Preview

Factory Farming

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1493 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Factory Farming
Leah Mattingly
November 19, 2013

Factory Farming: The Truth Revealed

Many people might not be aware of what really happens in factory farms, or if they do, they tend to turn a blind eye towards it. Our society has a fairytale image of how factory farm animals live: Cows grazing the luscious green fields, hens nesting in a warm, spacious barn, and pigs rolling around in mud enjoying the sunny day. This vision of farm life is far from reality, especially today with demand for cheap, delicious meat rising. Today, billions of animals are born, confined, biologically manipulated, transported, and slaughtered for human consumption. The majority of farm animals are not enjoying the ideal farm life, but instead, they are living in factory farms, also known as confined animals feeding operations (CAFOs) or intensive live-stock operations (ILOs) (Williams, Nancy). The purpose of factory farming is to produce some of the lowest prices in the world for meat, eggs, and dairy products, but is it really worth the cost? Not only is animal welfare at risk, but so is the environment and human health. Factory Farming should be banned in the United States, or even better, worldwide. Today we live in a society where animals are held at higher respect than they were ever before. Dogs have become known as a “man’s best friend” and cats are just as welcome on your couch as your family is. It is considered morally wrong to abuse any animal to the extent that we have laws protecting the welfare of animals. However, the live-stock in factory farms do not live comfortable lives. Probably the only good thing about living in a factory farm is that the animals do not live very long. Astonishingly, farmed animals are specifically excluded from the Federal Animal Welfare Act and also from most state anti-cruelty laws. In one case, during a Farm Sanctuary investigation of the ISE egg factory in early 2000 in the town of Broadway, New Jersey, two live hens were found deliberately dumped
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Factory Farm Persuasive Speech
    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Factory Farm Persuasive Speech

    Thesis: As stated by the “Food & Water Watch” Animals in Factory Farms are loaded with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, are mistreated and forced to live in unnatural, in humane, and unhealthy conditions, and the many communities that have to deal with air and water pollution caused by nearby Factory Farms.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Animal Cruelty and Public Health Hazards in the Factory Farming Industry
    • 2009 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Animal Cruelty and Public Health Hazards in the Factory Farming Industry

    Over the last few decades farming animals for food has grown and evolved into a highly efficient, streamlined industry known as factory farming. Factory farms are owned and operated by big corporations, and despite the fact they make up only a small percentage of farms in the United States, they are responsible for most of the meat and eggs we consume here (Sierra Club, 2005). In factory farming, baby piglets are castrated without anesthesia and thrown into a pen, where they huddle in a corner writhing in pain. Egg laying chickens are crammed four or five to a cage (45x50cm) for their entire lives. They cannot spread their wings or stretch out in any way, and they never see daylight. To prevent them from pecking at one another, their beaks are brutally burnt or sliced to a stub. To produce veal, newborn calves are confined in small crates and restrained to allow a minimum of movement until they are slaughtered at just five months old. Factory farmed animals are treated like non-living commodities, suffering horrendous cruelties to produce the maximum profit at the least amount of cost. In recent years public awareness about factory farming conditions has grown, and so have concerns over animal cruelty and public health. The general public should not tolerate animal cruelty in the factory farming industry because it is extremely inhumane to animals and it represents a growing health hazard for human beings; instead, consumers should put pressure on the industry to change the way animals are treated and to ensure farms do not pose a threat to public health.…

    • 2009 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Factory Farming: Feast or Famine
    • 2210 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Factory Farming: Feast or Famine

    Throughout history, human beings have grouped themselves together in communities. The concept of communities offered two major benefits; first, defense against enemies that might threaten the community. And second, the ability to sustain a constant food source to subsist on year-round. The need for a constant food supply became a major factor in early farming practices (Pollan, 2006) through animal husbandry. The waste from the livestock was used as fertilizer for the other crops that were raised on the farm. These crops were utilized to feed the farmers, sell at market, as well as feed the livestock through the next winter. In this manner, there is a continuous lifecycle on the homestead. The overall mindset is different, first, I will feed my family, second try to make a profit, and third, I will try to keep livestock for the next year in order to grow my farm. When the production of beef became more about profit the respect and love for the land fell catastrophically to the wayside. Modern feedlot operations are creating environmental problems that will affect our country in the future, as well as health issues for consumers, which would to corrected by implementing strong regulations in the handling of feedlot waste and a mandated correction in the diet of the cattle.…

    • 2210 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    CAFO Research Paper
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    CAFO Research Paper

    Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) is facilities designed to raise animals such as swine, until they are the right size to be slaughtered. There are roughly 257,000 CAFO’s in the U.S. and each one slaughters approximately 27million hogs in a year. Hogs live by the thousands in warehouse like barns, in rows of pens. Workers put so many hogs in one pen that they trample each other to death. In the barns there is no sunlight, fresh air, straw, or earth for the pigs. Temperatures in the warehouses can reach up to ninety degrees and the air is polluted so much that it can become lethal to the pigs. These things are not the only inhumane things happening at CAFO’s.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Informative Essay On Factory Farms
    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Informative Essay On Factory Farms

    According to the ASPCA, "a factory farm is a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Factory Farming
    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Factory Farming

    This acquisition is false, the factory farmers do not get paid unless they are treating the animals with care. One of the reasons why someone pursues farming is because they have the desire to be with animals. According to David Leyonhjelm, the factory farms are more humane than the small scale farms. If the animals were not being treated with the proper care, then the animals would drop like flies. The livestock in the factory farms is protected from wind, snow, rain, heat and cold, and safe from the wild animals. Placing the animals in the factory farms allows the breeding process to be less stressful and the farmers will be able to take care and protect the young animals. While they are being protected in the warehouses, the animals are given a constant balanced diet and they are provided with plenty of fresh water. Factory farms are there to protect the livestock and still treat them with care while providing quality meat and dairy for the consumers. The last thing the factories want to do is cause the livestock discomfort, stress, and diseases. The factory farms are equipped with technology and farmers that can do everything they can to ensure they lead a stress and disease-free…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Down On The Factory Farm Analysis
    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Down On The Factory Farm Analysis

    Singer’s article criticizes factory farms for industrializing their farming practices and sacrificing good animal husbandry practices for increases in production. Singer indicates the ridiculous amount of animals affected by factory farm mistreatment by stating “[t]he use and abuse of animals raised for food far exceeds, in sheer numbers of animals affected, any other kind of mistreatment” (“Down on” 19). Singer evaluates the reasoning behind factory farmer’s unethical practices, and concludes that “farming is competitive and the methods adopted are those that cut costs and increase production” (“Down on” 20). By cutting costs and increasing production rates factory farming industry workers accumulate more wealth, and consumers are able consume more meat then physically necessary. One can evaluate this luxury the “Principle of Disproportionality” which states that “[a]ctions that meet nonbasic or luxury needs of humans are prohibited when they aggress against the basic needs of animals” (Sterba…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Ethical Choices Program: Case Study
    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ethical Choices Program: Case Study

    More than 95% of animals raised for food in the U.S. are raised in intensive confinement facilities, often called "factory farms." Participants learn about the realities for animals, the impact on the environment and the health implications of modern agriculture practices. We also explore the alternatives for a more compassionate and just society.…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Factory Farms In America
    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Factory Farms In America

    Most people's initial instinct when they think about livestock is to imagine cows roaming in expansive green fields, living in harmony with the pigs and chickens that stick close to the barn to be fed and taken care of by loving farmers. But, sadly the reality of the industry does not satisfy the imaginations and the practices of small farms that have the time and consideration to treat living creatures with the dignity they deserve. When speaking of livestock factories the animals have become product and with product corporations tend to do everything to make their product the most profitable it can be, even if it is at the expense of lives. The list of horrifying atrocities the factory farm industry commits everyday is far longer than any essay could cover but a few…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Factory Farming
    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Factory Farming

    In her article “Down on the Factory Farm: It’s a Life Sentence for Animals,” Debra Probert argues that readers should consider becoming vegetarians in response to the abuse of animals on factory farms. In her article, published in Alive: Canadian Journal of Health and Nutrition, Probert describes conditions that a variety of animals endure on factory farms. Her goal is to convince readers of the abuse that animals endure on factory farms and to argue for a decrease or cessation of meat eating by the public. In this article Probert presents information to prove that factory farms are indeed as atrocious as she claims. Although Probert has a very good argument and emotional appeal when visualizing the conditions these animals are subjected to, she does not give any references to ensure that what the readers are reading is indeed accurate, and she lacks the experience and credentials to support the claims. Probert give details to show readers the truth about factory farming.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Speech Animal Abuse
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Speech Animal Abuse

    Animal abuse is a topic that most people are aware of in this day and age. But to clarify this is not going to be a speech appealing to the pity of Sarah McLachlan's song during animal cruelty commercials. Believe me this topic is truly sad, but its gets worse when you look into the current problems. I will elaborate on what is currently being done. The SPCA is a very large benefactor in stopping animal abuse as many of you probably know by their numerous commercials asking for donations and public awareness but they cannot take this entire burden on their shoulders alone. The type of animal abuse I would like talk about is specific to farm animals. This is a particular topic that many people do not consider. The example i am going to use first is the life of a cow and then elaborate on chickens. A female cow on a dairy farm is repetitively impregnated, again, and again for the production of milk. Hundreds of cows residing on thousands of dairy farms across america are artificially inseminated to constantly produce milk for our consumption. After a time of nine months the cow gives birth to a calf, within hours or a day the calf is taken from the mom and transported to a veal…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Peter Singer Utilitarianism
    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Peter Singer Utilitarianism

    Less painful methods of killing animals could be employed. This may increase the cost of meat to the consumer, but the increased utility for the animals will far outweigh this cost. Animals reared in factory farms live in cages, crates, or other confined spaces that do not allow them to move and turn around. These animals suffer injury and bruising from rubbing against the cages, wires and walls of their enclosures. They are forced to live in cramped, overcrowded quarters, surrounded by their own waste.…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Argumentative Essay On Factory Farming
    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Argumentative Essay On Factory Farming

    Factory farming is one of the most controversial topics talked about around the world. Most people just believe their perfectly packaged meat from the supermarket comes from a normal farm. Little do they know, it’s much more than that. Consumers have no idea what animals go through just for them to have a great chicken or steak dinner. Jessica Leader of the Huffington Post states, 99% of the meat in the United States comes from factory farms. (Leader, paragraph1). Factory farming according to Webster’s Dictionary is a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost. This doesn’t sound so hurtful or damaging, but according to the Huffington Post,…

    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Factory Farming Effects
    • 1867 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Factory Farming Effects

    Those who are unaware of the issues that factory farmed foods present to their health and to the environment may argue that there is no difference between meat from a happy cow raised in a large grassland and meat from a cow in a factory. They may even state that these animals are treated fairly and are better off in these factories with farmers to take care of them before they are used for their meat and milk. That, in these farms, the well-being of the animals is a priority to the farmers who raise them. They are better off in the factories than free in nature where they could be harmed. Some may even state that they have more of a risk to infectious diseases when they are walking around free in nature. Others, who simply do not care about the mistreatment or are ignorant to that issue may argue that the farmers have the right to their working freedom- however they may choose to go about it. This is their job and way of income for their families, which they are dependent on. Therefore, they need to continue these practices in order to stay financially stable. Nevertheless, factory farming is not considered illegal by the federal government so why should the farmers put a halt to their methods? The government even, in some cases, provides relief to the farmers while funding large companies who partake in methods of factory farming. A final argument that one may have against banishing…

    • 1867 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of Factory Farming
    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of Factory Farming

    Factory farming is a form of farming for livestock in a controlled environment using extreme methods. Factory farming has become awfully popular in today’s world, taking over the traditional farming businesses. This method of farming is a very unhealthy and inhumane way to farm livestock. It is not only harmful to the animals, but to humans as well.…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics