At what cost do we eat?

I started my Valentine's Day browsing Treehugger.com and came upon a slideshow concerning the treatment of farm animals, mostly chickens.  I just don't understand how anyone can treat a living creature in this manner.  How did our species evolve (or devolve) to this?  I have hunter friends, meat-eating friends (and veggie ones, too!), but none would think that it's o.k. to mistreat animals in this manner.  Maybe you don't want to know.  Maybe you don't want to see the images.  I can understand that; I wish I wouldn't have looked, kinda ruined my morning.  The thing is, there is enough information out there, enough stories have been on the news and in print that you must have an inkling that perhaps animals aren't treated so well in factory farms.  As humans that are allegedly evolving, we cannot permit this to continue.  It says something about us, as a race.
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2011/02/10-horrifying-stories-of-factory-farming-gone-wrong.php

But there are options, things you can do.  This is what B.A.B.E is all about; relaying info and  providing options of how you can make a change to have a positive difference. So what can you do?

1.  Most of us have access to one of the following: Whole Foods, Farmer's Markets, local farm.  I will tell you right now that your chain store supermarket (Meijer, WalMart, Costco, Sam's Club, etc) DO NOT have much meat that has been humanely raised.  That's eat, don't even try.  That big cheap bag of chicken breasts you bought came from chickens crammed about 3-5 in a cage smaller than one that would house a bunny.  That's where they spend their entire life.  Sucks, to say the least.  
2. Join in Meatless Monday (or any day of the week, really!).  Just one day a week, ditch the meat & do a good thing, both for the planet & your health.
3. Support your local animal welfare/animal rights group as they often "raise some cane" over treatment of animals at local factory farms.  For some of you, this seems "too radical", but who will sound the alarm?  If you don't raise your voice, then support someone to do it for you...that's how it works.

Hope this helps; at B.A.B.E, our goal is to make us better women and the world a better place!