Killing us softly: The language of animal farming

When we talk about animals exploited for their flesh and secretions, the words we choose matter. 

From farm to supermarket shelf, language is carefully shaped to take the animal out of the picture and make the abuse they experience sound ordinary, necessary, even benign. The animals most affected – cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheeps and fishes – are removed from the picture, reduced to units of production. 

In the examples above, did you notice how the animal disappears? 

Separation from mum ➔ Weaning
Chick factories ➔ Hatcheries
Pig ➔ Pork
Eating an animal ➔ Eating meat
Animals who are hunted ➔ Game
Chicken ➔ Poultry
Cow ➔ Beef
Exploited mother ➔ Dairy cow
Adult sheep ➔ Mutton
Unintended victims of fishing ➔ By-catch 

When the individual disappears from our words, it becomes easier for their suffering to disappear from our concern. 

From individual to inventory 

Animals confined on farms are selectively bred for rapid growth and high ‘yield’. Chickens farmed for their meat grow so quickly that they cannot stand, forced to lay on dirty litter, causing skin irritation and soreness. Mothers in the dairy industry are forced to produce such high quantities of milk that their legs sometimes buckle beneath them. Pigs are trapped in systems designed for efficiency, not for their needs. 

Yet the language surrounding these practices centres productivity, not the individual. 

The chicken becomes a “broiler”. 

The worn-out mother becomes cheap “beef”. 

The pig becomes “pork”. 

Animals in slaughterhouses experience unimaginable horror. Animal Aid investigations have found sheep being improperly stunned and going to the knife whilst conscious. We’ve witnessed ponies being killed in front of one another. In yet another example, a lamb desperately tries to find an exit, all too aware of what’s coming next. 

Yet the language surrounding slaughter is hugely sanitised. 

Killing becomes “harvesting”. 

Cutting up their bodies becomes “processing”. 

By the time their flesh reaches our plates, the transformation is complete. The connection between the living individual and the final product has been carefully, deliberately severed. 

Farmed animals do not see themselves as “stock” or “produce”. They experience hunger, stress, joy, fear, and relief. They see themselves as mothers, children, friends, family.  

So, the next time you encounter terms like “humane”, “free range”, or “culling”, why not stop to question what these words are trying to hide. Who benefits from words sounding harmless, and who pays the price?