Factory Farming
“To identify with others is to see something of yourself in them and to see something of them in yourself--even if the only thing you identify with is the desire to be free from suffering.” ― Melanie Joy
Factory Farming is a cruel way for industries to make big money. Animals are treated very poorly and are forced to live in unhealthy conditions. I believe that there are other ways to humanely use animals for food, without abusing and painfully leaving animals to slowly die for the pleasure of our people. (“Quotes About Factory Farming”)
Factory farming is an industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food. In a survey, 94% of Americans believe that animals that are raised for food deserve to live free from
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food production by using abusive practices towards animals. Animals undergo painful mutilations and are bred to grow really fast and large so they can maximize meat, egg, and milk production for the food industry. Their bodies are not able to support the quick growth, which results in painful conditions and deformities. Factory farming hurts our natural resources and the amount of waste created by raising so many animals in one place pollutes our land, air, and water. Factory farming should be controlled and kept to a certain requirement. At the moment there are no federals laws keeping farm animals from being abused on farm ground. Although, there are laws for the transportation for animals and the documentation of animals being abused/harmed. Ag-gag is a state law that says you can’t document or report animal abuse. Michigan has niether passed or defeated this law (“Farm Animal Welfare”). Confinement bans are present, which does keep animals less abused than they could be. Factory farming is bad and needs to be fixed. Animals who are to be slaughter for food should be killed in more humane ways. Cows that are boiled or shot with a stun gun have a slow and painful death. Their last minutes of life are remembered with suffering and pain. Animals provide us with the food and nutrition we need and we take it
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library. Animal Welfare Act. 8 April 2014. 14 April 2014.
Over 98% of all animals raised for food in the United States comes from factory farms which use inhumane methods to ensure a steady food production. Animals raised in
Pollan believes that American factory farms are places with technological sophistication, where animals are machines incapable of feeling pain (368). In other words, factory farms use plentiful of technology where they do not pay attention to animals feelings. For example, beef cattle who live outdoors are standing in their own waste, and factory farmers do not considered that wrong and unsanitary. Hurst alleges that “turkeys do walk around in their own waste, although they don’t seemed to mind”(5). This shows that factory farmers think that animals really don’t have feelings and really don’t care. Pollan also disagrees with industrial farming because he states that, “American industrial farms itself is redefined- as a protein production- and with it suffering” (369). He affirms this because industrial farming cages their animals. Interestingly, both authors believe that animals still die and suffer no matter what circumstances an animal is living. Pollan believes animals should be treated with respect and not be caged. On the other hand, Hurst asserts that “farmers do not cage their hogs because sadism, but because being crushed by your mother really is an awful way to go, as is being eaten by your mother”(6). So Hurst say that he cages animals to protect them. Also both authors believe that there needs to be ways to enrich the soil, so the farms can have bigger harvest, healthy plants, and keep cost down. However, Pollan believes that farmer should use compost. He states that “the finish compost will go to feed the grass;the grass, the cattle; the cattle , the chickens; and eventually all of the animals will feed us” (370). So he thinks compost is good for the farms. Hurst on the other hand, think manure and commercial fertilizer is good for the farms. Hurst spread poultry litter on pasture and this made cattle production possible in areas
Animal rights are practically non-existent in many different ways today. Factory farming is probably the worst thing they can do to the poor helpless animals. Factory farming effects chickens, cows, pigs, and many other animals that are used for food, milk and eggs. One of the biggest organizations against factory farming is called Compassion Over Killing (COK). They go to great lengths to protest and inform people about animal cruelty.
In the United States alone, nearly [9] billion farm animals are consumed annually, and the vast majority of them are abused in ways that would cause you to go to jail for.... According to non-profit advocacy group Farm Forward, in the last 70 years cruel, factory farms have grown to the point where they produce more than 99 percent of the domesticated farm animals raised to provide food in the United States.... Three main systems are most exceptionally cruel, gestation crates for pregnant pigs, veal crates for calves, and battery cages for laying hens.... Most animals can’t move because of the tight, cramped spaces causing malnutrition in the bones. [Imagine staying in one spot for the remainder of your life cramped in a pen, or even...
The horrors of factory farming are nothing new to the American people. We are all to some degree aware that the cow used for a typical beef patty was not raised on a nice green pasture, with the ability to graze freely and socialize. Most Americans know that livestock are kept in
Each year, 10 billion animals, not including fish, are raised and killed each year for food, but did you know that an overwhelming 99% of them are raised and killed on factory farms? A factory farm is a place where animals are packed into spaces so tight that they can hardly move. They are forced into cages so small that the animals can’t even turn around. Many of these animals have no access to the outdoors and they spend most of their lives in cages or pens. This type of treatment can cause severe and mental distress. Many would agree that this type of treatment is animal cruelty, but why are there so few laws to protect these animals? Every year, animals raised for meat, dairy and egg industries are among the most abused in the United States. Many of the abusive tactics used on farm animals would be illegal to do to dogs or cats. These farm animals are inhumanly slaughtered, tortured and killed. In some cases before these animals get to the slaughter house they suffer brutally cruel treatment that has been legal for the most part. One of these practices is of shoving a pipe down the throat of a duck or goose to force feed the animal several times a day. One example of the abuse that goes on inside these factory farms is a practice called 'debeaking'. It is a process that involves cutting or burning through bone, cartilage and soft tissue to remove the upper beak of chickens, turkeys, and ducks. These animals are not even given anesthetics. These farm animals are also deprived of exercise so that all their bodies’ energy goes toward producing flesh, eggs, or milk for human consumption, fed drugs to fatten them and keep them alive in conditions that w...
Factory farming is where animals are packed as closely together as attainable, most never see or feel the sunlight, able to get fresh air or even able to turn around. These terrible conditions have serious effects on the animals physically and mentally. Illness spreads and fights break out between animals. This worldwide epidemic known as factory farming began when greedy people began to modify farms to maximise profit for themselves, but because of this, it not only has a terrible impact on animals but
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 ...
Factory farms; a place where meat is produced for human consumption, this definition only describes how the industry started. In most factory farms, government regulation is lacking. This is to the disadvantage of billions of animals affected by the dirty business. When piglets are born they are divided into breeding sows, and others solely for their meat. Thousands of sows spend their lives in crammed cages, undergo numerous forced impregnations, and become sick because of their cages are overflowing with feces. However this is only the beginning of the story. These same animals are fed food littered with growth hormones, glass, syringes, and are forced to cannibalistic ways being fed their young’s testicles. Animals in the farming industry face innumerous atrocities including pain filled slaughter, forced growth rates, and overcrowding for the sake of taste, however each of these problems must be solved by enforcing the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and by switching to sustainable and/or organic farming methods.
"Preface to 'Is Factory Farming an Ethical Way to Treat Animals?'." Factory Farming. Debra A.
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
"Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Web. 29 April. 2014.
The animals that are raised in factory farms, and the farms are ran just like any other business. According to the article Factory Framing, Misery of Animals, the factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing cost, always at the animal’s expense. “The giant corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can make more money by squeezing as many animals as possible into tiny spaces, even though many of the animals die from disease or infection” (Factory Farming). This is actually quit disgusting that we eat food that walks around in each other’s feces and can attract disease. These animals live a life of abuse, but we sit back and say it’s okay because we will eventually eat them. “Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threatens human health” (Factory Farming). These animals aren’t treated with proper care and we act as if they are machines. Chickens for example, become so big and distorted that their legs can longer support them. Eventually they die because they can longer walk to get food or water. According to Factory Farming, most of these animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger and to produce more eggs and milk than they naturally