'Out of Sight': A Deep Dive Into Farm Animals' Well-Being

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"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." —Paul McCartney

Every now and again, a special book comes along dealing with the ways in which so-called farm animals are mistreated in industrial agriculture.¹ Years ago, investigative reporter Gail Eisnitz published a landmark book titled Slaughterhouse about what farm animals endure from birth to forks and knives and what needed to be done to right the innumerable wrongs to which these deeply emotional and sentient beings were interminably exposed. And now, her new book called Out of Sight: An Undercover Investigator's Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival, covers her unending courageous journey and offers a deep dive into the meat industry’s treatment of farm animals that truly is "a story of resilience and, ultimately, professional and personal triumph." Gail has been indefatigable in her efforts on behalf of the powerless and voiceless and Out of Sight is a testament to her unwavering empathy and strength in the face of profound obstacles. Here's what she had to say about her long-awaited memoir about her mission for justice.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Out of Sight?

Gail Eisnitz: I’ve spent decades both in the field documenting violations against farm animals, and in my office preparing cases and writing about my investigations in articles and books. But my efforts to expose and prosecute animal abusers were often thwarted by network television producers and law enforcement authorities. So I decided to write Out of Sight in an attempt to bring awareness to the ongoing issues plaguing the meat industry and, more specifically, the topic of what animals suffer to become food on America’s dinner tables.

By sharing the challenges I experienced in both documenting and exposing farm animal cruelty, I’m hoping to provide readers with insights into what takes place behind the closed doors of U.S. factory farms and slaughterhouses. By disclosing the personal and professional trials and triumphs I encountered during my investigations, I think I’ve created a storyline that will engage readers as they push through the uncomfortable realities of animal abuse. After all, Americans have a right to know.

MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?

Source: Skyhorse Publishing/with permission.

GE: Well, it is very related. I’ve had obsessive compulsive disorder since I was 8 years old, long before OCD was even recognized in the DSM. As severe as my OCD was, it was dwarfed by an undiagnosed visual processing condition that further affected my ability to function. In Out of Sight, my efforts to expose farm animal cruelty take place against a backdrop of that disorder. The diagnosis of that rare neurological disease a mere three years ago—only after I began writing the book—was life changing for me and is revealed at the book’s climax.

That’s my long way of saying that my private battle with these disorders—the isolation and alienation I experienced—set me up for a lifetime of identifying with helpless beings. It propelled me to spend my life speaking out for the most isolated and alienated among us: farm animals.

As far as my general areas of interest, I studied natural resource conservation in college as a way to learn about the plights of endangered and other species. Perhaps because of my early struggles, I desperately wanted to rescue animals in distress.

MB: Who do you hope to reach in your interesting and important work?

GE: While my first book, Slaughterhouse, garnered wide support from thousands of animal lovers internationally, Out of Sight was written as a memoir to reach a broader audience, not just individuals concerned with animal issues. It’s my sincerest hope that this book will be of interest to a more general readership, the public at large.

MB: What are some of the topics you consider and what are some of your major messages?

GE: People have a right to know what goes on behind the guard shacks and locked gates of America’s meat packers and factory farms, that which is “out of sight.” Many of the abuses I’ve documented—i.e., mother hogs immobilized for years in cages so small they can never turn around; chickens suffocated by the millions by farmers attempting to control disease spread; runt piglets killed by having their heads smashed on concrete floors—would never be tolerated if they were perpetrated against companion animals like dogs and cats. Yet, by conveniently exempting “standard agricultural practices” from state laws, the livestock industry excuses this brutal behavior and hides it from public consciousness.²

In Out of Sight, I use six actual animal abuse cases which build upon each other to demonstrate what happens every day in slaughterhouses and factory farms. Readers join me as I document violations and then fight with network television producers to expose them, individuals who invariably conclude that the evidence I had secretly obtained is too disturbing to air on TV. Readers accompany me as I uncover elaborate cover-ups by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and a state governor, and as I clash with state attorneys general in my struggle to obtain prosecutions of animal abusers. They share in my success as a newspaper story I prompt results in an annual multimillion dollar appropriation by Congress for enforcement of the Humane Slaughter Act—the first funding ever allocated for a law that had been on the books for more than forty years. These and many other incidents occur while I contend with my mysterious medical condition and my seemingly endless quest to get to the bottom of it.

MB: How does your work differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?

GE: First, Out of Sight provides an unprecedented look at the meat industry’s treatment of farm animals. Second, by melding my investigative findings with my personal experiences, I take readers on a surprising journey of self-discovery—one in which I move from abject helplessness—much like the animals I investigate – to empowerment.

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MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about food production they will change their meal plans?

GE: Eating animal products is a personal decision. It is not my job to tell consumers how to think or what choices to make. It is my job to present the facts. And hopefully I do that in an engaging way.

Fifty-five years ago, humans slaughtered about 10 billion farm animals annually worldwide. Today, we kill about 10 billion farm animals a year in the United States alone. When members of the public become aware of the practices they are unknowingly and unwittingly subsidizing with their consumer dollars, they will have the tools to make an informed choice.