Factory Farm Research Paper

The difference between a factory farm and a regular family farm is that a factory

farm, “also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Confined Animal

Feeding Operations, or CAFOs, factory farms use industrial production techniques to

raise thousands of animals in one location”

(http://www.preservationnation.org/forum/library/public-articles/factory-

farms.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#.Vf9Wqp3BzGd ). A factory farm has:

Beef cattle -500 head on feed (feedlot), Dairy -500 cows, Hogs -1,000 head, Broiler

chickens -500,000 sold annually, and Egg laying chickens -100,000 – where as a regular

farm would have less head. Many family farms have struggled because of factory farms

taking over. Even though we can benefit

Small farms help “preserve genetic diversity by raising a wide range of animal

breeds” (http://www.beyondfactoryfarming.org/get-informed/industrial-vs-family-farms-

comparison). Factory farms reduce diversity in animals and only raise only a few

selected breeds. Factory farms can also affect the animals with transportation issues.

While small farms sell locally, factory farm animals “industrial-scale livestock

production is usually centralized and therefore requires extensive transportation”

(http://www.beyondfactoryfarming.org/get-informed/industrial-vs-family-farms-

comparison).

Since the government helped the rise of factory farms, they are the ones that will

need to make changes in the reign of this industry. Congress needs to restore sensible

farm programs that should put fair prices to crop farmers first. EPA needs to help set

rules and enforce them on the pollution problem. The Food and Drug Administration can

help with the overuse of antibiotics. The U.S Department of Agriculture needs to enforce

regulations that allow independent livestock producers fair access to markets

(http://www.beyondfactoryfarming.org/get-informed/industrial-vs-family-farms-