Just A Little Something To Digest. When It Comes To Farming,

When you think of the word agriculture farming is probably the first thought that comes to mind. At its most basic element, agriculture is the way in which we produce food, the most basic human need. There is an untold amount of differing opinions on the topic of how we should grow food; smaller family farms being pitted against commercial operations, conventional agriculture against organic practices, and much of the public does not know what “side” to pick. Agriculture has developed into a highly controversial issue, with each view point claiming that it is the only correct way to farm; despite this, it is imperative that we lay aside our differences in opinion and come together if we are going to create a sustainable food system responsible for feeding 9 billion hungry mouths.

Manure contains bacteria and is very high in nitrogen. The excess nitrogen can also cause nutrient-related problems in the area.

Nobody denies that the need for more food grows with the global population. Factory farms seem to be a solution to this problem since they produce mass quantities of food for cheap compared to their organic counterparts, which are forty-seven percent more expensive (Consumer Reports). The factory farming business, however, is not the best way to feed more people since it pollutes the environment. The factory

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.

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

The demand for meat in America is on the rise while the number of family owned farms is declining. The farming industry has had to change century old practices like free-range grazing to keep up with the mass amounts of meat that Americans and other cultures have become accustomed to. A process known as factory farming is controlling the farming industry worldwide. Factory farming is an unnatural and inhuman way to raise mass amounts of livestock. Unfortunately to keep up with demand, small farmers around the world are struggling to survive and are being pressured to work for large corporations raising animals using theses factory farming strategies rather than the natural alternative. As described by Wenonah

Author, Michael Pollan believes the industrial food chain is hurting the environment, livestock and the consumers. First of all, he states, “The flood of extra nitrogen causes a wild growth of algae, and the algae take up all the oxygen in the water, smothering the fish.”(34) The extra water from the concentrated animal feeding organization may seem harmless but is actually very harmful to the other animals not in the CAFOs. Pollan also points out,”They’re made to eat forage,”...,”...and we’re making them eating grain...”(58). The cows are being fed something they weren't designed to eat and therefore getting sick. In addition to that, “Some of this bacteria are finding their way into our food...”(49). The bacteria bred by the CAFOs doesn't

The waste contains large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous, the primary ingredients in fertilizer for plants. This causes the plants to grow faster, so when the waste gets into waterways it can cause algae blooms. The algae can block out the sunlight from other organisms in the water. Algae grows very quickly and dies very quickly. The decomposing algae uses the dissolved oxygen in the water which is essential to the lives of the organisms in the water. It causes a dead zone, an area where it is difficult for organisms to live there. The excessive nitrates in the waste can cause more than environmental problems, it can also be detrimental to our health. The nitrates can get into the groundwater and the surface water. Excessive nitrate exposer can cause blue baby syndrome, the disruption of the thyroid, and bladder cancer. Communities near the hog farms can also suffer from respiratory problems, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Humans can acquire more than 40 different types of diseases from the hog waste. Experts believe that the swine flu outbreak of 2009-2010 was caused by storing it in giant lagoons. Along with environmental and health issues, hog waste creates economic problems. Land value goes down in the communities near the farms due to the health risks and the foul smell. Property tax is based on land value, so when the land value is low, the local

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.

Use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms has increased by 26-fold over the past 50 years, fueling increases in crop production globally. But there have been serious environmental consequences.

Many negative environmental impact from unsustainable farming practices include; Land conversion and habitat loss, Wasteful water consumption, and Soil erosion and degradation (“Environmental Impacts of Farming”).There are many different types of harmful gases are released into the atmosphere. Many of these gases are potent greenhouse gases, which contribute to environmental damage and climate change (“How Factory Farming Creates Air Pollution”) Scientists are still researching, but data shows factory farms create a mass production of manure that they toss into huge lagoons which goes up into the atmosphere. Over 37 percent of methane emissions result from factory farming. Methane has a global warming potential 20 times higher than carbon dioxide. The industrialized animal facilities have caused serious respiratory and cardiac disorders (“Pollution Water, Air, Chemicals”). Most factory farming has a negative effect on our environment, and will affect many forests, animal life, and soil. Many trees are going extinct because factory farms want to expand, and cut down the trees. Trees like the Hinton’s Oak is going extinct because of farmer’s selfishness, and pollution

Factory farming is the application of industry models and production to farms and agriculture. It stresses efficiency and maximum output, but has some terrible consequences. Nearly 65 billion animals worldwide, including cows, chickens and pigs, are crammed into CAFOs. Most farmers have no where to put waste so they put it in lagoons. Collecting animal waste in the massive lagoons is bad because the waste breaks down and forms ammonia gas. This then breeds bacteria, which combines with other pollutants in the air to form nitric acid. The nitric acid builds up in the atmosphere and then returns to the surface of the earth as acid rain, harming soil, forest habitats, and water ecosystems. This causes vast amounts of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of all human-Introduced greenhouse gas emissions and because we burn fossil fuels there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there has been for the past 600,000 years. Methane comes from the animals and it is stronger than CO2. This bad because carbon cycle filter out only so much of it at a time and if there is to much it can damage the ozone layer. There is more to animal agriculture than just making product for people around the

Concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as CAFO’s, are large industrialized agricultural operations that confine thousands of animals in an enclosed location for feeding, breeding and production farming purposes. These operations are taking over smaller, family run farms that are raising animals ethically and environmentally friendly. CAFO’s are raising beef cattle, dairy cattle, poultry, fish and other animals for mass production to feed the ever growing demand for meat and poultry consumption. These large-scale operations are cutting out the small farms that cannot compete in the food production industry.

The food industry does not want you to know anything more than what you think about what goes on within our farms, because if you knew, you wouldn’t want anything to do with it and they would lose millions of dollars. The reality of it is, these are not farms we are getting our food from, it is a factory. Your image of the cows, pigs, and chickens running around freely is not what “farms” are like today at all. Our meat is being produced by huge corporations that have all the power in the food industry to do whatever they please to. The fruits and vegetables are being picked while still green all over the world wherever the food is in season after being sprayed with harmful chemicals so it stays fresh till it hits our kitchen tables. Our food is coming from factories, mass farming, and assembly lines, where the food has become a danger to us and the people producing it. This issue has a personal meaning for me because, I

Although the researchers found increased concentrations in NO3-N, NH3-N, Cl and organic nitrogen initially, data suggested that seepage rates decreased over time. These researchers also stated that “biological sealing of unlined animal manure lagoons in coarse-textured soils will take place over a period of time”. However a recommendation was made stating that unlined lagoons in areas of high water tables and coarse textured soils should not be installed. This hypothesis is also corroborated by Phillips et al. (1983), but in a much more primitive study. These researchers also found that loamy soils were sealed much more effectively and consistently than coarser material. A study confirming this hypothesis by Culley et al. (1989) observed waste from a beef production unit being deposited in an unlined lagoon. The surrounding soil characteristics are coarse sand environments, with the lagoon being constructed below the normal water table, although prior to waste deposition the bottom of the lagoon was unsaturated. The researchers observed that two weeks after initiation of waste addition to the lagoon, the hydraulic conductivity of the bottom layer decreased to 10-8 m/s, or as the authors suggest effectively sealed. The evidence was also backed up by chloride concentrations, a conservative element, seeing significant decreases in the surrounding soil after two weeks as well. The final results indicated that the