Everyday people purchase meat from super markets without thinking about what the animals went through while they were still alive. This paper will provide an argument on why factory farming is cruel to animals. Factory animals suffer so much for nothing in return. Animals are put through intolerable conditions and are treated poorly. At the end of the paper the reader will understand why it is important to gain knowledge of how animals are treated in factory farms.
Argument
Farming since the 1920’s has changed dramatically. Vitamin A & D was discovered in the 1920’s and farmers realized that animals no longer needed to be raised as free range. The popular belief of farm animals is pictured as animals grazing in open pastures. It would be great if this were true. However, most farms are now factory farms. In the United States alone there are more than 2.1 million farms. Over half of those farms produce livestock. In the past eating meat was popular only among the rich people. In the 1950’s only 0.1 billion animals were slaughtered, in 2010 9.1 billion animals were slaughtered. As of June 2011 4.1 billion animals have been slaughtered so far. (States, 2011) Due to the high demand for meat factory farming became popular. Animals raised in factory farms are treated and raised poorly. Today, there are 280 million egg laying hens in the United States. They are forced to live in battery cages. These cages are small cages made out of wire lined and stacked up. These egg laying hens are stored in huge ware houses where they are unable to get fresh air or any sunlight. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that each hen gets up to four inches of feeding space. However, not every farmer follows regulations. Hens are crammed up into cages where they are unable to spread their wings or move. These egg laying hens suffer psychologically and physically.
Another animal that suffers in the factory farming industry are pigs. For