Informative Essay on Factory Farming
Oral Presentation Preparation Factory Farming First of all, I am not against meat eating. However, factory farming is an unacceptable practice of meat producing and this unethical action need to be stopped. In order to support my idea, I am going to discuss the facts about factory farming. In order to have a better understanding about factory farming, it is necessary to define what the factory farming is. It is almost where the meat comes from. In 1920s, factory farming began to modify family farming to maximize the profits at great cost to both humans and animals.
In fact, two million small farms have disappeared in 1950s. If the rate continues to be the same, there will no real independent farm left. Soon after they discover the vitamin A and D, which are added to feed animals, the animals are no longer required to exercise and sunlight for growth. Therefore, animals in factory farming are raised indoor for their whole lives. In addition, in the food industry, animals are not considered animals at all; they are food-producing machines. They are confined to small cages with metal bars. So, why are there too many people against factory farming?
The reason is not hard to find – animals are suffered most by factory farming. There are so many animals spend their lives in cages such as chickens, cows, pigs, fox, bears and even tigers. The first to be transformed into mass-produced farming is chicken. Over 600 million chickens live and die in nightmarish conditions to supply Canadians with their meat and eggs. They are kept in small wire cages, called “battery cages”, with between 7 or 8 chickens. Because of stress and fear, they are peck at each other. In order to prevent the fights, their peaks are cut.
It causes lasting pain; effect the ability to eat, drink, or any movement of their peaks. After 18 to 20 weeks, they are considered “spent hens”, and need to be sent to slaughter. The second major animal in the factory farm is cow. They are milked by machines, which they are not even allowed to sit down. Normally, the dairy cow is forced into a repeated cycle of pregnancy and having her newborns taken away as young as a few hours old so the milk can be used for human consumption. Another factory farm animal, pigs, are kept indoor, unable to turn around, an only stand and lie down with difficulty. There is no respect for mothers: the baby pigs are taken from their mothers in two to four weeks to be fattened up. After 3 to 4 years, mother pigs will be sent to the slaughter. Instead of giving them some more space to live, factory farmer will have pig’s tails docked and teeth clipped to prevent tail biting. Factory farming does not hurt only animals; it also damages human lives by so many dimensions: environment, health and even the economy. As the number of animals in factory farming increases, the amount of animal waste produced increase, too.
It damages the air globally. Moreover, it also raises a great concern about water pollution. For example, if 2 million birds are killed a day, 12 million gallons of water is needed to flush away 3 million pound of guts, chicken heads, feathers, and blood. Public health concern is another issue. In order to promote growth of animals, more than 83% of farm animals are fed with antimicrobial. In 2008, in the U. S. , two million people become infected at hospitals, of those, 90,000 have died because their infections were immune to treatment.
Hilariously, the point of developing factory farming is to increase a country economy system; there are some economic arguments against factory farming. Some can believe that factory farming is more efficient method comparing to local farming, it is also considered the best way to produce protein-rich foods as well as affordable. However, economists say no, because the full cost of factory farming will be equal to the total cost of land use, waste disposal expense, cost of air and water pollution, the cost of public health, and finally the cost of community when the value and quality of life decrease.
In fact, according to a study, the cost of cleaning up pollution, together with repairing habitats and dealing with sickness caused by factory farming equal to 2. 3 billion pounds which is almost the same amount as a total agriculture industry’s income. By being aware of this facts about factory farming would make a better world for both humans and nonhuman animals. It will soon destroy both humans and nonhuman animals. In addition, the fact is without factory farming, we still can live with an even better life and health, both for humans as well as nonhuman animals.
Again, by some perspectives, humans have the right to consume meat, so in the end animals are killed; however, doing what cost least suffer for animals during their lives is a must.
Works Cited
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