Factory Farming Issues

In past decades when someone said, “you are what you eat” a person was able to respond quite easily. Unfortunately in recent years it has become harder and harder to answer truthfully due to the growth of the factory farming industry. The average american is completely oblivious to what exactly the meat and animal products they consume contains. In 2012, the average American consumed 71.2 pounds of red meat and 54.1 pounds of poultry , according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (Wall Street Journal) While National Public Radio (NPR) writer, Eliza Barclay, reports that “if you look at the past century, meat consumption overall in the U.S. has risen dramatically. ”(Barclay) The increase in meat consumption by Americans has caused
This high demand is attempting to be met by factories, but the animals that are being slaughtered are now suffering to a far greater extent. Animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens are packed into incredibly small areas, fed additive ingredients for fattening, and enduring torturous conditions. Additionally, those consuming the meat have a higher chance of contracting bacteria and pathogens as a result of an increase in contamination. The corporations are also putting the small town farmer out of work and into debt. Now that companies that practice these unethical processes in the factory farming industry have become such a dominant part of the average american's diet is this process doing more harm than good. The United States must improve the ethics of factory farms, for the sake of the animals and those who eat them, by enforcing stricter regulations as well as improve conditions of the
A simple yet easy solution would to try to avoid animal products. It may be difficult for everyone to go vegan, considering the price tag is substantially higher, but the way food is bought and consumed could be improved. If the nation lessen the amount of meat consumed and incorporate more fruits and vegetables to their diet, they could not only improve their own health but decrease the revenue of the factory farming corporations. If more people bought products that are grown ethically, humanely, and as much as possible those in charge of these industrialized farming industries would eventually realize that they need to amend their ways to satisfy their customer. Although changing your diet and purchasing choices could slightly alter the current factory farming monopoly, it would require millions of people to participate. On a larger scale, organizations such as The Humane Society Of The United States (HSUS) are constantly battling the factory farming industry. HSUS has worked toward multiple issues in order to protect farm animals such as, petitions to end the use of gestations crates, force feeding, and cruel slaughter practices. HSUS also offers countless resources for the average citizen to utilize such as links to report animal cruelty, current animal rights laws, and lists of