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Effect of agriculture on the environment
What are some environmental impacts of cattle farming
The effects of agriculture on the environment
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This essay will discuss selected core global issues related to the livestock and agricultural businesses, focusing on, when not run ethically and sustainably, their harm to the environment, their relation to global water scarcity, the destabilization of communities through child labor and the inhumane treatment of animals and this is just to name a few. It will then go on to discuss ways in which these companies can behave ethically and that it is achievable through sustainable and ethical practices when companies do not think solely about profit. ‘The demand to produce low-cost animal agricultural products has caused animal agribusinesses to treat animals as objects and commodities' (Veganoutreach.org, 2014) and in the Journal of animal Science, …show more content…
For example, Woolworth Pty Ltd set a Sustainability Strategy in 2007 (Woolworthslimited.com.au, 2012), which set a range of goals for the business to improve its sustainability and reduce its impact on the environment. A couple of key issues the strategy put in place were to reduce their water usage by 200 million liters per year and to develop and implement policies for ethical sourcing including animal welfare and the use of palm oil which lawfully, they should be doing already as globally and domestically, governments have responded to the challenge of global food markets and decreased safety interpretations of consumers by suggesting new legislation and regulations which should ensure safe and animal-friendly production and save resources (Poetz, Haas, and Balzarova, 2012). To organize the tasks, people, and other resources in order to make these goals happen Woolworths Pty Limited, assured their farmers, producers and facilities were using water as sustainably as possible through improved fittings, equipment, and infrastructure. Woolworths Pty Limited led by example to influence their employees and suppliers, to work hard in order to maintain these ethical practices and finally they controlled these ethical goals by monitoring the progress of these goals using a third party factory audit program (Anon, …show more content…
According to (Kinicki, Scott-Ladd, and Perry, n.d.), philanthropy is ‘making charitable donations towards organizations which benefit mankind'. Thus, agribusinesses can lead by example through donating to nonprofit organizations, which work towards reducing these global environmental issues, therefore showing their consumers and society at large that they are in fact giving back to the community and the environment. For example, Dick Smith Foods donated $1 million to charity in 2014 alone (Dicksmithfoods.com.au, 2016). To decide, to which charities, Dick Smith Foods encouraged supporters to take a photograph with any Dick Smith Food product and email it through along with a nomination for the charity they wished to nominate. Some of the charities, which received donations include, For the Animals Inc, Sunshine Butterflies Inc and Can Too Foundation. This is a precise example of philanthropy and a company behaving ethically, as it gave the consumers a chance to engage in the companies ethical practices and have a say in where their money
Throughout the last century the concern of animals being treated as just a product has become a growing argument. Some believe that animals are equal to the human and should be treated with the same respect. There are many though that laugh at that thought, and continue to put the perfectly roasted turkey on the table each year. Gary Steiner is the author of the article “Animal, Vegetable, Miserable”, that was published in the New York Times right before Thanksgiving in 2009. He believes the use of animals as a benefit to human beings is inhumane and murderous. Gary Steiner’s argument for these animal’s rights is very compelling and convincing to a great extent.
In the article, “On Eating Animals,” Namit Arora explains that for much of our settled history--and even today in parts of the world--most people lived in close proximity to farm animals. Animals fertilized our crops, shared our labors, and nourished our bodies, helping us enlarge our settled communities.” (Arora). Animals were once like a family member. People would tend to their animal’s needs and make sure they were well taken care of just like any other member of the family. We would give them names, show them at county fairs and make sure their living conditions were comfortable and as sanitary as possible. Further on in “on Eating Animals,” Arora explains that “In the twentieth century, the inexorable logic of modern economics and the assembly line turned farm animals into number-tagged bodies to be fattened, disinfected, and processed as quickly and cheaply as possible.” (Arora) This led to the factory farming of animal products that we still use today. The ASPCA defines factory farming as, “…a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food.” They co...
One objection Norcross states in his essay is that “perhaps most consumers are unaware of the treatment of animals, before they appear in neatly wrapped packages on supermarket s...
However, Hare’s pro demi-vegetarian argument provides an unequivocal view on the discussion of economic, ecological, and moral topics. While the look into market trends of meat is lacking Hare discusses a reality of the meat industry and its food competitors, that being the cost behind animal rearing and husbandry. While the high costs incurred does not entail permissibility the surrounding circumstances do. If fodder is grown on terrain only suitable for a pasture, then as a result husbandry and animal domestication (and later slaughter) is permissible because the economic consequences of harvesting crops would greatly outweigh the benefits and as such the community improves more from the meat/animal byproduct industry. This economical and ecological argument is one of several that Hare provides in his article Why I Am Only A Demi-Vegetarian, in addition to the market term being coined and reasoning behind
Animals trapped in factory farms are severely abused and tortured from birth to death. Chickens sometimes will be starved for up to 2 weeks and given no water to shock their bodies into moulting, chickens and hens will have their beaks removed to prevent fighting between other animals. Pigs will get their tails cut off to stop other pigs biting them off. These cruel procedures are done to minimise as few of animals dying as possible so more product can be created by the farmer. Within factory farms, animals are abused with overuse of antibiotics to prevent disease and maximise their body growth to create a higher yield of product. According to Animal Rights Action, 2 out of 3 farms are now factory farmed worldwide and factory farming is only increasing this is leading to more animals being raised for slaughter, abused and tortured, mentally and physically. This is not fair. How would you feel losing your child minutes after it's born? As within factory farms, female cows get their calves are taken away from them within minutes they are born never to be seen again. This leaves these poor female cows depressed which causes them to lose weight and because of this are slaughtered as farmers want to maximise their yield of
Factory farming began in the 1920s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D. Shirley Leung said, when these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer require exercise and sunlight for growth (B2). This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. The greatest problem that was faced in raising these animals indoors was the spread of disease, which was fought against in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. Farmers found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using machines and assembly-line techniques. Unfortunately, this trend of mass production has resulted in incredible pain and suffering for the animals. Animals today raised on factory farms have had their genes manipulated and pumped full of antibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals to encourage high productivity. In the fast food industry, animals are not considered animals at all; “they are food producing machines” (BBC). They are confined to small cages with metal bars, ammonia-filled air and artificial lighting or no lighting at all. They are subjected to horrible mutilations: beak searing, tail docking, ear cutting and castration. The worst thing is that ...
In the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author talks about, not only vegetarianism, but reveals to us what actually occurs in the factory farming system. The issue circulating in this book is whether to eat meat or not to eat meat. Foer, however, never tries to convert his reader to become vegetarians but rather to inform them with information so they can respond with better judgment. Eating meat has been a thing that majority of us engage in without question. Which is why among other reasons Foer feels compelled to share his findings about where our meat come from. Throughout the book, he gives vivid accounts of the dreadful conditions factory farmed animals endure on a daily basis. For this reason Foer urges us to take a stand against factory farming, and if we must eat meat then we must adapt humane agricultural methods for meat production.
Like many other industries, the farming industry has evolved into big business, “Animals on factory farms are regarded as commodities to be exploited for profit.” In each industry from clothing to instruments, the bosses want to make a profit. The more they can supply with the least amount of waste, the more profit they make. The same goes for factory farming. However instead of humans being the ones directly affected by big bosses, the animals are. They don’t have a voice, and can’t stand up for what is right or wrong. These animals are manipulated in every way to make a better profit. Factory farms mass produce animals for ...
"Preface to 'Is Factory Farming an Ethical Way to Treat Animals?'." Factory Farming. Debra A.
...e Animals and Satisfy Meat Eaters?” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 21.6 (2008): 580-96. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Cruelty toward animals, huge economic problems, and major health concerns are just three reasons why factory farming should be banned worldwide. Many people argue that factory farming is the only way to meet growing demands for food in the world today. However, factory farming is just not necessary, especially when it comes down to killing innocent animals in order to feed people. A way to put an end to the factory farming system is by buying our food from smaller, sustainable farms. These businesses still aim to profit from their labor, but that’s not their only objective. (The Issues: Factory Farming, n.d.) They simply will not sacrifice the health of the land or the quality of food simply to make a few extra dollars.
There are many debates around the world about the topic of animal abuse. Animal abuse in the food industry has become a major problem due to the cruel treatment of animals. Most of the world's population might think that animal cruelty is only found in homes and on the street, but they forget about the other forms of animal abuse that affect the food industry. Large contributors to animal abuse are due to fishing methods, animal testing, and slaughterhouses. "Animals have always been a major part of our society in history and they have played huge roles in agriculture" (ASPCA). Factory farming is a system of confining chickens, pigs, and cattle under strictly controlled conditions. Slaughterhouses are places where animals are killed
The moral responsibilities of America's agricultural industry is an issue that posess no current solution. The only current solutions are the creation of cheap synthetic meat or a change of how Americans veiw animal morality. Synthetic meat only appears as a distant solution on the horizon. The only current solution to animal morality is a change in how we veiw animals. They posess no ablilty to be moral so it falls upon humans as the intellegant race to be humane to animals and treat them with kindeness we bestow upon other humans.
In order to feed the growing population of the world, nontraditional farming and ranching techniques have been used to increase food production. For example, animal mass harvesting systems and feed lots used for chickens and cows allow for faster growing and harvesting of the animal. But are these practices moral? In Paul Taylor’s “The Ethics of Respect for Nature”, he illustrates how this treatment of animals is immoral, because of his biocentric view. Bonnie Steinbock would disagree with Taylor due to her speciesic view, illustrated in her article “Speciesism and the Idea of Equality”, that places human needs over animal needs in this case.
Animals have always played an important role in agriculture. Much concern for animal welfare is based on the belief that animals have the ability to feel and perceive what is happening to them. This is why it is considered that attention should be paid to their well-being. While the killing of animals for food does not n...