Factory Farming Is A Good Thing

Factory Farming Is A Good Thing

Factory Farming Is A Good Thing The term “factory farming” sends shivers down one spine and creates a buzz that stirs up emotions of anger and sadness. The general public is led to believe that factory farming is the work of Satan. Animal rights groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States, run graphic and sometimes disturbing ad campaigns that are designed to infuriate the viewer. The truth is factory farming is not only a necessary and efficient way to farm, but it also can be viewed as a good, healthy way to farm. Factory farming allows safe and quality meat products to be available and affordable to the ever rapid growing population. The future of farming and the nutritional health of the world lie in the advancement of safety and efficiency on the factory farms. The world population since 1950 is growing at an extremely rapid rate. The human population in 1950 was 2.5 billion people. By the year 2050, the world population is estimated to be around 9 billion people (Population Reference Bureau, 2008). Simple math says that’s an extra 6.5 billion mouths to feed. The world without factory farming would be a world on the verge of famine. Conventional farming methods like free range farming and organic farming simply cannot keep up with the consumer demand. In 2010, the world populace consumed 56,344 metric tons of beef and veal products from cows. The United States is the biggest single consumer with just over 12,000 ton consumed (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The only way to meet these demands is by factory farming. The citizens of Britain in 1950, on average, consumed approximately 1kg (2.3 pounds) of chicken per year. Chicken was considered a delicacy. Today in Britain, the average person consumes just over 2kg a month or 55 pounds a year. The only way to maintain a balanced, healthy diet for the growing number of populace is to allow farms to function how they currently are being operated. The antiquated view of maintaining the animals on free range farms is no longer feasible. The only way to achieve these results at an affordable cost to the consumer is by managing safe and effective factory farms.
All it takes is a simple search online and the person seeking information on factory farming will be inundated with animal rights activist sites explaining and exploiting the dangers and lack of safety of the farms. The thing these sites fail to mention is that the reports are biased and one-sided. In most cases, the treatment and lifespan of animals kept on the so called free-range farms or organic farms is very similar to that of a factory farm. Chickens for instance, in the wild, live to six year or longer. Chickens raised for meat on factory farms have a lifespan of only six weeks. PETA would like the average person or supporters of free range and organic farming to believe this is animal cruelty. In reality, it is comparable with the lifespan of chickens on both free range and organic farms. Chickens on free range farms and organic farms are led to the slaughterhouse in eight weeks and twelve weeks (Compassion In World Farming, 2012). The life of other animals that human’s harvest for meat products have similar lifespan statistics of the aforementioned chickens. Animal rights leaders would also like the masses to believe the treatment of all factory farms is malicious and unhealthy. This for all intent and purposes is simply untrue and misleading. People cite the abuse of animals in these facilities is the reason why farms should not exist. The word inhumane is often used. Saying animals are treated inhumane is an oxymoron in itself. Cows that are destined for the slaughterhouse often spend a majority of their two years on earth, grazing on grass in fields (Compassion In World Farming, 2012). The cows are then moved indoors for a weeks or months, where the cattle are fed foods that are ultra rich with vitamins and protein to pack on as many pounds as possible before the animal is processed.
Animals on factory farms are pumped with a steady flow of antibiotics to prevent infectious diseases among the livestock. Animal health products given to the cattle include an array of drugs and vaccines, in addition to vitamins, minerals and other nutrients the animals need to maintain a full and complete balanced diet. All of the animal health products are approved and regulated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) prior to being given to animals (AG Web Powered By Farmer's Journal, 2012). Many skeptics make claims this is harmful to the bovine animals and creates an unsafe product for the consumers. In actuality, the truth is the exact opposite. Animals on factory farms are easily maintained and treated for infections. Diseases are more easily discovered and quarantined on factory farms as opposed to free range farms. This allows the daunting task of regulating the safety of the products more manageable. The same type of animals on free range farms create a much more arduous task of maintaining the spread of illness. Diseases on free range farms are difficult to control and may take the breeder weeks or months to spot the animal with the issue. The problem this presents is that by the time the dilemma is solved it may have spread to many other animals on the farm. Organic and free-range hens require a constant medicated feed for diseases and often require more drugs than caged hens because of their constant exposure and contact with litter and waste on barn floors. The preventative actions taken by factory farming provides a safer product for consumers. Although there have been many claims and accusations by animal right groups, none of the products fed or given to the animals have proven to be unsafe or dangerous to the consumer or change the flavor or quality of the meat.
The most common complaint in today’s economy is “everything is too expensive”. The most common question is “How can we get the prices lower?”. The most common answer is “mass production”. Why should this be any different with the meat and products that are conceived on factory farms? Critics will say the quality of the mass produced meat isn’t the same as grass fed livestock but yet there is no test or study that clearly shows that assumption. Animals that are being raised to slaughter by means of factory farming drastically reduce the cost of the product to the consumer. The cost of one pound of grass fed ground beef, for instance, will cost the consumer in the price range of six to ten dollars. The same amount of ground beef produced at a factory farm will only cost the consumer around two to four dollars. The cheaper costs arise from many different reasons. The land needed to harvest the animals at a factory farm is much less than the land needed for grass fed animals. The cost to feed each animal on a factory farm is significantly lower than the cost and effort of feeding grass fed animals. The efficiency of a factory farm from time of birth, to slaughter size, to the slaughter house, to the market, to the consumer, is exponentially better than that of the route of a grass fed animal.
Many of the skeptics of factory farming will argue the land being used to store the cattle is wasting valuable real estate. The cynics are simply twisting facts and presenting people with false information that support their political wants and needs. For example, about half the land area of the United States is strictly grazing land. The land is not suitable for crop production. The land would be of no use as a food resource if it were not for the grazing livestock. The United States has more than enough land to grow both feed vegetable and food crops (R. Farrell, R., 2007).
Another issue the owners and supporters of the factory farms have to face from the hypocritical leaders of the extremist animal groups is on the topic of pollution. A huge marketing campaign promoting “green” items as the future success of the planet earth is taking over the United States and the world. PETA and other organizations are trying to capitalize on this by stating that factory farms are polluting the water that American’s drink and the air they breathe. This is another misnomer presented as fact by the animal activists. Due to the use of modern technology and soil science, farmers can apply fertilizer to the land as a natural fertilizer, this meaning the fertilizer nutrients are completely absorbed by only the soil and not the water. In addition, state and federal regulations require that livestock producers only apply fertilizer at a level that can be utilized by the crops that are being grown. All farmers must have approved fertilizer management plans before applying any fertilizer to their soil and crops. A study was done in 2010 by the prestigious Stanford University contradicting everything PETA says on the topic of green house gases. Advances in factory farming agriculture have prevented enormous amounts of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, around the equivalent of 590 billion metric tons of CO2. If not for the increased yields, additional green house gas emissions from clearing the land for traditional farming methods would have been equal to up to a third of the world's total output of green house gases since 1850 when the world population was a tiny fraction of what it is today (AG Web Powered By Farmer's Journal, 2012). The owners of factory farms earn a living by ensuring clean air, land, and water is available for their cattle. The long-term success of the livestock industry depends on it. To think the factory farmers would want anything else is blatantly ludicrous. The advancements in the scientific, environmental area of farming are being made at a rapid pace and will continue to get better for many years into the future.
Just take a gander in any grocery store in the United States and head over to the produce and butcher section of the market. You will see signs and advertisements with animals grazing on beautifully maintained fields or farmers with straw hats picking fruit off a tree. These depictions should be considered pure “Americana”. Small farms are a dying breed in the United States and are no longer the main source for our food. Today in the U.S., 3% of the factory farms produce a remarkable and somewhat unbelievable 62% of all of the nation’s agriculture output. On a grander scale, the top 3% of factory farms do a bewildering 42% of their business with 5 major companies (Farrell, 2007). The five companies they do business with Kroger, Albertson’s, Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Ahold USA are markets that typically are known for a large selection and cheap, competitive prices. The benefits that the massive factory farms provide are numerous. The farms create much needed employment. The jobs created extend far beyond being a farmer or veterinarian on the farm. A multitude of jobs are created in a diverse array of fields. Jobs are created in sales, research and technology, transportation (truck drivers), and butcher/meat markets just to name a few. Factory farms also pump enormous amounts of funds into local and national businesses. All of these facts are left out when the animal rights activist go on the attack.
One of PETA’s and the Humane Society of the United States most infamous videos is a promotional film that shows close ups of the animals with sad music designed to tug on the strings of the heart. The animals in the viral video appear to be dejected and on the verge of tears. The video then becomes gruesome and shows the vulgar display of power the farm hands use while slaughtering the animals. It’s enough to make any viewer nauseous. The animals appear to be mutilated and brutally butchered. The act of slaughtering a live animal appears to be barbaric and brutal to the average person. The same thing could be said while watching different practices used by surgeons in the medical field. All of the procedures used on factory farms are done with the highest level of professionalism possible. The same tactics are also used on most free range and organic farms as well. There is no “nice” way to end the life of the animals.
Factory farming is far from a perfect science, it is still evolving. Improvements and changes are being made daily at the farms to make them as safe and efficient as possible. A factory farm that exists today in Indiana is a perfect example and a guide for the future of factory farming around the world. The animals at the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm in Indianapolis live indoors during the summer months. The cattle are kept cool by a state of the art air conditioning system that cost a “cool” one million dollars. The same building is insulated to keep the animals warm during the frigid Midwest winters. “The cows are under 24-hour surveillance, and the farm employs four full-time vets and 20 cattle hands. Manure from the farm is vacuumed up before being put through anaerobic digesters, which produce 100% of the farm’s electricity.” said CEO Gary Corbett (Smith, 2010). The technology used on Fair Oaks Farm virtually pays for itself. In the near future, all factory farms will convert to the modern model of factory farming that the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm has provided. This will lead to cheaper products for the consumer and a better quality of life for the animals.
The vogue thing to say in today world is all living beings should be treated as equals. Where is the line going to be drawn? Are lilacs as valuable as a human being? How about a mosquito? Factory farms allow the products to be well inspected and brought to the masses at a fair price. Factory farms have come a long way in the last two decades. A vast amount of changes and advancements have been made in the scientific junction of factory farming. The farms, due to the technology being currently being installed, can now be viewed as safe and healthy for the animals. The truth is, the most cost effective and healthy way to raise animals to be slaughtered is by factory farms.

References
AG Web Powered By Farmer's Journal. (2012). Agriculture facts. Retrieved from http://www.agweb.com/animal_agriculture_facts.aspx
Census Bureau, U. S. (2012). Meat consumption by type and country. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1377.pdf
Compassion In World Farming. (2012). Farm animals an introduction to farm animals. Retrieved from http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/default.aspx
Population Reference Bureau. (2008). World population growth 1950-2050. Retrieved
From http://www.prb.org/Educators/TeachersGuides/HumanPopulation/PopulationGrowth.aspx
R. Farrell, R. (2007, June 7). Factory farms are they good for consumers?. Retrieved from http://realtruth.org/articles/070601-004-ff.html
Smith, J. (2010, October 25). In defense of factory farming. Retrieved from http://www.spiked-online.com/site/article/9816/