Why is factory farming one of the worst things in America? Factory farming is extremely cruel and has harsh conditions for the livestock. Factory farming is a type of farming that raises and keeps livestock in crowded small pens, this type of farming is harmful to people as well as the environment. Specifically factory farms have operated the same way since the 1980s, in factory farms livestock are treated cruelly as well as abused. People get sick from the waste and the diseases in the livestock manure. The environment is impacted by factory farming because factory farms produce 15.4% of greenhouse gasses and 1.6 million tons of livestock manure which causes 80% of the 150,000 air pollution deaths. There are approximately 200,000 facilities, …show more content…
This argument is wrong because the impact from the farms causes harm to the people. The costly health impact caused by this are things such as pesticide toxicity. The farmland and rural environment is impacted due to things such as depletion and lost biodiversity. Another argument people might have for factory farming is that. Factory farming is safe for communities, supports economies, and is safe for the rural environment and farmlands. They are wrong because The impact from the farms causes harm to the people. The costly health impact caused by this are things such as pesticide toxicity, The farmland and rural environment are impacted due to things such as depletion and lost biodiversity. According to an article titled “The Hidden Costs of Industrial Agriculture'' by Union Concerned Scientists, the article states “on the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, where "dead zones'' and toxic algae blooms caused by farm runoff do damage with an annual price tag in the billions.” (Union of Concerned Scientists). This part of the article explains how the runoff damage from factory farms has a yearly cost in the billions it also gives an example of how in the gulf of Mexico there are dead zones and toxic algae blooms in the water which makes it toxic to the people living in that community and rural communities. Another article titled “The Case Against Factory Farming.” by Spencer Case, He makes it clear that “ The H1N1 ``swine flu" virus likely originated in American factory farms. H1N1 is believed to have killed more than 12,000 Americans from 2009 to 2010 and hospitalized over 274,000 in the same period” (Case). This direct part of the article clarify that people in rural communities get infected by the diseases caused by factory farms and the animals within those factory farms, people can get numerous
Regular industrial farms cram there animals into tight spaces and leave their manure on the ground until it is necessary to clean up which is not disposing it properly causing toxic smells and chemicals
“The Meat Racket” focuses on the meat packing industry, and reveals its internal atrocities, along with how the industry is able to avoid external scrutiny by the government. “Deeply Rooted” gives first person accounts of small farmers. They discuss the challenges posed by large corporations such as Monsanto, along with insight into the need for small, family owned farms. At the end of this course, students should understand the necessity for reform of the agricultural
I believe that the author of this article, Jennifer Lee, is a proves her credibility through her previous experience working as a journalist for well established new papers like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and Newsday. This article was published while she was working for The New York Times, an internationally influential newspaper that is distributed worldwide. This further suggests the the articles credibility. The target audience is the general public and readers of the newspaper. The main intention of the author is to inform readers of the neurological damages associated with the pollution of factory farms, and to report incidents where people have experienced these detrimental effects on their health.
The fast food industry also hurts environments around farms in general. It has created an unsustainable cycle that farmers cannot escape. In order to feed themselves and their family, farmers play it safe and buy more fertilizer than needed. When the farmers do not use all of it, they must dispose of it, because that fertilizer will not be as effective next year, so they dump the fertilizer in the areas surrounding their farms. But what this causes is too much nitrogen in the environment because too much nitrogen can kill plants and throw the nitrogen cycle out of balance, in turn hurting the environment.
“Industrial agriculture characteristically proceeds by single solutions to single problems: If you want the most money from your land this year, grow the crops for which the market price is highest.” - Wendell Berry Many people question whether or not the morality of treating animals in a humane way outweighs the morality of cheaper food for a nation where 1 in 6 people are facing hunger, and/or starving in any way. Back in the day, a while after World War II, industrial agriculture was applauded as a technological success that permitted an ever growing population to practically feed themselves. Now, many farmers and scientists see it as a blind alley, rather made for factory work.
Many large scale farms produce hundred acres of genetically modified monoculture crops. With so many crops to take care of, many pesticides and other chemicals are put into the soil; which then leads to runoff and pollution. The overarching problem with industrialized farming and the people that support the “industrial machine” is that the prices are reduced to get more people to buy the products. But the true costs such as the strains on the environment, keeping livestock from living the way they always have, and overproduction, are not factored into the barcode price at stores such as
This example proves to show that the factories were dangerous, not clean, and unhealthy to work in. With more factories coming in at a faster rate, it may help the economy, but it has its negatives. For example, it increases the amount
What are the alternatives? There are very few alternatives to factory farming; however, finding them would be beneficial to us. One of the hardest to accomplish would be altogether removing factory farms and returning them to family farms as it was before. This would be a much healthier and beneficial route to fix the problem. The next is In-Vitro meat which is cultured meat.
The dangers of Factory Farming in America Traditionally farm cows and chickens roam around the wild free to eat whatever they wanted and have unlimited space. But now in the need for more food for the fastly increasing population. Factory farms have taken over the lives and wellbeing of these animals. Now “Broiler Chickens” and farm cows are confined to little spaces and are being fed food that doesn't fit their diet.
Introduction: Bad press is bad for business and a company’s bottom line. The agriculture business in America and around the world has seen heightened controversy due to leaked images of unethical treatment of animals. The industry hit hardest by this controversy is known as industrial agriculture or factory farms. Factory farms are very large centers that produce much of the meat, eggs, dairy, and other foodstuffs we consume.
In Blake Hurst’s “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-Intellectuals,” he opposes the accusations made by tofu-eating, recycled-toilet-paper-using, self-starving Michael Pollan and his followers. Throughout “The Omnivore’s Delusion…,” Hurst mentions how methods of farming have evolved to match demands of produce. The author states that “Only ‘Industrial farming’ can possibly meet the demands of an increasing population and increased demand for food as a result of growing incomes” (Hurst 4). This quote essentially means that “Industrial Farming” is the most efficient way to farm for today’s population level. A second point that is made by Hurst is that changes made by today’s farming are necessary.
Although they agree on the negative impacts of industrial farming, they have different reasons for it. Holon farming, which Pollan discusses, creates a balance in the world, eliminating the need for any pesticides or chemicals. Holon farming is a lot of work and as Berry and Pollan both agreed upon; human beings are becoming lazier since there are effortless ways to complete the work. No one wants to work harder when they know they can do a task in a smoother way. Industrial farmers do not see the negative impacts of factory farming because all that seems to matter to them is the products manufactured.
During the Industrialization, factories began to appear near rivers in the middle of villages. Despite all of the output of goods, it created many problems in the villages. “…Industrial growth brought with it a host of environmental pollution problems” (Document 3). This occurred because the towers released smoke and chemicals into the air, this impacted the farming in the villages by contaminating the crops. It also caused respiratory problems to many people that lived around the factory.
With no laws to stop it, moral concern surrendered entirely to economic calculation, leaving no limit to the punishments that factory farmers could inflict to keep costs down and profits up.” (Scully, 159). Factory Farming in itself is a way get more profit and lower cost but also put animals in unclean places and with machines that emits lots of chemicals in the air which harms both animals and the environment. One can infer that if these farms have no rules to how the animals should be treated, then how is the food processed, is the meat even cleaned properly? Referring back to the quote Scully says that there are no regulations therefore people in charge of running the farms can do as they please to maximize profit and cut down
The environment is being polluted because of all the manure. First, the idea of what factory farming is going to be addressed. What really is a factory farm? Factory farming is an operation where over 99% of farm animals are raised, so that we can eat meat. Factory farms consist of 500 head of beef cattle, 500 dairy cows, 1,000 hogs (pigs), and 100,000 egg laying chickens.("What's Wrong With Factory Farms?"