Factory Farming Should Be Allowed
A considerable number of the United State’s population are unaware to the misdeeds that take place within the meat industry. Some believe the pictures depicting a traditional family farm on the packages of meat products are legit. Others fall under the impression that meat advertised as “free of GMOs” or “grass fed” makes it is safe to eat. Actually, the truth could not be further away from all these things, which are just diversions to sell. The meat industry uses money and influence to cover up many of its immoral deeds. Livestock should not be farmed on a large scale because of the risks to people’s health, adverse effect on the environment, and the unethical practices used on animals.
Producing meat in a factory farm has many drawbacks to an individual’s well being. In the last decade, numerous health concerns have been raised about the effects of consuming processed meats. A substance called a carcinogen has been detected in processed and red meat, which is scientifically proven to cause cancer. Carcinogens have also been linked to many illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity (Smith 5). Not to mention, the amount of antibiotics given to livestock could lead to resistant bacteria- the resistant bacteria occasionally find their way onto meat and cause illnesses in people. Sometimes, the medication is no use for certain pathogens, who find livestock to be the perfect host; the pathogens in turn infect humans when in close contact with animals (Godfray 20). Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), however, have changed people’s lives differently. Communities near these CAFOs suffer greatly from air pollution and water contamination. According to “Factory Farms Destroy Communities” the toxic air coming from CAFOs has caused many nearby residents to develop asthma, and manure runoff pollutes the water source of these residential areas (1-2). Locals cannot possibly maintain a healthy standard of living while dealing with the negative side effects of concentrated animal feeding operations. Consequently, industrialized meat farms leave people gagging on its awful smell and up to their waste in the doctor’s bills.
Not only does large scale livestock farming harm people, but it also has many adverse effects on the environment. Manure and chemicals from livestock factories get caught in streams, lakes and rivers, killing aquatic life. In the United States alone, farmed livestock produce 7 million pounds of feces each minute (“15 Ugly” 7). Additionally, large livestock, such as cows, requires tons of water daily, which drains a tremendous amount of water from the blue water supply. The High Plains aquifer is a prime example of water depletion in the central United States due to irrigating corn for cattle feed (Godfray 35). Not to mention the lack of biodiversity because farmers plant the same crop in their field year after year. This diminishes the amount of nutrients in the soil, and can be catastrophic to farmers if their crop is wiped out. Also, methane and carbon dioxide produced by decomposing livestock manure is to blame for a large chunk of global warming. In fact, “animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of global climate change- more than all forms of transportation combined” (“15 Ugly” 9). Along with other environmental issues caused by large livestock factories, it is safe to say they are a hazard to ecosystems.
Probably the most disturbing of things associated with factory farming are the unethical practices used on animals. Thousands upon thousands of animals may be crammed into a single building at a time, spreading disease and enduring high temperatures. Chickens and turkeys held in industrial chicken houses have their horns and tails mangled from being so cramped together (Harari 6). According to Mike Smith of Johns Hopkins “animals raised in Industrial Food Animal Production (IFAP) operations may be subjected to overcrowding, confined conditions that severely restrict movement, bodily alterations without pain relief, jolting during transport, feed deprivation, early weaning, and other physical and emotional harms” (12). These methods that meat companies use are highly unsafe for both the animals and the meat produced. Also, being the social creatures that they are, animals separated from their mother has a detrimental effect on their livelihood. Yuval Harari of The Guardian points out how evolution has a play on the mind of these animals and how calves have an urge to bond with its mothers, just as a child desires to bond with its mom (9). Even though cows, pigs and chickens are raised for food, they are still thinking, feeling creatures. To cause such pain on a animal is cruel and unjustified.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, individuals argue that the meat industry is capable of producing masses of meat at a low price. With earth’s growing population, it is vital to find ways to feed everyone, however, large scale meat farming is not the answer. Not only does it occupy land to raise livestock, but the amount of land used to grow crops for livestock feed is ridiculous. A wiser idea would be for consumers to buy from sustainable family farms. Small time agriculturalist make farming livestock personable because they are tied to the land, and are more likely to manage their operation responsibly compared to factory farms (Cotthem 20). Regardless, if the meat industry insists on continuing down this path, agriculture as it is known will cease to exist. Numerous cases can be made against large scale animal farms, including the risks to people’s health, negative impact on the environment, and unethical practices used on animals. Greedy meatpackers have little care to the consequences of their actions, as long as they make money. As horrible as the meat industry seems, it can be changed by supporting local, family owned farms. It is time for people to stand up to this heinous crime.
