Definition of Factory Farming

Introduction

Factory farming refers to the industrial, large-scale production of livestock, poultry, hogs, fish, and crops. Many factory farms perform all operations from breeding to processing (Driscoll).

Definition of Factory Farming: A large-scale industrial site where animals raised for food are confined, usually indoors, and treated with pharmaceuticals to maximize growth and prevent disease. The animals lead short, painful lives; factory farms are also associated with various environmental hazards (Glossary).

Today Chicken is sold not just in packages for stores; it is used for fast food restaurants, pot pies, and TV dinners (Smith).

Americans eat an average of 67 pounds of chicken per year (Smith).

"In 2007, more than 9 billion birds were slaughtered for food in the United States alone" (Shields).

Problems

Reasons: There are few reasons for why factory farming is spreading throughout the nation. Although it is spreading it should be thought of as wrong for many more reasons than it is thought to be right.

Factory farming is evolving more and more, due to smaller farms growing into large mass producing farms with assembly lines and hundreds of employees (Driscoll).

Large-scale industrial supply around 80 percent of the poultry, beef, and pork consumed in the United States. To keep up with demand, about 10 billion animals are slaughtered every year. Mass production makes prices affordable (Driscoll).

Living space: Living space for many factories is one of the worst problems. This is a sign of neglect and animal abuse. Living space is an animal's home, and how clean and wide open the space is, the healthier the animal will be.

Mostly all commercial poultry are raised in windowless barns that are illuminated 24 hours a day to encourage the chickens to eat more food. Factory-like warehouses hold thousands of chickens. The chickens are fed high-nutrient food. Poultry frequently break legs and wings and often die because they are unable to reach water containers (Smith).

Chickens meant to be eaten live their entire lives in groups of up to 20,000 birds in sheds and never go outside. Their droppings result in a level of ammonia that stings the eyes and constricts breathing (Lee).

Laying hens live in very small cages that restrict them from even spreading their wings, usually with three other birds. Because of such close quarters, they burn off the tip of their beaks therefore they cannot peck one another (Lee).

Swine live in empty concrete indoor pens so narrow they cannot turn. Piglets are taken from their mothers as soon as possible so the sow can become fertile again (Lee).

The air inside hog factories is so polluted with dust, dander and noxious gases from the animals' waste that workers who are exposed for just a few hours per day are at high risk for bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Some animals die before they even get to slaughtering, due to weather conditions and improper living spaces, most of them die from dehydration or freezing to death (FactoryFarming).

Health: Factory Farming creates numerous health problems, mainly consisting of human health issues, antibiotics, diseases of animals and lack of veterinary care.

Many farms are now categorized as "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFOs), which leads to endangering peoples health, the environment, and humanity of animals (Driscoll).

Millions of Americans are infected and die every year from contaminated meat products (FactoryFarming).

Public health concerns, are mainly the contagious diseases that the livestock spread around because of the close quarters, that cannot be helped by antibiotics, such as, influenza, E. coli, and mad cow disease (Driscoll).

Factory-farmed cows are also injected with a growth hormone, which is actually approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but banned in Europe, Canada and other countries due to human health concerns (Driscoll).

Factory farms damage the environment, are harmful to human health, and are contributing to the loss of the diversity of animal gene pools, because they are genetically altered to fit the new standards of chickens and turkeys having to have a large sized breasts and a faster maturity rate (Smith).

It is also proven that when any animal gets ill, they are not properly cared for, slaughter houses, and mass producing farms do not provide veterinary health care. Ex. Eye cancer which is very common that eats away the side of