Factory Farms Problem

The Problem with Factory Farms When most people think about where their meat is coming from they think of a small rural farm somewhere, but what they do not realize is most their meat is actually coming from factory farms. A factory farm is a large, industrial operation that raises large numbers of animals for food. They are a form of animal cruelty and they are hazardous to human health. There are different types of factory farms. For example, chickens, pigs, cows, sheep, etc. To start with are chicken factory farms. There are two different types of chicken farms, egg and meat production. According to the ASPCA, 90 % of egg-laying hens are confined to “battery cages”. These cages provide less room than an 8.5” by 11” sheet of paper (ASPCA).
When it comes to our environment, the factory farms do not really care. They produce greenhouse gases, pollute our land, air, and water, and are one of the contributing factors of the climate changes. Factory farms store their waste in gigantic, open air-lagoons. These are not safe because they are prone to leaks. Farm Sanctuary said that in 2011, an Illinois hog farm spilled 200,000 gallons of manure into a creek, which killed over 110,000 fish. Another thing is that the demand for livestock pasture is a major driver of deforestation. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has estimated that 70 percent of land formerly supporting Amazon rainforests has been turned over to grazing (Farm
For example, animals are injected with hormones to increase meat or milk production. Dairy cows are injected with multiple hormones to help with milk production and once that slows down they slaughter them for the meat. Studies show that these six growth hormones have been leading to an increased risk in breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Another risk for the meat is the waste management. Since the factory farms have poor sanitation and waste management practices food becomes contaminated with things like E.coli and salmonella. These cause millions of people to become ill and thousands have died from it. Antibiotics have also been used on factory farms to increase growth rate and help keep disease under control. What the factories do not realize is that using these antibiotics can cause drug-resistant bacteria. As a result, these bacteria are becoming not treatable in humans as well. Antibiotic resistant infections kill 90,000 Americans every year (Farm