Companies Are Treating The Animals We Will Ultimately Consume

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

In the past century there has been a substantial change in the way human beings raise and keep animals meant for food. While in the past there were great numbers of widely spaced small individual farms, now there are relatively few, but extremely large industrialized farms. And as the numbers of animals kept and slaughtered for human consumption increases, these industrialized farms, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or CAFO's, are having more and more of an impact on the environment and people around them. The concentration of animals causes a major problem with the waste products they produce, as well as the gases, chemicals, and other types of byproducts. And the increased use of antibiotics in the animals is beginning to have a profound effect on the health of not only the environment but the communities that exist around these industrialized farms. CAFO's, and their secondary industries, are also a large consumer of oil, gasoline, and other fuels which can have an indirect, but devastating effect on the environment. Luckily there are some who have come to recognize the problems, and potential future problems, involved in this type of animal farming and have begun to inform the public to the dangers these farms pose. And in response to this information, the public is beginning to force changes in the way these CAFO's operate and the impact they have on the environment and

Every year, an average American will consume approximately one hundred-twenty six pounds of meat. This meat can be traced back to factory farms where the animals are kept to be tortured to turn into a product for the appetite of humans. The terrible treatment these animals are forced to endure is the outcome of the greed and want for a faster production of their product. The industry of factory farming works to maximize the output of the meat while maintaining low costs,but will sadly always comes at the animals’ expense.

Factory farming is the industrial production of raising animals such as cattle, poultry, swine, and sheep for meat. Many questions and concerns within the field are based on animal treatment and the cleanliness of the factory farm facilities. These questions and concerns are needed to guarantee the safety of both the animals and consumers. The unhealthy living environments combined with excessive antibiotic use in factory farms causes concern in the meat processing industry.

Factory farming is the process of “employing abusive practices that maximize agribusiness profits at the expense of the environment, our communities, animal welfare, and even our health” (Factory Farming). These methods are used across the United States and have major impacts on not only those consuming the food but the environment as well. Some hold the position that this method is inhumane and should not be allowed. However, others argue that this process creates economically cheap food and allows food to be produced at a faster rate. Therefore, the factory farming industry can improve its conditions in all aspects if it is reformed to successfully satisfy the rights that the livestock deserve and

America is a nation of meat eaters, consuming up to 25.5 billion pounds of meat a year, there are approximately one million farms with livestock, and about 212,000 confine animals and are defined as animal feeding operations (AFOs) under current regulations (USEPA, 2012a) in the United States. In 2015 majority of the population in our country does not actually know where their meat comes from, we can just walk into our local super market and walk out with a plethora of meat products for a relatively cheap price. All of our meat products are nicely packaged with a nice, green, sunny farm right on the front of the packaging. Is that really what our farms look like now? Not exactly, if you went to the farm your animal came from you would walk

This book summarizes the excruciating environment factory farm animals live in, as well as the effects eating those animals, and fish, can have on the human body. Freedman and Barnouin point out the way in which factory farm animals are treated: “There are no vast meadows or lush, green pastures,” (44). Chickens and hens are laid on top of one another in wire cages too small for them to even spread their wings inside dark buildings. This “overcrowded, stressful environment” leads to the birds getting their beaks cut off with a hot knife, because if not, the birds will angrily peck at each other (45). Cattle, on the other hand, are kept in stalls that they cannot even lay comfortably or turn around in. They are also branded, creating third-degree burns, and castrated. Even further, their horns are ripped out. Pigs experience branding and castration, but instead of losing horns, they lose their ears, tails, and teeth. Both cattle and pigs live in their own urine, manure, and vomit. This is where the use of half the antibiotics made in the US each year come in. An overuse of antibiotics causes both the animals and the humans who consume those animals to become resistant to medications. Chemicals such as, benzene hexachloride, chlordane, heptachlor, etc., all found in meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products, correlate with obesity, cancer, liver and kidney failure, reproductive and nervous system disorders, birth defects, and miscarriages. Furthermore, chicken and fish have both been connected to colon cancer. Then, the use of pesticides began, and eventually, “...bologna and other luncheon meats had 102 different industrial pollutants and pesticides, fast food hamburgers had 113 residues, and hot dogs had 123…In comparison, meat contains 14 times more pesticides than plant foods...” (47). The European Economic Community has rejected meat from the United States multiple times, because of the contamination processes and excessive growth hormones uses. Growth hormones are used to produce more meat, which in turn

Food manufacturers in America claim that Factory Farming is a much cheaper way of processing meat and other food items where they are able to increase their margins as well as provide the consumers with cheaper food. However, current research on the effects of factory farming suggests that the method is one of the best examples of animal cruelty (Park). “The conditions that the animals

The quantity of meat Americans consume and the way the animals are farmed in the U.S. has changed over the last half century resulting in major impacts on the environment. These effects are largely a result of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations which are also known as “CAFOs” or “factory farms” in abbreviated terms (McCorkell 2009). Animal agriculture is responsible for much of the damage to land, biodiversity, consumption of drinkable water, and contributions to global warming in the United States. For years, its impacts have only become more extreme. Over the years, a few options for solutions have been brought to light involving efforts of reducing the demand for animal products, grass-feeding livestock, and passing stricter


   The factory farming industry strives to maximize output while minimizing cost, always at the animals’ expense. The big corporations that run most factory farms have found that they can

What do most people picture when hearing the word “farm?” Most would probably think of green pastures, white picket fences, and animals out in a field. However, factory farming exists as a much harsher reality. Factory farming is the mass containment of farm animals intended for use as livestock. This type of farming often involves cages confining the livestock, giving little to no range of motion;animals are stacked on top of each other, row on row. With factory farming, the term “free range” could almost be considered foreign. Factory farms often have very poor living conditions for the animals. For example, waste disposal is so poorly managed that the animals live amongst it, and the fumes that come from it. If the waste

The cattle industry produces vast amounts of strain in the environment. It is energy inefficient, pollutes water, occupies many acres of land, and deteriorates the health of the people who abuse its consumption. The government subsidizes this industry. Therefore, the price paid for meat doesn’t reflect the environmental hazards involved in the process. In order to protect our health and the health of the environment we should pay close attention to our food choices and make sure we don’t support industries that degrade it.

The concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), it is also called the animal feeding operation, it is the process to keep and take care of the animals in a confined place. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identify CAFO as the farm that take care and grow up the animals in a confined place for at least 45 days in a year without the presence of any grass during their growing (Frumkin, 2016). The waste results from growing the animals could have environmental health hazards, CAFO helps to confine the animals in an isolated space and ensure waste disposal in the proper way by following the EPA regulations. The operation is necessary to avoid any air pollution by the animal wastes that could release harmful gases like ammonia and

In the early 1900s over 6000 small rural farms provided the meat consumed in the United States. Today that number has fallen to 2000, 95% of which are what we typically call “factory farms” (Dimitri, 2). This move towards a highly concentrated factory production system has had a staggering impact on the current change in climate. This impact stems from broad and wide reaching causes fueled by factory farming, stretching from land degradation, to chemical use in fertilizers, to C02 and methane emissions. Lobbying by agribusinesses has resulted in miniscule regulation, and with the help of government subsides meat production under this model has been allowed to flourish. Furthermore, the public at large is apathetic to these issues. With factory farming as the second largest contributor to green house gas emissions in the US and an ever increasing demand for cheap meat products it’s clear that the current trajectory of the industry is on the road to causing irreversible damage. If we are to put an end to the disastrous effect factory farming has had on global climate change we must increase public awareness of the concerns associated with factory farming, remove government subsides, and investigate synthetic alternative to meat production.

The consumption of meat provides the human body with natural nutrients that the body needs in order to survive. Animals such as chickens, cows and pigs are excellent sources of meat to gain protein while satisfying hunger. According to the National Chicken Council, America has had a large increase in meat consumption but specifically a noting rise of chicken consumption. Factory farms are houses that are meant to efficiently raise large quantities of animals in the quickest way possible. Since the farmers need to keep up with the growing demand for meat produce, consequently the animals are the ones that have to pay the cruel price. As a result, animals like cows, chickens and pigs are confined to small spaces in order to house more animals. Ultimately, keeping the animals in smaller confided spaces saves money for the farmers. As Tyson and other companies such as Foster Farms are driving the competition with the largest factory farms and meat producers, smaller farms have the pressure to produce more and at a cheap rate. Yes, it is a fact that animals are treated unethically in these farmhouses, but it is also a fact that the animals are fed and injected with multiple hormones and antibiotics to keep the animals healthy and hungry. The question lies in how these are animals considered “healthy” when the antibiotics that are given to them are intended for human use. Furthermore, how are the