Factory Farming Essay

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.

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

Factory Farming, It Needs to Change! 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

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

Attention: 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).

“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

Today, the food industry has not just altered the American diet, but it has also had a negative effect within the labor sector as well as the animals meant for consumption and the lack of government oversight. Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, and Jonathan Foer in Eating Animals, illustrate the mistreatment of labor workers as well as the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry. 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 (231). Eating meat does not have to be so inhumane for example, Foer quotes Frank Reese, who does not permit inhumane practices on his ranch that are cruel, and Reese believes that there are other ways of having a sustainable humane animal agriculture instead of the methods of the large corporate meat industry (238). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only what people eat, but how the government has neglected the issues of the wellbeing of labor workers and the animals that are processed for consumption.

A poll conducted by the ASPCA revealed that 94% of Americans believe that production animals, specifically those raised for food, deserve to live a comfortable life free of cruelty and neglect. Despite this belief, many factory farm animals are abused and neglected in such ways that, if witnessed by consumers, would not be accepted. Over 99% of the United State’s farm animals live on factory farms that use them for means of profit, many of them violating the Animal Welfare Act and other laws put in place to protect the humane treatment of animals (ASPCA). This abuse is not limited to any specific type of farm animal. Although different animals are used for different purposes, they all share a common suffering and a need for humane care.

Factory farms having locked doors only reinforces what some of us already suspect. That they are engaging in activities appalling to the public. Their secrecy is seemingly sustaining their business. Consumers’ ignorance of the meat production business only encourages inhumane animal husbandry. Foer says, “the power brokers of factory farming know that their business model depends on consumers not being able to see (or hear about) what they do.” (pg. 87) This is why we need to educate ourselves on this matter extensively and start actively demanding where our meat is coming from. Advocating for animal welfare is one way we can begin the process of changing or ultimately ending factory farming.

Poultry is by far the number one meat consumed in America; it is versatile, relatively inexpensive compared to other meats, and most importantly it can be found in every grocery store through out the United States. All of those factors are made possible because of factory farming. Factory farming is the reason why consumers are able to purchase low-priced poultry in their local supermarket and also the reason why chickens and other animals are being seen as profit rather than living, breathing beings. So what is exactly is factory farming? According to Ben Macintyre, a writer and columnist of The Times, a British newspaper and a former chicken farm worker, he summed up the goal of any factory farm “... to produce the maximum quantity of

There is a large problem of animal cruelty linked to the food industry in the United States. Countless slaughterhouses, chicken farms, and other meat producers have been found guilty of harming animals and killing them inhumanely. This is something that clearly needs to change.

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

Department of Agriculture, cattle farms make up 31% of all livestock operations, making it the most abundant and largest single segment of American agriculture (cattle industry). The U.S.D.A also states that, “there are more than 1 million beef producers in the United States who are responsible for more than 94 million heads of beef cattle” a year (cattle industry). This rate increases as factory farming capitalizes the market. The majority of factory farms place an unhealthy amount of concentration into maximizing their profits. Their method to maximize profits is by becoming more “efficient”. To become more efficient they must increase the number of cattle, their weight, and line speed. They do this with little thought, care or fidelity of humanity. Factory farms and slaughterhouses also do what they can to domineer government regulations and prevent plant inspections. As we have learned in Fast Food Nation some plants will falsify records, belittle injuries and refuse or make worker compensation insurance difficult to receive. Actions from factory farms have shown they are morally and ethically wrong but, somehow considered lawful. These farms with intent have failed to uphold their fidelity, honesty and harm to not only the government but also their

In America, our everyday lives tend to revolve around our food choices. The average consumer veers towards the quick and easy food options. Without prior knowledge, an individual could be consuming contaminated meat products that were produced on a factory farm. Since the 1960’s, factory farming has accounted for over 99% of the meat sold in the United States (Zacharias, 2011). The move towards large, factory farms saves meat industry millions of dollars a day. These farms pose a huge risk to public health and environmental safety. Currently, four major companies produce 85% of all the beef in the United States (Bernice, 2014). It is important to examine how these companies are treating the animals we will ultimately consume. Knowing what these animals are fed, the conditions they are kept in and the effect that these factory farms have on the environment is essential for our health. But are there other options other than Big Ag corporations? Smaller, family owned farms might be the key to better nutrition and a smaller, ecofriendly footprint.

Intro Many companies, like McDonalds, lie about what actually goes on at their farms. “Free range” “Cruelty free” “Killed in a humane way” Those are just some the things that consumers are told and believe everyday. Saying thank you to the animal before munching on its flesh and bones doesn’t excuse what happens to them. The abuse and torture animals go through at factory farms isn’t fair and needs to be stopped immediately.