Factory Farming and Its Effects on the Environment
Sheri Lupo English 112
Factory Farming and its Effects on our Health, the Environment, and the Welfare of Animals
The term “factory farming” has more to it than it sounds. Factory farming is a term that makes up a multitude of disturbing images, from rows of animals packed tightly into gigantic warehouses and misused workers striving for substandard wages, to massive amounts of pollutants spilling into the environment. It is a big business that tries to maximize profits and minimize cost through the mass production of cheap meat, dairy, and eggs. Factory farms hurt animals and people and also destroy the environment. It has become a major contributor in the alarming degradation of our fragile planet (farm sanctuary). Factory farming is responsible for the inhumane treatment of animals and the horrific conditions in which they live, the negative effects it makes on our health, and the devastating consequences it has on our environment.
Here is a little background of what a “factory farm” is and why so many farmers turn to industrialized methods. With millions of mouths to feed, local farmers can’t keep up and cannot compete with giant, so called “large scale, mechanized mega-farms where hundreds of thousands of cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys are fed and fattened for market, all within the confines of enclosed buildings of crowded outdoor lots” (Kirby, p. 3). The term, CAFO’s, which stands for confined (or concentrated) animal feeding operations; is where the majority of our animal protein comes from; not a very pretty picture, but most people don’t think about it. Most of these animals never see the sunlight. Most people are very aware of where there car was made, what brand of clothing they are wearing, what is in their makeup, but most people do not question where their food comes from. People might feel differently if they knew the hog they were about to eat was beat to death with a pipe, just
Factory Farming and its Effects on our Health, the Environment, and the Welfare of Animals
The term “factory farming” has more to it than it sounds. Factory farming is a term that makes up a multitude of disturbing images, from rows of animals packed tightly into gigantic warehouses and misused workers striving for substandard wages, to massive amounts of pollutants spilling into the environment. It is a big business that tries to maximize profits and minimize cost through the mass production of cheap meat, dairy, and eggs. Factory farms hurt animals and people and also destroy the environment. It has become a major contributor in the alarming degradation of our fragile planet (farm sanctuary). Factory farming is responsible for the inhumane treatment of animals and the horrific conditions in which they live, the negative effects it makes on our health, and the devastating consequences it has on our environment.
Here is a little background of what a “factory farm” is and why so many farmers turn to industrialized methods. With millions of mouths to feed, local farmers can’t keep up and cannot compete with giant, so called “large scale, mechanized mega-farms where hundreds of thousands of cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys are fed and fattened for market, all within the confines of enclosed buildings of crowded outdoor lots” (Kirby, p. 3). The term, CAFO’s, which stands for confined (or concentrated) animal feeding operations; is where the majority of our animal protein comes from; not a very pretty picture, but most people don’t think about it. Most of these animals never see the sunlight. Most people are very aware of where there car was made, what brand of clothing they are wearing, what is in their makeup, but most people do not question where their food comes from. People might feel differently if they knew the hog they were about to eat was beat to death with a pipe, just
Cited: Baur, Gene. Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Eisnitz, Gail A. Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment. Inside the U.S. Meat Industry. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2007. Farm Sanctuary. Farmsanctuary.org. September 2005. 11 June 2013. Fuss, Sarah. Takepart.com/Foodinc. n.d. 11 June 2013. Kassoy, Ben. DoSomething.org. n.d. 23 June 2013. Kirby, David. Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 2010. McGrath, Matt. "US Animal Activist Laws 'May Impact Globally '." 12 April 2013. BBC News. Article. 11 June 2013. Tavernese, Sabrina. "Farm Use of Antibiotics Defies Scrutiny." NY Times 3 September 2012.