Pork place

Re “Hot dog makers cook up ways to prosper,” July 4

Did The Times’ reporter get a tour of the “kill floor” at Farmer John’s facility in Vernon so the paper could report on the condition of thousands of pigs killed each day after a miserable life of torture on a factory farm?

If not, that’s because the inside of a slaughterhouse is so gruesome that the meat industry is desperate to keep its inhumane practices hidden from public view through so-called ag-gag laws.

Farmer John’s cynical mural depicting happy pigs is not “bucolic” but a blatant lie. The sad truth is that pigs are confined to cages so small they cannot even stand up or turn around.

In recent months, Farmer John has been the target of protests attended by hundreds of people opposed to animal cruelty. Instead, The Times runs a piece all but glorifying the meat industry.

Stephanie Winnard

West Hills