Factory Farming

Dalton Stokes

B-Law-104-C

Professor Gingerich

September 7, 2016

FACTORY FARMING  

The science is unequivocal: the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) — comprised of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and fluorocarbons — have increased to unprecedented levels over the last 800,000 years (Barker, 2011). The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) alone in the atmosphere has risen by 25% since 1958 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014). Specifically, each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface since 1850 with 2015 deemed the hottest year on record (NOAA Global Analysis Report accessed from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201513, 2015). Human health concerns, rising sea levels, extended fire, tornado, and hurricane seasons, devastating droughts, and widespread deforestation have all been linked to toxic emissions into the atmosphere (National Climate Assessment Report accessed from http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/ news.display/id/25790), and without significant intervention, threaten the world’s inhabitants of almost 7.3 billion. One of the least known contributors to climate change is the business of livestock or factory farming — a topic typically reserved for discourse on the injustices of animal cruelty. It is an industry that exemplifies the politics of corporate greed and highlights Western arrogance, as the United States and South America were the world leaders in meat production in 2015, with the U.S. tipping the scales at an estimated one hundred pounds of meat consumed per-person last year (HBO, “meat-hooked”). With the world’s population estimated to double by 2050 (see http://www.world ometers.info/world-population/), so will the demand for, and consumption of, meat and dairy products (Tilman et al, 2011). At this liberal rate, it will be physically impossible for Earth to replenish its natural resources for the sake of mass meat production as large-scale corporations have abused the practice of factory farming for their own personal benefit.         From an ethical standpoint, factory farming contradicts the moral values possessed by the average human being. It engages in animal cruelty by infringing upon the quality of life for sentient animals that possess certain neurological substrates which able them to feel and perceive pain (Animals Australia, 2012). Every day, one after the other, farmers cut bits and pieces off of live baby animals without the use of anesthetics and confine pregnant pigs to small metal gestation and farrowing crates for most of their adult lives, where lack of space forces them to lie down with an attached crate from which their piglets can nurse. This process disables them of any natural movements, causes injury and illness, and with time, prohibits these “downed animals” from being able to stand on their own, forcing them to be killed. However, while the cost of animal cruelty is never put on the price tag for a burger and often hidden from the average consumer, many vegans and vegetarians have taken it upon themselves to not let these unjust acts against animals go unnoticed. Animal activists and welfarists alike, are campaigning for a transition to local and sustainable food systems as well as mandatory labeling of the 95 percent of non-organic, non-grass-fed meat, dairy and eggs that are produced on the hellish factory farms that today dominate US food production (see. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/12/factory-farms-affect-global-climate.aspx).  Due to the fact that most people would not be able to define the differences between a vegan and a vegetarian, its important to understand their respective stances and note that vegans are those who have a made strict commitment to avoid the consumption of any animal flesh as well any sort of dairy, while vegetarians believe in the same qualities, but partake in the consumption of dairy products. Comparatively, the animal welfare philosophy differs from the activist’s since it endorses the responsible use of animals to satisfy certain human needs, whereas animal activists do not distinguish between humans and animals believing that there is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. One animal rights activist in particular has made great strides in protecting farm animals from cruelty by promoting and practicing compassionate vegan living. Gene Bauer, the President and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, started this non-profit organization in 1986 to combat the abuses of factory farming and encourage a new awareness and understanding of farm animals. By promoting a vegan a lifestyle, Farm Sanctuary also advocates for the fair treatment of farm animals and sees them not as food, but as friends. Their mission is to inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals by rescue, education, and advocacy efforts (see https://www.farmsanctuary.org/about-us/).

Despite animal advocates’ efforts, since 1968, global meat production has quadrupled and can be proven by the fact that each year, about ten million land animals in the United States are raised for dairy, meat, and eggs (see https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-factory-farms-and-environment).  This statistic, combined with a growing global population, is the logistical reasoning behind the displacement of small family farm businesses with factory farming. In order to meet the aggressive demand for meat, leading corporations have resorted to factory farming because of its ability to produce a much greater amount of meat for a much lower price. By increasing yield through the use of fertilizers, soil management, expansive irrigation, and pest control, factory farming has enabled meat production to skyrocket, allowing for a norm of larger portions for less cost that small family farms can not compete with. This can be illustrated by the fact that small family farms that generate less than $2,500 in profits every year account for 40.8 percent of the number of farms in America, but only 0.1 percent of food production. Industrial farms, which make over $1 million in profits each year, account for only 2.5 percent of the number of farms in the United States, but 59.1 percent of the production (see http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/factory-farming-family-farms-zbcz1304zmcn.aspx). However, while factory farms can be considered cost effective for several large -scale corporations across the United States and other large countries, on a completely global scale, the overuse of natural resources needed to feed and foster the 65 billion animals worldwide confined in factory farms contributes more to climate change than planes, trains, and automobiles combined (Animals Australia, 2012). The unfortunate reality is factory farms use more food than they produce through deforestation for animal grazing, which emits 2.4 billion tons of CO2 every year and leaves less food for everyone else across the globe. At a time when roughly 1 billion people are suffering from malnutrition, 1/3 of the world’s edible cereal harvest is being fed to farm animals. Proportionally, that 1/3 would be enough to feed about 3 billion people worldwide. Factory farms, or CAFO’s (Confined Animal Feeding Operations) contribute directly to global warming and climate disruption because of the nitrous oxide emissions from huge amounts of pesticides used to grow the genetically engineered corn and soy fed to animals raised in CAFOs. Nitrous oxide pollution is even worse than methane—200 times more damaging per ton than CO2 ( see http://www.ecowatch.com/how-factory-farming-contributes-to-global-warming-1881690535.html) . In such excessive amounts, nitrogen will rob water of its oxygen and destroys aquatic life. In fact, meat consumption has become such a staple in the first-world lifestyle that every six seconds, an acre of rain forest is cut down for cattle farming ( see http://www.peta.org/features/meat-climate-change/). Animal waste management is perhaps the biggest blunder seen on these farms. Factories often give these animals antibiotics to promote growth, or to compensate for illness resulting from crowded conditions. These antibiotics enter the environment and food chain via waste lagoons and are responsible for more water pollution than all other industrial sources. Their consistent aggressive tactics are a leading cause of the water crisis seen worldwide and can be illustrated by the fact that it takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of meat. The Environmental Protection Agency says that animal agriculture is the number one cause of water pollution due to the massive amounts of animal feces spilling into waterways.  In Maryland and West Virginia, male fish are growing ovaries, and scientists suspect that this is the result of factory farm runoff drug laden chicken factories.