Joaquin Phoenix on the Mental Health Crisis Hidden Inside Factory Farms

It is a common call for consumers to demand improved conditions on factory farms and in slaughterhouses—as it should be. But May invites us not to speak about animals, but another stigmatized issue that deserves attention and care. Mental Health Awareness Month allows us to openly discuss the emotional wellbeing of a group who touches countless lives but remains largely invisible: the factory farm and slaughterhouse workers whose daily labor quietly sustains the nation’s food supply.

These workers are the backbone of the standard American diet. The meat that appears neatly packaged in grocery stores or served in restaurants does not arrive there by accident—it passes through the hands of people working long, grueling hours in industrial farming and processing facilities. Their work is physically dangerous, but it is the psychological toll that is most often ignored.