Sow crates are responsible for both physical injury and stress. Bare concrete and slatted floors cause lameness. Lack of social contact or ability to fulfil natural instincts - rooting in particular - prompts what is known as stereotypical behaviour. Animals bite the bars of their crate, weave their heads or roll their tongues because the need for exercise and stimulation is thwarted by the barren conditions. Pregnancies last 16.5 weeks. Piglets are taken away at 3-4 weeks, denying mother pigs opportunity to fulfil deeply developed maternal instincts. Early weaning enables sows to produce five litters in two years At this stage they are usually slaughtered for processed meats - sausages, pies etc. Fattening Early weaning also creates problems for piglets, because in nature they are dependent upon the sow's colostrum and early milk for the first six weeks of life. Failure to receive it leaves them particularly susceptible to infection. The pig industry attempts to compensate by routine application of a host of drugs - including antibiotics, probiotics and gut acidifying agents. Fattening pigs live for roughly six months. Conditions vary, but cold, bare, overcrowded concrete or slatted pens are considered normal. These frustrate rooting behaviour and cause lameness. Impoverished conditions can also lead to fighting and tail-biting. Routine mutilations such as teeth clipping and tail docking are practised to reduce potential damage. Males grown to heavier weights are often castrated. All of these procedures are normally practised without anaesthetic, causing considerable pain. New EU rules requiring provision of `manipulable material' are being undermined or ignored. As with other species of farm animals, industrially farmed pigs are selectively bred for rapid weight gain. As a result they are particularly prone to leg and heart problems. According to a report by the European Union's Scientific Veterinary Committee: `Selection for large muscle blocks and fast growth has led to leg problems, cardiovascular inadequacy during periods of high metabolism and increased risk of mortality and poor welfare during handling and transport.' 223 Globally, 1.2 billion pigs are slaughtered for meat every year. 224 5.4 Dairy cattle Some of the welfare implications of dairy farming have much in common with the pig and poultry industries. Selective breeding for high productivity has created abnormalities that result in pain and suffering. Milk yields have doubled over the last fifty years owing to the application of reproductive techniques and high energy feed regimes. As a result, mastitis (painful inflammation of the udder), lameness, milk fever and calving problems have reached epidemic proportions. In the UK, studies have shown that 50 per cent of dairy cows suffer from foot or leg problems and 35-40 per cent from mastitis. Early weaning is once again practised in the interest of productivity. Calves are separated at an early age so that their mothers can be rushed back into milk production - an emotionally painful separation for both parent and young. The pressure put upon the dairy cow to give more milk means that many are worn out after two to four pregnancies and are then sent off to slaughter and processing. Their natural lifespan is around 20 years. Their meat goes into convenience products such as pies or hamburgers. 50 THE GLOBAL BENEFITS OF EATING LESS MEAT