The Chain By Ted Genoways

Many kids have not been to jail or experienced the loss of a close sibling or parent, and we do not understand the difficulty of being a slave. We can not even imagine that these terrible phenomena can occur. The book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson depicts two young, black slaves that have survived through the uprising of the Revolutionary War, the immoralities of slavery, and the tragic loss of family members.Throughout the book, Curzon and Isabel suffer through multiple events that have made them chained both figuratively and physically, but the couple of juvenile slaves grow more determined to receive freedom after they go through their hardships.

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

Many people do not report cases of animal cruelty. Reports of animal cruelty are less common than crimes against people. This is because the cases do not go through state agencies. The animals that come to mind when someone mentions animal cruelty is often Dogs and cats. These animals do have a higher percent rate, with dogs at 70.1%, cats at 20.9% and all other animals at 24.1%. The percent’s come from cases that people report. If people were to fill all cases of animal cruelty, the rates would be much more different. A common form of negligence is people taking their animal to a place far from home to just leave them there. Animal control pick up these animals everyday and send them to shelter. For the most part the animals have a healthy portion of food and they have shelter from the environment. Most shelters are kill shelters. No-Kill shelters become less common to their counterpart. Animals not adopted within a certain period of time undergo euthanasia. This keeps room for more animals. No-kill shelters protect the animals and help rehabilitate them. The other 24.1% is the factory animals. The purpose of a factory animal's life is a food source. So the owners mistreat their animals because the animals purpose is to be a food source. It is almost as if they do not matter. They deserve animal rights just as much as the other animals do.

This is an argument that I could certainly see being made among many consumers. But before diving into the argument I believe it is first important to define the term factory farm that is most commonly used among animal rights activists in an antagonistic manner. But according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a factory farm is a large industrialized farm; especially: a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost (Factory farm). But according to an article published by The American Farm Bureau Federation, 97 percent of farms are family-owned, not corporate factories (Farm Bureau). And while some animals are raised in confinement, there are strict laws and regulations in place that require a certain square footage of space per animal. These regulations permit enough space for the animals to move at free will while waste removal systems keep facilities clean. It is also important to remember that if an animal does not have adequate space, food and water availability, and a clean environment it will never be productive. While I realize that a “factory farm” may seem cruel, I refute the objection, as it is first important to remember that 97 percent of farms are family-owned and that those facilities where livestock are raised

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.

More than ever before, our planet is one filled with meat eaters. In fact, the average American consumes 270.7 pounds of meat per year. And, as one might have guessed, the question of where this food set before them on the table came from is often unregarded or ignored altogether. As more media forms commercialize extremely unhealthy versions of double cheeseburgers and meat lover’s supremes, the consumer’s demand for meat spikes up and companies in the food industry are faced with the ethical dilemma of benefiting themselves, their companies, increasing profits...and doing right by the animals- who without, they would not even be where they are today. Needless to say that animal rights and the humane treatment of their precious lives have been disregarded. Why do we, as a

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.

While animal cruelty is the largest issue that arises from factory farming, there are also many other problems that stem from this type of production such as environmental impacts. With this type of food production, “modern animal agriculture puts an incredible strain on natural resources like land, water, and fossil fuel” (Factory Farming). This is causing non-reversible environmental damage such as contaminating water supplies and producing mass amounts of exhaust due to production. These practices are going unnoticed by both the government and the companies responsible. Laws and regulations for the environment are not doing their job and need to be changed in order to save the resources that future generations have a right to experience. The industry as a whole stand idly by as they destroy the environment by the practices they perform. This puts a major strain on the fight against environmental degradation by the lack of regard for conserving what is not the industries to ruin.

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.

“This is horrible! I can’t even watch this!” Those were my immediate thoughts the first time my eyes were opened to the inhumane animal cruelty on factory farms. Factory farming enables mass production to supply the demands of today’s society but also enables the cruel treatment of animals. We need to end the cruelty and abuse that these animals have to endure at the factory farms because it causes loss to the business, reduces the quality of the product produced, and endangers the health of those who buy the product. We can promote humane treatment of factory farm animals by prevention through education, by enforcing humane laws by being an example of humane animal treatment, and by donating and/or

Animal rights are practically non-existent in many different ways today. Factory farming is probably the worst thing they can do to the poor helpless animals. Factory farming effects chickens, cows, pigs, and many other animals that are used for food, milk and eggs. One of the biggest organizations against factory farming is called Compassion Over Killing (COK). They go to great lengths to protest and inform people about animal cruelty.

“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.

Does the economic benefits of factory farming outweigh the disadvantages? Our lives are so closely linked to these farm animals, what makes them so different from our cats and dogs? We care much of our pets, but when it comes to the term ”factory farm”, little do we know about the production process of factory farm and the truth behind the scene. There are some ways that the producer can make sacrifice and still achieve increased profit. The economic benefit of factory farm does not necessary outweigh the disadvantages. It’s time we should boycott factory farm, not just for the welfare of animals, but also for our own sake.

ASPCA.org: A factory farm is a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food. [They] focus on profit and efficiency at the expense of animal welfare.

Animal cruelty within factory farms is a very real thing. The concept of animal cruelty is one that has many different interpretations. People have an array of perceptions from simply treating animals poorly to animal abuse in general. In reality animal cruelty is every possible malpractice in taking care of animals such as living conditions, the way animals are treated, and the food