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Factory farming is a system of raising farm animals using intensive methods.

The

animals are often kept indoors, under strict controlled circumstances, are often pumped

full of antibiotics, fed an unnatural diet, and are kept in less than ideal living conditions.

The products that are a result of factory farming are more harmful to humans and the

environment. Vegetarianism: the act of avoiding all meat products, and veganism: the

diet that involves avoiding animal products of any kind are common solutions to avoid

contributing to the harmful practices of factory farming. However, it is still possible to eat

meat and animal products without contribution to the factory farming industry.

In factory farming, the goal is to

produce the maximum amount of product as

quickly and as effectively as possible for the

least amount of money. This often results in

inhumane and highly controlled living

conditions for the animals. Hens in the egg

industry are housed in battery cages. These

are small cages that house between five and ten chickens per cage. Each hen will have

the living space equivalent of a piece of printer paper. The insufficient living space and

high concentration of hens cause an increased amount of stress in the animals. To

combat this, young chicks will have a portion of their beaks seared off. This reduces the

likeliness of cannibalism, and plucking off feathers due to their high stress environment.

Male chickens are of no use to the egg industry, and once they have hatched they are

sucked through a sequence of pipes onto an electrified kill plate. The chicks are then

ground up alive and fully conscious.


Birds in the poultry industry are often subject to the similar circumstances of

maltreatment as the egg industry. Male turkeys are injected with numerous steroids and

antibiotics that forces the birds to unnatural sizes. Commercially raised turkeys often

grow to a weight three times that of a grass-fed, pasture raised turkey in a very rapid

period of time. This rapid growth causes numerous heart, and leg problems, often

severely the birds quality of life and lifespan. The turkeys' abnormal size makes it

impossible for the male and female turkeys to reproduce naturally. Humans are then

responsible for artificially inseminating the turkeys for reproduction.

Nine million chickens in the poultry industry are raised for slaughter every year.

Chickens raised exclusively for meat are referred to as broilers. They are treated as

nothing more than product for sale, pumped full of antibiotics and selectively bred

without consideration for their quality of life. In 2006, a study found that 55% of

uncooked chicken purchased from a supermarket contained arsenic, an ingredient that

is known to cause cancer in human beings. As many as 70% of chickens are injected

with arsenic to force growth. This often causes numerous health issues, and severely

reduces the duration of the lifespan of a chicken to the market (or slaughter) weight
The amount of steroids and antibiotics injected into factory farm animals has

rapidly grown since the 50s. Many birds have doubled, or even tripled from their ideal

weight.

Chickens raised for meat are contained in a warehouse, housing as many as

twenty thousand birds. Like the egg industry, each chicken has about the living space

size of a piece of printer paper. This results in scratches and sores from the birds

walking on top of each other. Living space is not the only thing that animals in the

factory farming industry lack. Many of these chickens have no access to outside areas,

and natural light. Lights in warehouses that house broiler chickens are kept on all day,

every day. This results in unnatural growth and sleep cycles in the chickens, both of

which leads to serious health problems.

Cows raised in conditions of factory farms also suffer for poor living conditions,

unnatural diets, and unnatural practices to increase product production. Soon after birth,

calves are forcefully separated from their mothers, a practice that causes the calves
such distress that they lose weight, become sick, and cry so much that their throats

become raw. The calves are then transported to a feedlot where they, like the birds, are

fed an unnatural diet, and injected with antibiotics and steroids. In recent years, reports

of farmers feeding candy, such as candy

corn and skittles to their cattles diets.

Aside from unnatural diets, the cattle are

often forced to undergo numerous painful

mutilations. Calves are often castrated,

dehorned, and branded. All of which

cause immense amounts of pain and

stress to the animals.

The practices of factory farming are not just unhealthy and unnatural for the

animals. Factory farming methods often cause health problems in humans. As

mentioned earlier, approximately 70% of chickens are injected with arsenic, this leads to

around 55% of supermarket chicken to have arsenic in it. This is known to cause cancer

in humans.

The conditions of the

housing for the animals can

also lead to numerous bacteria

in the meat, which is then

consumed by humans.

Salmonella and campylobacter

bacteria was found in 81% of


turkey, 69% of pork, 55% of beef, and 39% of chicken. The antibiotics injected into the

animals is also negatively affecting humans. Eighty percent of Americas antibiotic

usage is given to livestock. These antibiotics in the meat humans consume is causing

antibiotic resistance in humans, making it harder to treat diseases.

The environment also suffers from the harmful practices of factory farming.

Factory farming accounts for nearly 40% of methane emissions, which has more than

20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Factory farms also release

environmentally harmful compound such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air.

The water supplies is also being damaged by factory farming methods. Manure often

contains salt and heavy metals. When manure is repeatedly over-applied to land it

causes unsafe amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen in the water supply. Nitrogen often

destroys the oxygen in the water, and harms the aquatic life. Not only are groundwater

supplies contaminated by factory farming practices, excessive amounts of water are

also used for cleaning and cooling.

Vegetarian and veganism lifestyles are often adopted by those wishing to avoid

giving money to the companies participating in the practices of factory farming.

However, as proposed by author of A Carnivores Manifesto, Patrick Martins, one may

also maintain a omnivorous diet, while eating ethically. Patrick Martins suggests buying

from family farms, companies that promise pasture-raised, non-antibiotic and non-GMO

product.
WORKS CITED

Emilene Ostlind March 21, 2011 From the Print Edition"The Big Four Meatpackers."

The Big Four Meatpackers. N.p., 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

"Farm Sanctuary." Farm Sanctuary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Niman, Nicolette Hahn. "Avoiding Factory Farm Foods: An Eater's Guide." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2017

Martins, Patrick, and Mike Edison. The Carnivore's Manifesto: Eating Well,

Eating Responsibly, and Eating Meat. New York: Little, Brown, 2014. Print.

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