Organic Farming vs Factory Farming Essays

By weight, eighty percent of antibiotics are used in agriculture to “fatten animals” and “protect them from the conditions in which they are raised” (McKenna). Animals are given micro-doses of antibiotics, that is, a small amount of antibiotics to prevent diseases from occurring. This micro-dosage amount allows for mutation that Fleming described. The routine use of antibiotics in agriculture has led to “[sixty-five] percent of chicken breasts” and “[forty-four] percent of ground beef” to house bacteria “resistant to tetracycline”. Additionally, “[eleven] percent of pork chops carried bacteria resistant to five classes of drugs” (McKenna). These bacteria then spread from animals to the humans who eat them, causing humans to get infections which cannot be treated. The issue isn’t as simple as ceasing to give antibiotics to animals. Most animals raised for consumption live in an environment ripe for infections and diseases to spread. Instead of giving the animals more room to live, the majority of farmers opt to give the animals antibiotics. For cattle, This prevents diseases and death to the immature weaned calves and cattle which saves the rancher both time and money—passing on the savings to the consumers. In a free market society higher prices tend to not go well. However, if antibiotics became useless farmers would have to “[enlarge] barns, [cut] down on crowding, and [delay] weaning”, which ultimately would increase the costs of raising livestock

www.farmsanctuary.org Factory Farming and the Environment describes some of the concerns that come about with large scale farms. Factory farms need very large numbers of acres to keep the cows fed and the people in nearby communities fed also. Factory farms need millions of gallons of water to water crops and for all the animals. The farms also produce large amounts of manure which are generally collected in large pits until it can be transported into the fields. The fact is large amounts of manure are used to help crops grow and rarely go into oceans or rivers because there are many regulations and inspections that deal with the movement of manure. When there is a disaster and large amounts of manure does get into oceans and streams, many animals and other living things are affected and or killed. Methane from all animals is a big greenhouse gas and many environmentalists believe having too many farm animals is adding to the effect on the climate change. www.ciwf.org.uk.com Compassion in world farming is where I found a lot of information about this subject. Without large scale farms there would not be enough food to feed the billions of people in the world. People either don't know how to or are too lazy to grow food for themselves. If more people would raise their own food it would ultimately reduce the

With a growing world population of over seven billion, the high-producing agriculture industry is becoming detrimental to the environment by most commonly effecting the freshwater needs, soil quality, air pollution, energy consumption, the loss of habitat, and the health of the consumers. However, there is a solution to this problem that goes beyond just the nutritional facts: urban farming and mass organic food production. Food and the City by Jennifer Cockrall-King and Lentil Underground: Renegade Farmers and the Future of Food in America by Liz Carlisle explores the challenges and solutions to organic food production in the major cities and the midwest United States.

Organic farming began in the late 1940’s in the United States, and in recent years it has seen a dramatic increase in popularity (Rubin 1). The sales of organic food have been increasing by about 20 percent a year over the past decade (Marcus 1). That is over ten times the rate of their conventional counterparts (Harris 1). There are 10 million consumers of organic food in the United States, yet organic food represents only one percent of the nation’s food supply. This year organic food sales are expected to rise to six billion dollars (Rubin 1). So what is organic food? Organic food is that which are grown without hormones, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. Also, the soil in which organic food

Mitchum, Michelle is an American journalist and author, she writes, reports for news channels and a filmmaker. She states in Organic food, that for the past two decades the consumption of organic food has radically changed, by twenty-five billion dollars from 1996 to 2016. This accumulative grow is a result of people briefs' that organic food free pesticides, chemical and grown in good arable, are healthier form nutrition and health wise than controversially grown food. The subject separates like deadly disease and brings attention to competent health authorities and forced development, processing of conventionally grown foods to be aware of their next move, then the public starts questioning themselves the effect of consuming food that's been grown in an increasing profit method. There are enough researches to prove

Finally, the most important reason there should be strict regulations to curb the overuse of antibiotics in factory farming is because this practice is creating breeding grounds for super bugs. A 2008 report from Pew Commission report on Industrial Farm Animal Production concluded that “of particular concern is the rapid rise in antibiotic-resistant microbes, an inevitable consequence of the widespread use of antibiotics as feed additives in industrial livestock operations” (Sayre 76-83). Most often the superbugs hitch a ride into the surrounding environment in the mountains of waste produced on industrial scale farms. They end up in our ground water, soil, and even our meats. Making themselves know in the ever increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant infections that now kill more people annually than AIDS.

After a little playground fun, you cruise over to McDonald's for lunch. You order a happy meal and joyfully watch him consume in happiness. Unfortunately, that burger was contaminated with E. Coli. The damage has already been done, sadly killing him in a matter of days. Such an event was displayed by Food Inc, a woman losing her 2 year old son in 12 days after consuming a hamburger. Diseases such as E. Coli are all a consequence of animals being kept in horrendous conditions. Considering there are only 13 slaughterhouses in the U.S. (Food Inc, 2009), contaminated meat mixing in with “healthy” beef, increases the chance of disease. Subsequently, due to the atrocious living habitat, factory animals walk on their excrement daily. If an animal is contaminated, disease will undoubtedly spread within the quarters. Another example of how diseases arise is corn, continually mentioned in the film. Scientists stated that 90% of the food products contain corn or a soybean ingredient (Food Inc, 2009). To merely rephrase, there isn't much variation with the foods we eat! Exhibited were numerous factory farms force feeding animals corn. When feeding corn to factory animals, it has the potential to evolve. Hence evident metamorphosis takes place, generating high risk. Even more so, a majority of companies drench meat with ammonia hydroxide (leads to food poisoning) to kill bacteria (Food Inc, 2009). Surely that

“The antibiotics these animals consume with their corn at this very moment are selecting, in their gut and whatever else in the environment they end up, for new strains of resistant bacteria that will someday infect us and withstand the drugs we depend on to treat that infection (Pollan. 81.)” Similarly, we will possess those same microbes from the animals we eat. There are roughly 5 diseases that can be attributed to antibiotic resistance due to factory farming; e. coli H-7, MRSA, Campylobacter/Salmonella, Mad Cow disease and Obesity. E. coli strains are normal in cows, but this particular strain thrives in feedlot cattle. Due to high grain diet the cows are fed, allows the deadly strain to withstand acidic environments in other words, resist acidity in our stomachs. This strain of E.coli can cause severe kidney damage. Children and elderly people are more likely to have severe symptoms and die. According to an Oxford Journal article MRSA infections leads to more deaths than HIV/ AIDS every year(Stryjewski 19.) MRSA is very common to pass in hospitals, and it’s antibiotic resistance makes it very difficult to treat. Campylobacter and Salmonella can be killed through proper cooking. Although, both are becoming more resistant to antibiotics. Campylobacter can be found on more than half the chicken being sold in stores. Mad Cow disease occurs when cows are fed other pieces of butchered cow, sheep or goat. Causing an infectious neurodegenerative disease in the animals which get passed to us. Luckily this is a disease more rare than the others I have discussed. Roughly 1 in 3 Americans is considered obese, calling obesity a disease is debatable. The country with the largest food industry also has the largest obesity rate. Arguably it doesn’t meet the requirements for a disease, but the American Heart Association and the American

Farmers are paid less for their work and endanger themselves by being exposed to so many pesticides, herbicides and other newly introduced toxins.

Agriculture is the second most leading cause of pollution (jaiswal). With that much pollution one may wonder how it is happening. One may also wonder what america can do to fix agricultural pollution. America has put our land and farmers into some very questionable situations with questionable practices.

With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.

Organic farming is becoming an increasingly popular market throughout the world. (Adam, 2004, p. 666). The aims of organic farming are, to decrease pollution, maintain soil fertility and biodiversity, be more sustainable, and have increased nutritional benefits than conventionally grown foods (Yaping et. al., 2003, p. 298). While the aim of conventional farming is to provide safe, proficient supplies of food, in abundance and at low prices (Trewavas, 2001, p.409). Since 1996, the amount of land in the UK dedicated to organic farming has risen tenfold (Adam, 2004, p. 666). As well, from 1992 to 1997, the amount of certified organic cropland in the US more than doubled (Tafel et al, 2007, p.182 ). The main difference between organic and

In agriculture however, antibiotics are not directly administered to plants. Rather, the manure from livestock treated with antibiotics (which could also contain antibiotic resistant bacteria) is used to fertilize crops. This facilitates the widespread long distance travel of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Through this process, an isolated population of resistant bacteria from a single farm has the potential to spread across the country and potentially world, which could have a drastically negative effect on animals and humans alike.

Although organic foods are found in nearly every grocery store, the average person is unable to differentiate between organic and non-organic food products. Many consumers purchase organic products in the hopes of gaining positive health benefits. (Chhabra, Kolli, et al “Organically Grown Food Provides”) “The current demand for organic foods outstrips the domestic supply, causing retailers in the United States to import $2 billion worth of organic foods annually.” (Crandall, Seideman, et al. ”Organic poultry: Consumer perceptions”) In this paper, I want to define what it means for food to be organically produced, while also exploring the requirements necessary to deem a product ‘Organic”.

Organic agriculture is the oldest type of agriculture there is. Many people don't know exactly what has to be done to say that you are farming organically, these days. Organic Agriculture has been increasing in size over the past few years as more people worry about what they are eating. Many people donít know what it exactly means to be farming organically.