Animal Cruelty : Should Factory Farming Be Abolished?

Our nation’s industrial farming has become more than just feeding people; it has become a way for the food industry to make more money as human population continues to grow. Jonathan Safran Foer in his book Eating Animals, illustrates the effects factory farming has had on animals meant for human consumption. Furthermore, Foer asks many questions to the reader on what will it take for us to change our ways before we say enough is enough. The questions individuals need to be asking themselves are: how do we deal with the problem of factory farming, and what can people do to help solve these issues? Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, also illustrates the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry as well as Bernard Rollin and Robert Desch in their article “Farm Factories”, both demonstrate what is wrong today with factory farming. Foer gives such examples of employees who work in slaughterhouses giving accounts of what goes on in the kill floors, and stories of employees who have witnessed thousands and thousands of cows going through the slaughter process alive (Animals 231). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only how people eat, but also the negative effects our climate endures as a result of factory farming as illustrated by Anna Lappe in “The Climate Crisis at the End

“For most humans, especially for those in modern urban and suburban communities, the most direct form or contact with non-human animals is at meal time: we eat them. This simple fact is the key to what each one of us can do about changing these attitudes. The use and abuse of animals raised for food far exceeds, in sheer numbers of animals affected, any other kind of mistreatment” (Coats). The most effective method to stop this cruelty is to learn about where the meat comes from, by supporting the organic and family farms which will ultimately lead to the reducing the amount of animals that have to suffer (PETA). More than 95 percent of animal abuse in America occurs in the meat packing industry (Harper & Low). Animals suffer an unimaginable amount, they are raised to be killed, then bought and then consumed. In order to help fight back against the abuse, there needs to be a cut back on the amount of meat or poultry that is consumed. Seriously consider the option of becoming a vegetarian; by not eating meat, you completely stop supporting animal

Factory Farming is an increasing industry in the United States. These large farms, which evidently appear to be more like slaughterhouses than the typical farms a person can imagine are located throughout the United States. These factory farms contain animals ranging from chickens, sheep, goats, cows, turkeys, and pigs, they also contain dairy products. The conditions for the animals and the employees of these factory farms are inhumane and vile. Life behind the walls of the factory farm is both unsanitary for the animals and the employees. Employees are forced to endure long hours and poor treatment. Animals in these conditions withstand living in cages and are forced to live in uninhabitable ways.

Factory farming is an efficient and profitable way to make and sell meat. But there are a myriad of consequences to this system. Factory farms do whatever they can to be cost-efficient. This leads to a waste of energy, harmful effects on the environment, cruel animal treatment, and negative effects on human health, and therefore, factory farming should be abolished.

Every year, over 58 billion farm animals are killed by humans for food production, and this astounding number does not even include sea creatures. This is known as factory farming – the system of inhumane raising of livestock for the purpose of supplying food for human consumption in the cheapest way possible. It is argued that factory farming should be illegal and banned worldwide not only because of its cruelty towards animals but also because the low quality meat can produce harmful diseases and major health concerns to consumers.

Most of the animals under this condition will develop illnesses, abnormalities, go insane, or die before they make it to the slaughterhouse (Alfie, 2010). In the U.S., over 10 billion animals are raised and killed each year for food about 9 billion chickens, 250 million turkeys, 100 million pigs, 35 million cows. The vast majority of these are not raised on small family farms but, rather, in the major agricultural facilities called?factory farms, also known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The idea of factory farming originated in the 1920s with the discovery of vitamins A and D. When mixed with feed; farm animals were capable of growing without sunlight or exercise, which enabled them to be raised more efficiently in barns throughout the year (Fieser, 2015). Factory farming is a form of capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that is privately controlled by owners for profit and self-interest (Fieser, 2015). Many philosophers have proposed the principle of equal consideration of interests, in some form or other, as a primary moral value; but, we shall see in more element shortly, not many of them have documented that this principle applies to members of other species as well as to our own. (Singer, 1989). In today society the consumer is much more interested in knowing how the chickens are raised, what they?ve been eating

“This is horrible! I can’t even watch this!” Those were my immediate thoughts the first time my eyes were opened to the inhumane animal cruelty on factory farms. Factory farming enables mass production to supply the demands of today’s society but also enables the cruel treatment of animals. We need to end the cruelty and abuse that these animals have to endure at the factory farms because it causes loss to the business, reduces the quality of the product produced, and endangers the health of those who buy the product. We can promote humane treatment of factory farm animals by prevention through education, by enforcing humane laws by being an example of humane animal treatment, and by donating and/or

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.

Between mislabeling, absent labeling, and bending the truth, the farming industry has become a business. Quality no longer matters. Turn over rate and production seem to be the only goal of so called “farmers”. Factory farming is defined as a system of rearing livestock using intensive methods, by which poultry, pigs, and/or cattle are confined indoors under strictly controlled conditions. Factory farms are very common. These intensively crude facilities abuse and kill innocent animals every day. Factory farming should be banned because of the fact factory farms pose serious health risk to consumers, detrimental effects on the environment, and deadly harm to innocent animals.

Close your eyes and step into the world of an individual. You are born into a world where nights and days are never constant (attention getter). You are fed three to five times a day, but no one is there to nurture you. Not even the numerous others crammed into your living space. You grow frantic, scared, and sickly. Now open your eyes, to reality. What I have just described is one of America’s worst ghettos. You know this individual who is trapped in this environment. He is your breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the meat you eat . Today’s farms not only abuse their animals they also produce harmful diseases and environmental hazards that affect each and every one of us, regardless of whether you consume animal products or not. The U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise animals in their natural environments (preview of points and statement of purpose).

“Recognize meat for what it really is: the antibiotic- and pesticide- laden corpse of a tortured animal.” says Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) PETA and animal activist. Factory farming should be banned or demolished thoroughly due to more harm than good that is being presented worldwide. Animal brutality, which can be found constantly and excessively throughout factory farms, is a deleterious act involving the animals and a diabolic act regarding human morals. The antic actions that proceed have an effect on both humans and the environment, as well as the unethical, inhumane treatment and the atrocious sufferings of animals. Besides factory farms offering a copious amount of cheaper food, factory farming is a detrimental agricultural practice to both humans and the environment. The way we receive our food is inhumane and unhealthy to humans and the environment, thus factory farms should be banned.

Some people know factory farming as a CAFO or AFO, but to make it simple factory farming is industrial animal production facilities. CAFO’s are increasingly how the agribusiness industry is meeting our country’s demand for beef, poultry, and pork. A typical factory farm consists of many large metal buildings where the animals are houses. Some people might believe that farm animals live in a pleasure full environment. Others might not. For instance, maybe some believe that “cows are left to graze on green fields while pigs live on quaint family farms” (Williams 374). Better yet, this beautiful image is far from reality. Animals used for factory farming are not living in that so called pleasure full environment. For one, the business of raising animals for food consumption is becoming more and more competitive as the days goes by. As Nancy Williams states, “Billions of animals are born, confined, biologically manipulated, transported, and ultimately slaughtered each year” (Williams 375). Unfortunalty, these situations can lead to animal cruelty and be prone to unsanitary

Every day millions of cows, chickens, and fish are killed for many important reasons. They are a necessity to feed the world and keep everyone healthy. They are also used to make many goods that are used by the people of the world everyday. The way these animals are raised is on places called factory farms. These are factory farms are massive lots of land that have thousands of the specific animal that is being raised for slaughter on these farms. These farms should not be regulated and these animals shouldn't have rights.

Each year in Australia, over half a billion animals are raised, chemically modified and slaughtered for food and food production, simply for human benefit (Commonwealth of Australia Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2005). This seems a small portion compared to the Animal Equality Network’s statistic of fifty-six billion animals slaughtered each year globally, which include for the purposes of human consumption, entertainment, religious traditions and scientific research (Animal Equality Network, 2015). The chief supply of animal products for human use originates from the high yield method of factory farming. Factory farming is defined as a system of rearing livestock using highly intensive methods, in which poultry, pigs, or cattle are confined indoors under strictly controlled

Agriculture in America is rapidly changing. Not too many years ago a majority of American’s lived on farms, and would produce for subsistence rather than farming as a manufacturing business model. Today, rather than the individual producing their own food for those in their communities we have few people producing meat for a large and ever growing population. Every year, approximately 9.8 billion animals are slaughtered in the United States for not only domestic but also for markets abroad (Kim, 2013). This large number of animals being slaughtered every year is not a sustainable model for advancement. Advancements in technology had led to the switch from smaller farms where people raise cattle for local distribution and consumption to large scale intensive animal farming. This new system has caused many environmental consequences as well as risks to human health in addition to the maltreatment of cattle. This grotesque industry must be severely changed so that we can mitigate the damage to the environment and the people who are affected by the cattle industry. The change from traditional cattle raising to intensive animal farming has caused serious problems to public health, animal welfare and the environment.