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The Pros And Cons Of Factory Farming

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Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) or Factory Farms are indoor facilities where livestock such as chickens are raised in high-density in order to maximize production at a minimal cost (Ilea, R.C. 2009, pg.154). These operations have become the prevalent practice in the past 50 years as the North American meat production market has evolved from individual production to mass production (Richards, R.J, Richards, E.L. 2012, pg.33). This evolution does not only pose as a concern for the well being of these animals, it also acts as a threat to the environment and human health. For these reasons factory farming of chickens should be banned in North America because, first it is inhumane for the chickens (Richards, R.J, Richards, E.L. 2012), …show more content…

The first issue would be the amount of green house gases factory farms release into the atmosphere. Live stock production produces green house gases such as nitrous oxide, ammonia and methane which all have detrimental effects on our environment (Ilea, R.C. 2009, pg.143). The production of livestock such as the broiler chicken is responsible for 18% of the total global green house gas emissions in our atmosphere (Pearce, J.I. 2011, pg.447). Out of these greenhouse gases methane poses the largest threat, this is because it has 23 times the global warming potential than any other greenhouse gas. This is an alarming matter because the production of livestock is responsible for 35-40% of the total methane emissions in the atmosphere therefore it contributes to the harmful effects of climate change (Ilea, R.C. 2009, pg.143). Although the production of greenhouse gases caused by factory farming is a serious problem, this industry also contributes to the serious issue of water pollution. The vast number of chickens produced in CAFO’s can contribute to water pollution because of the large amount of waste that is produced (Ilea, R.C. 2009, pg.147). This waste is stored in large storage units or lagoons that can overflow and leak into near by water sources (Hoover, N.J. 2013, pg.10). This becomes a problem because the nutrients found in the manures of poultry and other farm …show more content…

The harmful effects that this industry poses on the animals, the environment and human health outweigh the overall benefits of this system. Therefore it is our responsibility as consumers to not only protect the targeted livestock such as the broiler chicken but also protect ourselves from these harmful effects. This can be accomplished by 2 simple changes. First switching to a more plant based diet and second buying your meat from local farms (Pluhar, E.B. 2010, pg.457). These changes will take business away from the factory farms and give more support to local farms, which will in return save the lives of animals and humans and will protect out

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According to Nicholas Kristof author of “Cleaning the Henhouse” one of the main problems within industrial agriculture is that it is harmful to all human beings. The prime example that Nicholas gives is the increasing rate of salmonella outbreaks in the United States. Salmonella outbreaks are due to the improper care of hens from what they’re being fed down to the environment they’re kept in. Kristof finds it important to respond to this epidemic because it has a direct impact on human health. In addition to identifying a national problem he goes on to propose that the most effective solution would be to ban the usage of cages in chicken farming.

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The article was written in response to the statement farming and food production is leading to climate change. Niman, being a rancher who raises cattle, goats, and turkeys, effectively frames the situation logically by providing credible statistics and examples to help the reader better understand the impacts of different methods of food production. She does this by providing specific information regarding the greenhouse gases involved, being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Niman, the rhetor, has written this article to try and inform the readers about the differences between traditional style and industrial style methods of food production. She has directed the article towards those concerned about the carbon footprint, we as individuals, are leaving

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I strongly believe that factory farms need to be put down because they are causing massive issues. For a long time, animals living in factory farms

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I remember four years ago, I was watching a documentary that showed the process and handling of beef industries in Canada and US. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the numbers of animals that were killed for the beef industries. After seeing the documentary, I decided to stop eating meat. However, there are more convincing reasons not to eat meat if we see it’s negative effects on our environment. In CNN’s website, I read “Why Beef is The New Suv” written by John D Sutter, opinion columnist.

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According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United States, for the last 40 years, the global annual temperature has risen by 0.32°F or 0.18°C per decade. While millions assume this phenomenon is due to rapidly growing transportation systems and energy consumption, this is the farthest thing from the truth. Animal agriculture is the true culprit. In addition, according to research done by Plantbasednews.org, animal agriculture is responsible for at least 87 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. In his documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, Kip Andersen shows how livestock cultivation is the leading cause of global pollution through juxtaposition to compare it to other sources of pollution and personal anecdotes to show

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This due to companies forced farm owners to do what they are told. Those meat products that I consume can be very unhealthy and inorganic. The filmmaker visited the farm and it is shown that chickens lived in the dense house, some are died, with the others that still alive which causes a lot of bacteria and unexpected diseases. In addition, I learnt that the one who get benefits from the meat production are food industries and companies. They will never tell the consumers the true because it is business.

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What do you think of when you look at the meat you just purchased at Wal-Mart? Or the eggs you just picked up at Kroger? Most people automatically think of a nice farm in a cute little town, with cows, chickens, pigs and some other typical farm animals. The majority of people don’t realize that their food comes from something called a factory farm. A factory farm can be better understood if you think of it as a family farm on steroids.

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How does this relate to animal agriculture? Well when the need and/or want for meat started increasing so did the meat industry. The animal agriculture industry causes Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane(CH4), Nitrous Dioxide (N2O) and other greenhouse gasses. Carbon Dioxide isn’t only cause by the animals themselves but also by the process of transporting animals, cutting down forest to create these factory farms and to grow crops to feed the animals in the industry. Carbon Dioxide captures the energy of the sun when it hits the earth which causes the atmosphere to warm

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According to dosomething.org, a global organization, the pollution caused by the farms cause many types of illnesses such as nausea depression, and possibly death. The affects the farms have on humans are the least of our problems compared to the environment. It instituted when Americans wanted a better way to grow their food that was cheaper, faster to grow, and easier to take care of. Even though farmers are cultured, and know how to keep the environment safe, industrial farming is bad because it wastes money and it harms the water supply.

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Chickens are commonly regarded as the world’s most abused animal. Due to widespread consumption, around 8.6 billion chickens are slaughtered annually, which translates to roughly 300 chickens per second (Runkle, 2017, p.17). Factory farming is the method in which chickens are slaughtered for mass processing. For decades, chicken has been the protein of choice for many families, due to clever advertising. For example, in a 1929 presidential campaign, the Republican candidate promised “‘a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage’”

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Our modern use of animal agriculture is one of the biggest threats to our environment. Due to the massive amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions, animal agriculture

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Garage,”2015) The main effect for this decrease is that foods are being processed and produced at a faster rate by employing quicker, more efficient processes. Factory farming also has livestock products such as feed or livestock care to be kept down to a

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Clearly the animal production industry is unstainable consequently the environment is affected. In return this will cause a change in the community and economy are. Livestock alone is producing 16% of greenhouse gas emissions however, there are numerous other steps in the animal production industry that are extremely unstainable and are putting a constant strain on the environment. Other minor contributors are: fossil fuels used for transporting the products, the electricity used for the processing plants, the feed used for the animals, storage, water for the animals and the land clearing used to provide space for the both the farming of the animals and the animal feed.

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The use of GMOs in factory farms are a danger to the ecosystem and humans. These farms dominate US food production, by maximizing agribusiness profits at the expense of the environment, animal welfare, and our own health. One issue with factory farms is the amount of manure they produce and where they dispose of it. These farms typically store animal waste in huge open air lagoons, some as big as several football fields. “In the U.S. alone, animals raised on factory farms produce more than 1 million tons of manure per day.

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Is Factory Farming a threat to human health and the environment? Today, people are creating alternative ways to improve our way of living. They came up with factory farming, which is a modern agricultural industry that mass produce animals for the purpose of supplying food/products for human needs. Factory farm sites holds large number of animals to be raised for food in a confined space in an area to minimize operation cost, and the mass production brings down the food prices as they could produce adequate amount of animals to meet the demand.

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