Factory Farmers: America's Very Own Bullies

3876 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of education in agriculture

Factory Farmers: America’s Very Own Bullies “We take care of animals, and the animals take care of us.” (Rollin 212). The preceding phrase is a policy that American farmers in the old west lived their lives by. Modern farmers live do not live their lives anywhere near to this phrase because they own factory farms, and the whole reason for having a factory farm is to fit as many animals in a small space as possible in order to maximize profit. Factory Farms, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) first appeared in the 1920s, right after Vitamins A and D, because if animals are given these vitamins in their diets, exercise and sunlight are not necessities for the animals to grow anymore (In Defense of Animals 1). The growing number of factory farms is coupled with the decreasing population of rural areas, which means that many people are beginning to factory farm because it yields a higher profit (“Agricultural Sciences” 170). In the 1950s, the average number of chickens on a given egg farm in the United States was 100, but now the average number is a shocking 10,000 chickens (“Factory Farms” 4). The reason for the increase of chickens has to do with new and cheaper technology developed just after World War II. The new technology increased the number of chickens, while it had the opposite effect on dairy and meat cows, their numbers went in the other direction. The number of cows used for milk was cut by more than half between 1950 and 2000, because farmers discovered new and more efficient methods for milking cows (Weeks 4). Many activists for animals’ rights are concerned about the methods used by factory farmers because they confine their animals into tight spaces and since there are so many of them in a small ... ... middle of paper ... ...3 Feb 2008 . Morgan, Sally. Chapter 6.1: Feeding the World. The New Encyclopedia of Science: Ecology and Environment. 2003. 21 Feb 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Series. “Animal Rights.” San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Philpott, Tom. “How Farm Policy Affects Us All.” Mother Earth News. 01 Jun 2007. 80. 21 Feb 2008. Roleff, Tamara. “The Rights of Animals.” San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rollin, Bernard. “Animals in Agriculture and Factory Farming.” Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Ed. Stephen G. Post. 5 vols. New York: Gale. 2004. Schwartz, Richard. “Bali Talks Missed Key Issue: Factory Farming’s Horrible Effects.” Wisconsin State Journal 20 Dec 2007: A9. Weeks, Jennifer. “Factory Farms.” CQ Researcher 17:2(2007). CQ Researcher Online. CQ Press. Glenwood High School Lib. Chatham, IL. 13 Feb 2008 .

Show More
Related

  • The Pros And Cons Of Ag-Gag Laws

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every year worldwide, over seventy billion animals are killed for food in factories without the inclusion aquatic animals (“Factory Farms Overview¨). The animal rights movement began in Europe during the nineteenth century to protect horses, dogs and cats (Recarte 1). However, now modern animal rights groups have switched their focus to factory farms, test animals and the removal of ag-gag laws. The fight to create less painful and stressful environments in factories and the altogether removal of animal testing and ag-gag laws has been taken on by animal rights groups like ASPCA (“Factory Farms”). The biggest issue currently facing animals is factory farming.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Industrial Farming By Bill Mckibben And Blake Hurst

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the topic of environmental impacts due to “industrial farming”, Bill McKibben and Blake Hurst share completely different perspectives. McKibben believes that industrial farming has simply left an unexcusable bad impact on the environment, saying that it is unethical and that the meat we eat is potentially killing our environment and us as well. McKibben states that “we should simply stop eating factory-farmed meat, and the effects on climate change would be one of the many benefits.” (page 201). McKibben addresses that the techno fixes brought in industrial farming are simply not enough to help our environment.

    Read More

  • The Harm Caused by Factory Farming

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Web. 7 Feb. 2014. “Factory Farming: The Truth Behind The Barn Doors.” LAC: Last Chance for Animals.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Factory Farms

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most businesses think how can I get the greatest return for the least amount of dollars. According to Author,"these factory farms calculate how close to death they can keep the animal without killing them… How quickly can they can be made to grow, how tightly can they be packed, how much or little can they eat, how sick can they get without dying.” factory farm do not care about the condition in which they keep the animals in. the idea of big business is to make as much as humanly possible with as little effort as possible. Factory farms want to make one hundred dollars off an animal but only want to put two dollars into the care of the animal. It is truly sad that we can eat animals and not care about how they get to our tables. Furthermore, this shows us that we do not even know what we are eating, how healthy it was before it came to our table, anything we are just eating these animals without any second

    Read More

  • Ethical Factory Farming

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Egg-laying hens are kept in small cages, chickens and pigs are kept in jam-packed sheds, and cows are kept in crowded, filthy feedlots.” The practices that factory farms use to raise their livestock is extremely unethical and have no remorse for the animal. “Animals on these factory farms are only seen as a number or an asset, they are seen for what they can produce and not for what they truly are (Robbins, P., Hintz, J., & Moore, S. A. 2010). However, factory farming is prevailing as a rising industry in America today, the consumption of meat, fish and poultry has risen by 50 pounds per capita in the past 50 years (Bittman, M. 2008). Would everyday Americans still be buying the products produced by these unethical organizations if they knew what was really going on. Recent images and horrific videos have been brought to the public eye by many Animal rights organizations on the issue of what really goes on inside a factory farm. The large Agricultural lobbyist have tried their best to hide their unethical practices and recently proposed a law that makes it illegal, to secretly videotape large factory farms. (Editorial Board,

    Read More

  • Factory Farms Research Paper

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Factory farms are large, industrial operations that raise large numbers of animals for food. A substantial amount of farm animals in the United States are raised in factory farms, the factory’s focus on making a profit and making food efficiently at the expense of the animals well being. Individuals have argued that factory farms are inhumane for many reasons. As if animals weren’t enough, the harmful effects of factory farming are far beyond the animals. Though many people don’t realize it our health, the environment, and even our rights are negatively affected by industrial farming. The benefits of leaving the animal products and factory farms behind far outweigh the benefits of burgers and bacon. If we want to live in a cleaner, healthier

    Read More

  • Factory Farming

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Factory Farming Is An Industrial Process

    1020 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Last chance For Animals, factory farming is an industrial process in which animals and the product they generate are mass produced. There many common animals that are raised in factories like chickens, cattle, pigs, and even turkeys. Factory farming is bad for the animals because they are kept inside without any sunlight or the freedom to roam around. You might say “who cares? They are going to be killed anyways”. Yes, this is true but would you rather eat chicken that comes from a cage where they walk around their own feces or would you rather eat chicken that roams around freely in a field? If you chose the first one then factory farming is just for you. Since the farmers do not want to spend a lot of money, they feed their animals the remains of other animals (LCA). Because the animals are treated in this manner, they refuse to give them a normal social interaction. Neglecting them to interact with each other causes them to experience boredom and stress which leads to unnatural aggression. Each animal are treated with abuse but each

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Factory Farms

    401 Words  | 1 Pages

    “In the United States, over nine billion chickens are killed each year for food, along with more than a hundred million pigs, and tens of millions of cattle.”(Welty, 2007) With so many animals being killed every year, how are they being raised and processed? The majority of these animals come from factory farms, which are facilities that hold lots of animals so they can maximize production while minimizing costs. “Scientists have shown that the practice of factory farming is an increasingly urgent danger to human health, the environment, and nonhuman animal welfare.”(Pluhar, 2010)

    Read More

  • How To Compare 3 Groups From The Environmental Movement

    2430 Words  | 5 Pages

    The industries would let the farmers raise their animals they wanted to but then it went to the industries, after the industry it was sold to butchers, and after the butchers it was sold to the slaughter house which was then sold to locally owned grocery stores. For the farms that were not being contracted, they had to rent their land to the ones that were. The industries felt that they were producing a product that matched the demand for the public. The farmers felt they were creating a quality product using a humane system. They were not forced to use pesticides, or antibiotics, or forcing vitamins that could tank the product. The industry cared only about mass production and high

    Read More

  • Factory Farming

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Preface to 'Is Factory Farming an Ethical Way to Treat Animals?'." Factory Farming. Debra A.

    Read More

  • Essay On Factory Farming

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...

    Read More

  • Animal Liberation by Peter Singer

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Factory Farming: Cruelty to Animals." People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Web. 29 April. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Factory Farming: Pros And Cons

    2046 Words  | 5 Pages

    Animals have been farmed for food since biblical times. As times have changed the need for animals as a food source has grown. As the need grew, production methods changed. Today many farmers in the United States use a method called factory farming. Factory farming is an intensive method of raising livestock that produces more livestock, with less land, quicker. However, factory methods wear out the land used, harm the lifestyles of small, rural farmers, and cause widespread incidents of diseases among animals and people.

    Read More

  • Should Animals Be Kept in Captivity?

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    Waples KA, Stagoll CS. Ethical issues in the release of animals from captivity. Roundtable. 1997; 115-120.

    Read More

More about Factory Farmers: America's Very Own Bullies

Open Document