Drink soy the meat shortage is coming. That’s at least what major media outlets want us to think. Certain big government proponents also love shouting this story from the mountains and there is some truth to it. Like every great fable, it’s built up from a single fact.

Factory meat plants are struggling.

Factory farms that torture animals and have disgusting conditions are having a rough time.

Of course nasty meat packing plants that slice thousands of animals up on a daily basis are a great place for disease to breed. The conditions are horrific. Just ask anyone who has ever worked in one of the facilities, or read “Fast Food Nation.”

And why would farms that shove chickens into cages so small they can’t even turn around remain safe from illness? Respiratory infections, bacterial issues, and other diseases run rampant at these places, but they make plenty off of the suffering of these creatures, as well as their workers, because the healthy ones usually keep things going.

Maybe one of the best things to come out of this pandemic is how unethical factory farming and mass meat production truly is, and shutting it down. Now I am NOT a vegetarian.But I like to know where my meat came from. I need to know that the flesh I consume came from a creature who was treated with the respect and dignity it deserves. That often means cutting down on meat consumption because free-range meat is more expensive and I’m not rich. Cage free eggs are everywhere and reasonable when on sale.

The “meat” shortage that has been reported on has a fine print. It’s the cheap meat packed with additives and hormones linked to cancer and other health issues that we “don’t have enough of.”

We truly are what we eat. And eating sickening meat from animals that lived in poor conditions impacts us subconsciously if not consciously. It’s a stain that never leaves the body or the soul, whether the mind realizes it or not.So no, I’m not worried.

Family farms are doing just fine. They’ve struggled against factory farms for decades, but have have cleaner conditions, healthier workers, and local community services.

People love to run around saying: Buy local! But when it comes to food, we often slip up. When things are tight we don’t often have a choice. I tighten my belt by upping fruits and veggies to get the good stuff. It’s not a perfect system; there are times when you just need a cheap ham steak.

And yes, most fast-food places and cheap restaurants will feel the shortage, because they were selling you nasty factory farm food to keep costs low. That’s how those companies make a profit. You get what you pay for, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the food that you fuel your body with.

Yes things are rough. Yes money is an issue, but even if everyone bought one cut of meat from a local farmer every month, that would increase family farm production. Family farms across the nation have also been donating extra crops and meats to food pantries, whereas factory farms and factory meat plants just throw out their excess. Where do you want your dollar to go, to the crooks who are tossing food, or the families donating everything they can?

Think about that. All the waste factory farm companies produce isn’t worth the convenience of mass production. It’s just not.

Don’t even get me started on the amount of soy and other additives being pumped into factory meats as filler. Soy is terribly bad for male bodies, and having once been a vegetarian, I was alarmed to research the fact that high soy levels in women have been linked to overdoses of a chemical that acts like estrogen and can heighten the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer as well as thyroid imbalances. Like everything else soy should be consumed in moderation, not pumped into every food like some kind of miracle filler.

Unfortunately it’s cheap and easy to grow so it’s in every processed food nowadays. Including chicken…

If you buy any kind of packaged meat, it most likely has soy added in. If you buy chicken nuggets or any breaded chicken (especially the crappy Tyson brand) guess what? You’re eating soy. They mix the chicken meat with a soy based paste, and voila=cheap meat that isn’t really meat.

This is why real meat is so expensive. Because it’s REAL. It also costs more to take care of an animal than to just shove it in a box then kill it as soon as it weighs enough. Who cares if mass produced meat comes from animals that were fed junk instead of a proper diet… no one cares about fatty tissue over healthy meat anymore, Right? Just so long as we’re getting enough cheap death out to the consumers…

See, I don’t think people are as stupid as these industries think we are. We have options. We have more ways to search for family farms than ever. We have the information we need, and maybe this “meat” shortage (that is really just a factory meat shortage) will give everyone the boost they need to buy local and consume healthier foods from farmers with more ethical methods.