According to the North American Meat Institute, American meat companies produced 25.8 billion pounds of beef, 23 billion pounds of pork, 5.8 billions pounds of turkey, 286 million pounds of veal, lamb and mutton, and 38.4 billion pounds of chicken all in 2013, and that has only increased considering our meat and poultry demand. There are 6,278 federally inspected slaughterhouses in the United States. Keep in mind that there are also slaughterhouses that are not regulated and still distribute meat. The U.S is one of the top countries when it comes to meat consumption. Meat is a necessary meal to have on the table by most Americans. Most people will refuse to stop eating meat because it has become part of their lifestyle. There are also many activists that are fighting to get laws passed that protect animals while they are being killed for food. They are supposed to be killed in a humane way that makes them feel no pain but as we have see some facilities don’t follow those laws and kill them in very sadistic ways.