“It is possible, I think, to say that a Christian agriculture is formed upon the understanding that it is sinful for people to misuse or destroy what they did not make. The creation is a unique, irreplaceable gift, therefore to be used with humility, respect, and skill”- Wendell Berry (Berry, The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture). This quote speaks numbers to me. I believe that agriculture, both animals and plants, should be farmed with humility, respect and skill, as said by Wendell Berry. It has, however, become a concern of mine that this is not the case in large industrial farms. The purpose of my speech is to persuade my audience that there is a need for large scale production of food to feed the growing population, but there needs to be some restrictions placed on certain practices in factory farming. I first became interested in agriculture when I joined 4-H and have since learned more through farming and studying animal science here at Penn State. Even though we need factory farming, factory farming should have restrictions because Confined Animal Feeding Operations and monoculture practices are doing more harm than good.
Before we get started, I want to address and define a few key terms that I will be using throughout my speech. First term I want to address is factory farming. I may also refer to this as industrial farming or industrial agriculture. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, factory farming, or industrial agriculture is “the system of chemically intensive food production developed in the decades after World War II, featuring enormous single-crop farms and animal production facilities” (Union of Concerned Scientists, Industrial Agriculture). The next important key term is Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO). According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a Confined Animal Feeding Operation is a large operation where animals are kept and raised in confined situations (USDA, Animal Feeding Operations). The final term I want to define before starting is monoculture. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, monoculture is “the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agriculture or forest land” (Merriam-Webster, monoculture).
Now
Factory farming is currently meeting the needs of supply and demand which is beneficial to the economy. However, with the lack of regulations and enforcement of current regulations by authority entities such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is ethically and morally unjustifiable for these corporations to practice and conduct business this way. The USDA and FDA are not the only players who are to accept blame in this unethical practice. State and federal laws should investigate and collaborate with those agencies to develop, execute, and retain safe and clean practices. Perdue Farms should also accept personal responsibility and be concerned about their workplace, their employees, the animals that make them money, and the consumers. The ethical theory being put into place
"I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds." These famous words from "The FFA Creed" by E.M. Tiffany outline the basic beliefs of FFA members and agriculturists around the world. But these values, although crucial to the sustaining of our world's ever-increasing population, are growing more and more detached from the people not involved in agriculture. Although food and fiber production has increased in recent years, providing more bushels per acre and more meat per head of cattle, the agriculture industry has come under fire due to an overwhelming majority of people being totally disconnected from the agriculture industry. Today, we'll examine the primary causes of this disconnect, the negative effects on agriculture and our society as a whole that results from it, and how you can help solve this ever-growing problem.
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
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.
Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that eating meat and other animal derived products like cheese, milk, and yogurt is harmful to us and our planet.
Preview: Due to this trend we are seeing the aging of American Farmers and the spreading of misconceptions in our society.
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.
The effects of factory farming is not worth the damage that is done to the health of the environment, animals, and people. The idea of a factory farm is to produce meat at a faster pace, but the way these companies accomplish this task makes life a living hell for the animals. For example, “They’re often given so little space that they can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably. Egg-laying hens are kept in small cages, chickens and pigs are kept in jam-packed sheds, and cows are kept on crowded, filthy feedlots”(Factory). The animals on these farms have to experience constant fear and agony, especially since most factory farmed animals will be genetically manipulated to grow larger or to produce more milk or eggs than they naturally would, and suffer severe pain throughout their entire life(Factory). Animals, especially cows, are being abused not only physically, but mentally as well.. For example, “just within hours of birth, calves are taken away from
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.
Industrial agriculture is currently the predominant food production system in the United States. It is distinguished by large-scale monoculture, abundant use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and meat production in CAFOs. CAFOs are ‘Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations’, otherwise known as factory farms, which aim to cram as many animals in one space to boost efficiency and profit at the expense of animal suffering and environmental hazards.
In the U.S., the concept of factory farms primarily involving animals such as pigs, cattle and chicken began in the 1920’s as a way to increase efficiencies by capturing
Credibility statement: I love learning about our environment and have been educating myself for the past year by watching documentaries and reading books on this topic.
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
Thesis Statement: The U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise animals in their natural environments.
“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.