Unhappy animals give us unhealthy meat

I don’t get to read The Nation every day so miss Have Your Say from time to time. I’ve just read the rant from Noah Zarke regarding his right to eat meat, and questioning the rights of others to dictate to him what he can and cannot eat.
Having not read what others wrote I can’t comment but I offer this to the self-proclaimed “healthy eater”. 
In the good old days, a farmer would genuinely look after his animals and, when slaughtering them, lead the animal away from the eyes of the rest and kill it in a quick, relatively painless way. The animals grazed on grass and hay and lived in their family units. Happy animals, healthy meat. 
These days it’s a very different story. Besides the dire living conditions of the animals, they are fed antibiotics and grains containing pesticides, and injected with growth hormones and even steroids. They are killed in the most horrific ways, leading to very stressful situations that do nothing for the quality of the meat. This meat is therefore usually highly contaminated, making it anything but healthy. 
The single most significant driving force behind my vegetarianism, however, is not necessarily a health concern. My health status is partly due to the food I eat, but also down to exercise, sleep and avoiding excessive alcohol. The most significant factor driving my eating habits is the cruel, unhealthy and environmentally destructive methods deployed by mass animal farming. 
Furthermore, so many of these proud, meat-eating people that dismiss vegetarians and vegans do so while doting on their family pets. How would you feel if a butcher entered your house and began preparing your dog for slaughter? People have pet sheep, pigs, cows, snakes, birds … most animals can be pets. Why? Because most are sentient beings with feelings, attitudes and behaviours that endear us to them – and vice-versa. 
A friend of mine worked in an abattoir soon after leaving school. As a new hire he had the worst job: applying the electric shock to the head of the cows as they came towards him, many being prodded with electric rods as they reluctantly staggered towards their impending death. He said the worst thing was most were aware and visibly terrified of what was about to happen. My friend would apply the large stun apparatus to the animal, which would collapse to the floor before one of his colleagues cut its throat. 
I choose to not eat meat because I don’t want an animal to die for me to eat. It’s very simple. To all “proud” meat-eaters, I respect your decision to eat whatever you like but please do so with the clear understanding of where your food has come from and that animals for food are sentient beings and deserve better treatment than most get. 
Darren Blakeley