Industrial Farm Animal Production ( Ifap ) Is A Recent Development? How Humans Manage Their Food Supply

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.

The world has a need for meat, and it is almost obsessive. Most cultures typically consume some sort of domesticated animal in agriculture. Whether it is cows, chicken, lamb, deer, turkey, or fish, many people are not educated to the fact that the alternative diets are better for their health. There are different animal products for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hundreds if not thousands of diverse chain restaurants dedicated to meat consumption.There are also many different holidays around the world such as Thanksgiving and Christmas where meat is consumed. With affordable prices and an acquired taste, it is likely to be a lifelong habit. There are vast miles of subsidized agricultural land dedicated to the cultivation of animals. According to Amir Khan, staff writer for U.S.News, reporting on the American Meat Institute, Americans consume, “57 pounds more meat than they were in the 1950s”(Khan).

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

In spite of increasing data which points towards the unsustainability of our meat industry, a report called the “Factory Farm Nation,” published by the Food and Water Watch, indicates that the U.S. meat industry has continued to grow over the last decade.

Even though higher yields are met for demand and human consumption, factory farming is cruel to animals due to the fact animals are often subject to harsh living conditions, more susceptible to diseases and injuries and are treated inhumanely during the slaughtering process. Unfortunately, with an increase in human population worldwide, the strain on farmers to meet the demand increases as well. This in turn causes more animals to be subject to this cruelty.

As agriculture practices vary amongst the world the livestock sector incorporates both extensive pasture-based and factory farm production.

Many individuals have seen or heard of the videos on the internet of various slaughterhouses across the country as well as the videos of factory farms and how their livestock are raised, along with Rachel Carson’s various books about the dangers of pesticides. Until the 1950’s, farming never used hormones to increase growth pace to achieve meatier animals. Factory farms and the mass production of animals have caused corporations to stop thinking about the quality of their foods, but the quantity and efficiency in which consumers receive it. Factory farm raised animals are produced to become our food and sold in stores, but they do not have to live in such poor, unhealthy conditions or live short lives full of pain. While factory farms are beneficial to the economy, ultimately they are harmful to the environment and the health of people and animals. Therefore we should find alternatives to factory farming.

Factory farming is the method of raising large amounts of poultry, cattle and pigs in stringent, indoor conditions and is responsible for majority of the meat Americans consume. According to the USDA, they stated that “In 2000, total meat consumption (red meat, poultry, and fish) reached 195 pounds (boneless, trimmed- weight equivalent) per person” (USDA.gov). However, at a time, America didn’t function on a factory farm controlled system. In the 1950s, the way the United States looked when it came to farming was a lot different than it is today. Back then, independent family farms used to be a common sight within the country. However, at the turn of the century in the early 2000s America made a change as industrial

Throughout history, new farming methods have popped up to keep up with the food demands of the growing United States population. Such farming methods strived to make food production cheaper and more efficient. Hence, the birth of the modern factory farm. Now, nearly two thirds of U.S. agricultural output is from three percent of its farms (“Factory”). Though factory farms have been very good for the efficiency of food-production, animals in the farms are often victims of mistreatment. By examining these different theories, one can form an educated stance on the economic side of factory farms.

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.

Factory farming plainly put cannot possible be scaled to the magnitude that is demanded if the developing world acquires the same taste for meat as the already developed world. Currently as things stand factory farming is already the cause of more greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere than transportation. It’s even suggested that already it’s become the number one factor causing climate change. The resources that are being allocated, whether it

Society is filled with images of happy animals living on farms where the cows graze in lush green fields and the chickens have spacious coops. The picture of free-roaming animals living in spacious fields is miles away from reality. A majority of animals are being raised for food, live terrible lives in dark, confined, and overcrowded facilities, called factory farms. Factory farming have led to institutionalized animal cruelty, massive environmental destruction, as well as animal and human health risks which can be reduced by natural, free-range farming.

Factory farming is a modern agricultural practice that mass produce animals to meet the food consumption of human. Factory farms house large number of animals to be raised for food in a confined space of farms to minimize operation cost, and the mass production drives down the food prices as they could produce excess amount of animals to meet the demand. However, except for offering human abundant amount of cheaper food, factory farming is an unhealthy agricultural practice to both human and the environment. Factory farming contributed to serious pollution problems, the animal treatments are inhumane and it has smothered the business opportunity of traditional farms and its workers by occupying their markets . Therefore, I strongly support that factory farming should be banned. I shall explain my point of view in the following essay.

Global meat production rose to a new peak of 308.5 million tons in 2013, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a more than fourfold increase over the last five decades. Even more startlingly, meat production has grown 25-fold since 1800 (Horrigan, Lawerence &Walker, 2002). Globally, agriculture utilizes nearly 70 per cent of the world 's available freshwater. One-third of that percentage is used to grow grains to feed to livestock (ECOS, 2014). While the global meat industry provides food and a livelihood for billions of people, it also has significant environmental and health consequences for the planet. Over half of the water used in meat production

The days of the family farm days are over. For decades, there has been such an exorbitant consumer demand for pork products. The consumer demand is so high that pork is now a multibillion-dollar industry, Swann (2014). Now the family farm has evolved into what critics call “factory farms” due to high consumer demand for affordable meat pork products in the United States (p.43).