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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
The practices of factory farming are not just unhealthy and unnatural for the
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.
consumed by humans.
usage is given to livestock. These antibiotics in the meat humans consume is causing
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
Vegetarian and veganism lifestyles are often adopted by those wishing to avoid
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.
Niman, Nicolette Hahn. "Avoiding Factory Farm Foods: An Eater's Guide." The
Martins, Patrick, and Mike Edison. The Carnivore's Manifesto: Eating Well,
Eating Responsibly, and Eating Meat. New York: Little, Brown, 2014. Print.