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Comment by paxys | Hacker News Reader

A significant chunk of people in this country would give up (or at least wayyy reduce) meat consumption if they toured an average factory farm. Opening up this industry for public scrutiny would be a great first step, but many states now have laws banning people from even photographing them.

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The, now famous, video of the guy trying to get kids to not eat chicken nuggets after showing them what they're made of and failing miserably I think means it won't be as much of a slam-dunk as you predict. Doubly when you ask them to give up milk, butter, cheese. Because were a cow I would take slaughter to milk producer every day of the week.

May I go into your house and start taking photos?

May I take pictures of abuse at my workplace and share it with people without going to jail?

Up front- I'm all for opening these "farms" up to more public scrutiny but I'm not sure sneaky activists with cameras is the answer. The USDA should do a better job and Congress could pass more animal welfare guidelines.

The problem is that factory farming doesn't harm people and it keeps meat cheap. Expensive meat hurts poor people and minorities the most. It's a disturbing and tough issue.

Isn't the point that they aren't and that the Congress is in the pocket of the meat industry? Saying that they should do something seems like a cop out.

I don't think they're in the pocket of the meat industry. As I've said- the meat industry doesn't harm actual humans and regulating it would raise prices for actual humans.

In what world is providing insight into an ethically questionable business comparable to revealing someone’s private home? Businesses are held to higher levels of accountability.

They sneak into and photograph private places without permission.

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