This overlooked cause of PTSD is only going to get worse

A man named Tom shared a haunting experience from his time working in slaughterhouses in the documentary film “The Dying Trade.” He recalled skinning a cow alive while she was giving birth, a moment that continues to trouble him years later. Despite being an animal lover, Tom had to desensitize himself to the job’s brutality, resorting to alcohol and dissociation to cope. The mental toll of slaughterhouse work, including PTSD and other mental health issues, remains largely unexplored, with a few small studies highlighting high rates of anxiety and depression among workers. The demand for meat perpetuates trauma in slaughterhouse workers and society’s complicity in the industry’s effects. Former workers like Tom and David, who inspected slaughter lines, have turned to activism and veganism to cope with the psychological and physical traumas they experienced.