Hungry for a Change: Factory Farms

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Everyone has heard the horror stories of what goes on in industrial agriculture, or factory farms. Animals are shoved around, in lines, all awaiting their eminent slaughter for the production of meat products. Workers throw baby pigs around and abuse the animals just because they can. Groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are adamant that the factory farms get shut down and do everything they can to get the public known of the horrors that go on. However, what most people do not realize is that farms are still agriculture and agriculture is necessary for the production of crops, meat, and other nutrients necessary to survive. PETA has been one-sided in showing that farms do horrible things such as dehorn innocent calves, shove pigs and other animals in small crates, and start to slaughter animals even though they are not fully dead yet. What PETA does not tell people is that some of those things are common for the agriculture industry. For example, dehorning cows are important because if not done, they could injure humans and other animals. They also make it easier to move the cattle. Additionally, when slaughtering an animal, the animal is first made unconscious, so it does not feel anything when the jugular vein is cut killing the animal. Now, this is not promoting factory farming, it is just showing how agriculture is. There are more negative effects than positive when it comes to factory farming.
A new century is just beginning and as it is starting to progress, everyone is turned to the future and how we could become better as a world. Many people want better, faster, and easier ways to do things. These trends of making things easier are even making an impact on our agriculture. By making Americ...

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"The Issues." Sustainable Table [Food Program]. GRACE Communications Foundation, 2013. Web.
Pluhar, Evelyn. "Meat And Morality: Alternatives To Factory Farming." Journal Of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 23.5 (2010): 455-468. Business Source Complete. Web.
Reganold, John P., Robert I. Papendick, and James F. Parr. "Sustainable Agriculture."Scientific America (1990): 112-20. Web.
Wender, Melanie J. "Goodbye Family Farms and Hello Agribusiness: The Story of How Agricultural Policy Is Destroying the Family Farm and the Environment." Villanova Environmental Law Journal 22.1 (2011): n. pag. 1 Jan. 2011. Web.

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