the other self to maintain one's sense \Nof humanity and identity.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.25,0:08:57.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the mind's survival mechanism for carrying out acts \Nthat are contrary to one's moral compass.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.53,0:09:02.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Doubling could explain the disturbing duality \NI observed in the slaughterhouse worker in Virginia,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:02.24,0:09:05.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing affection for a pig just prior to killing her.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.11,0:09:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This dissociation is echoed in a striking account from \NEd Van Winkle, a long-time slaughterhouse worker:
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.93,0:09:14.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The worst thing, worse than the physical \Ndanger, is the emotional toll.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.54,0:09:18.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You develop an attitude that lets you \Nkill things but doesn't let you care.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:18.18,0:09:22.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You may look a hog in the eye that's walking \Naround down in the blood pit with you
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.10,0:09:26.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[and] you may want to pet it. Pigs down on the kill floor\Nhave come up and nuzzled me like a puppy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.92,0:09:31.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Two minutes later I had to kill them-beat \Nthem to death with a pipe. I can't care.”
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.53,0:09:35.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Activist Virgil Butler writes in his moving post \N"Inside the mind of a killer":
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.86,0:09:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"The sheer amount of killing and blood can really \Nget to you after awhile [sic],
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.89,0:09:44.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially if you can't just shut down all emotion completely \Nand turn into a robot zombie of death.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.99,0:09:48.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You feel like part of a big death machine. \NPretty much treated that way as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.74,0:09:53.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Out of desperation you send your mind elsewhere \Nso that you don't end up like those guys that lose it.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.84,0:09:57.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like the guy that fell on his knees \Npraying to God for forgiveness.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.20,0:10:02.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or the guy they hauled off to the mental hospital that kept \Nhaving nightmares that chickens were after him."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.54,0:10:07.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In many ways, the dissociation experienced by \Nslaughterhouse workers is an extreme version
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.90,0:10:11.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the dissociation experienced by most \Npeople who consume animals.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.70,0:10:17.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No one wants to think they have a hand in overt cruelty \Ntowards animals. So we as a society distance
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.43,0:10:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ourselves as much as possible from the actions \Nwe pay others to do to animals in our names.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.64,0:10:26.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This dissociation is easier when you don't have \Nto see what the animals go through.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.79,0:10:32.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you don't have to literally have their blood on your \Nhands. For those doing the killing for consumers,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:32.66,0:10:36.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the dissociation becomes extreme out of necessity.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.61,0:10:40.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no arguing that the work of a \Nslaughterhouse employee is violent.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:40.05,0:10:42.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But are slaughterhouse workers more prone to violence as a whole?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.94,0:10:48.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a society, we have long acknowledged cruelty towards animals\Nas an indicator of budding psychopathy.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:48.57,0:10:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet slaughterhouse workers are paid and expected \Nto carry out what amounts to torture upon
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.62,0:10:58.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of sentient beings, day in and day out. \NHow could that not have an effect?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.16,0:11:02.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Studies have found links between slaughterhouse \Nwork and increased crime rates, including:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.77,0:11:08.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,domestic violence, sex offenses, murder, assault, \Nburglary, arson, rape, theft, and larceny.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.11,0:11:12.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, is it their work that makes them violent, \Nor are violent people more drawn to that kind of work?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.85,0:11:17.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While the latter may be true in some \Ncases, studies and stories from slaughterhouse
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.23,0:11:22.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,workers illustrate severe changes in personality, \Ndeadening of empathy, and increased aggression.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.02,0:11:26.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For her harrowing book Slaughterhouse, \NGail A. Eisnitz spoke with Donny Tice,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.48,0:11:30.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a hog "sticker" (meaning the worker who \Ncuts the pig's throat). Tice recounted:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.35,0:11:34.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Down in the blood pit, they say that the smell of \Nblood makes you aggressive [...] And it does [...]
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.44,0:11:38.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another thing that happens is that you don't \Ncare about people's pain anymore. I used to be
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.98,0:11:44.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,very sensitive about people's problems-willing to \Nlisten. After a while, you become desensitized."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.87,0:11:49.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slaughterhouse workers often turn to substance \Nabuse and other maladaptive ways of coping with
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.72,0:11:53.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the trauma of their work. Ed Van Winkle, \Nwhom we heard from earlier, told Eisnitz:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.82,0:11:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Every sticker I know carries a gun, and every \None of them would shoot you. Most stickers I know
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.75,0:12:03.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have been arrested for assault. A lot of them \Nhave problems with alcohol. They have to drink,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.20,0:12:07.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have no other way of dealing with killing live, \Nkicking animals all day long."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.82,0:12:12.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Activist Virgil Butler and many other former \Nand current slaughterhouse workers recount
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.00,0:12:16.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,horrifying "games" workers would play with \Nthe living beings they were employed to kill
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.14,0:12:19.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Whether ripping the head off of a chicken \Nand placing it on their finger like a puppet,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.74,0:12:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or purposefully not stunning a pig just to make \Nit harder for the next worker to shackle them,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.32,0:12:28.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a number of other atrocities I'll spare you from, \Nbut about which you can read for yourself
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.75,0:12:31.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the works I've cited throughout the article for this video
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.73,0:12:36.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For many workers, this sadistic behavior \Ndeveloped from the severe emotional
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.00,0:12:39.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,detachment and stress of the job. \NWhile we like to think that abuse and cruelty
Dialogue: 0,0:12:39.90,0:12:44.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,within the animal industries are isolated \Nevents—a result of a few aberrant workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.56,0:12:49.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is simply not the case. I have multiple \Nvideos, articles, and even full-length speeches
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.68,0:12:54.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing the reality of humane regulations \Nand what the "highest standards" really mean
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.57,0:12:58.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the animals themselves, all of \Nwhich are linked in this video's article.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.28,0:13:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The line that we draw between abuse and \Nstandard industry practice is arbitrary at best.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.30,0:13:07.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tossing live, conscious baby chicks \Ninto a meat grinder? Completely legal.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.54,0:13:12.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, it's the standard method dictated in the \NEuropean Union's landmark humane regulations.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.72,0:13:18.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slamming piglets into the concrete floor then tossing\Nthem into piles while many are still alive and twitching?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:18.35,0:13:21.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Completely legal. \NTearing off the testicles of piglets and calves,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.36,0:13:24.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cutting their teeth, notching their \Nears, searing brands into flesh,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.90,0:13:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,chopping off their tails—all without \Nany pain relief—completely legal.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.08,0:13:33.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As you heard from Virgil Butler, \Neven clear violations of the limited regulations
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.81,0:13:40.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or standards that may exist are not only allowed, \Nbut actually required for employees to keep their job.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.38,0:13:44.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nothing can slow the speed of the line. \NI've personally spoken with slaughterhouse workers
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.47,0:13:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,—as well as read numerous accounts\N—about cows regularly still being conscious
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.49,0:13:53.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as their skin is removed and they are dismembered. \NNothing can slow down the line.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.81,0:13:57.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When undercover videos come out documenting \Nthe inner workers of a slaughterhouse,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.49,0:14:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the public is outraged and appalled. But what is \Nnever made clear in such exposes is which horrific
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.18,0:14:07.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,acts captured are abuse, and which are standard legal practice.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.64,0:14:17.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the line between cruel, psychopathic sadism and an \Neveryday job task is so profoundly indistinguishable,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.58,0:14:20.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shouldn't that at least give us pause?
Dialogue: 0,0:14:20.21,0:14:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what, you may ask, is the solution? \NSome animal rights activists distribute
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.18,0:14:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,flyers directly to slaughterhouse workers with \Ninformation about finding alternative employment,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:28.85,0:14:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crisis lines, addiction support, and legal \Nhelp. Labor rights advocates propose things
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.02,0:14:37.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like stronger union representation and legal \Nreform. In her book Slaughterhouse, Gail Eisnitz,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:37.50,0:14:41.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in wondering why workers continued to \Nput up with psychically dangerous and
Dialogue: 0,0:14:41.60,0:14:46.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,psychologically damaging conditions year after \Nyear, asked "Wasn't that what unions were for?”
Dialogue: 0,0:14:46.90,0:14:51.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So she asked a union official, who informed \Nher he'd raised many complaints about the
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.42,0:14:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extreme conditions and overt violations \Nover the years, all to no avail.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.82,0:15:01.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The local union president wrote to the state, saying \N"These are human beings and they need help!
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.24,0:15:08.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's inhumane to subject man or beast to these conditions." \NInspectors came, but took no action, saying they
Dialogue: 0,0:15:08.22,0:15:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"observed slaughter procedures and have seen \Nno problems with sticking hogs at this speed.”
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.29,0:15:19.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, even if officials were to listen and \Ntake action, even if we were to implement better
Dialogue: 0,0:15:19.97,0:15:24.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,worker safety—the fundamental reality \Nof the job does not change.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:24.86,0:15:32.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The psychological toll of taking hundreds to \Nthousands of lives every day does not change.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:32.16,0:15:37.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the reality for the non-human \Nanimals certainly does not change.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.28,0:15:42.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The solution for humans, non-humans, our planet, \Nand our society as a whole is the same:
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.96,0:15:46.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to stop exploiting sentient beings.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.61,0:15:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If nothing else, the deep and lasting \Npsychological damage slaughterhouse workers
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.54,0:15:57.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,experience is a testament to the profound \Nimpact of non-human animal suffering.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:57.21,0:16:07.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fact that their deaths can so devastate the \Nhuman psyche must mean that their lives matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:07.50,0:16:12.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wish I had a quick and simple solution to offer\Nfor the immense toll our animal products industries
Dialogue: 0,0:16:12.03,0:16:14.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take upon human and non-human animals alike.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:14.25,0:16:19.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Perhaps you wish I could offer absolution from even having\Nconcern for the humans in these industries at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.41,0:16:24.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I can offer is what I always do: the reality of \Nwhat you support when you purchase animal products.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.83,0:16:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can offer you the facts such that you can decide
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.54,0:16:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether it's in line with your values to \Ncontinue paying others to kill in your name.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:32.36,0:16:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My hope is that you'll choose to go vegan. \NIf not for the animals, then for your fellow humans.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.74,0:16:40.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can get started with my free How to Go Vegan Guide,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:40.44,0:16:43.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,available under the Get Started menu at BiteSizeVegan.org.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:43.76,0:16:49.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To support educational content like this, please consider \Nmaking a donation by clicking "Support" at BiteSizeVegan.org.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:49.41,0:16:53.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To stay in the loop about new Bite Size Vegan content \Nand updates, please sign up for the newsletter
Dialogue: 0,0:16:53.05,0:16:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or follow the Telegram channel \Nfor the most reliable notifications.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:55.90,0:16:58.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now go live vegan, and I'll see you soon.