Student 1
PHI 103
Instructor KB
09 July, 2013
Factory Farming is Cruel to Animals
It is so amazing that most Americans are so caring of the animals they keep as pets, and yet are so unconcerned about the upbringing or disposition of the ones they cook for dinner. It is amazing how some Americans see themselves as sympathizing folks and animal lovers until they reflect on what they just ate. Society loves animals as pets, adopts them as extensions of their families, spend ridiculous amounts of money on them, and mourn their deaths. How is it that these same Americans are so indifferent towards the ones they cook for dinner (Arora, 2013)? Factory farms dominate U.S. food production, employing practices that severely abuse animals, puts an enormous strain on our natural resources, and threatens the Nation’s health. Factory farms provide cheap meat that is more affordable to more people, utilizes less real-estate, creates the avenue for more farming jobs to stay in the U.S, and allows cheap fast food to exist. These are really great advantages of the factory farming industry, but come at a tremendous cost. Factory farming puts an enormous strain on our natural resources. According to a report in Farmsanctuary (2013), the factory farming industry puts incredible strain on our natural resources. The extreme amount of waste created by raising so many animals in one place pollutes our land, air, and water (para. 2). Unmanaged and untreated waste that accumulates from combined animal operations is contributing to emissions that are rapidly warming the planet, creating water pollution, and "dead zones" in our oceans and lakes. The environments in which these animals are confined are severely contaminated and present a significant source for increased infection in their animals, especially poultry, their by-products and eventually humans (O’Brien, 2001).
The preservation