Oral, I can easily accept that you were very nice and kind to your little herd of dairy cattle. I am not asserting that every farmer in America practices factory farming. I went on a vacation not too long ago on the Oregon coast, and there were very happy looking cows grazing outside on green fields. Their udders weren’t distended because the dairymen’s group, the Tillamook Creamery Association, rejected giving them Monsanto’s rBGH. I don’t know if you have had Tillamook cheddar cheese, but it is a wonderful variety, and I bet the taste has something to do with the comparatively very nice way the dairy cows are treated.
Having said that, though, I have no idea where you have been keeping yourself where you don’t see factory farming or even believe that it exists. Almost all the meat that Americans buy at the supermarket, plus the milk, cheese and other dairy products that you buy there, plus all the supermarket eggs, are indeed the product of factory farming. I’ve included a couple of articles about factory farming.
Why is this so important? Even if you care nothing at all about the suffering of animals, you should care about the effects of antibiotics and rBGH on your health, the high rates of e coli and salmonella in the foods you eat, and the environmental problems factory farming runoff creates.
The web is full of really gross photos of the animals who suffer at factory farms. I could show you hundreds of sites. I am not sure it is necessary for me to personally visit some veal calves to understand how they are treated. Also, one of the things about factory farms is that the farming is now done inside huge buildings holding thousands of animals. These animals are not exposed to the outdoors or sunlight--they are caged and tethered--so how could I see them? Factory farmers have everything to hide, but animal rights activists are determined to publicize these practices.
While you apparently think the activists are appalling, they think mistreating animals this way is appalling. But they are campaigning out of pure goodness essentially--so that animals don't suffer. The factory farmers are motivated entirely by profit. Over time, this gives the animal rights activists the upper hand, in my opinion.
en.wikipedia.org
Factory farming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from Battery farming)
Hardy Meyers chicken operation near Petal, Mississippi.Factory farming refers to large-scale, industrialized, intensive rearing of livestock, poultry and fish. The practice is widespread in developed nations - much of the meat, dairy and eggs available in supermarkets is raised in this manner.
The term factory farming is a pejorative term favored by environmental activists and organic consumer groups. Another term sometimes used is concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO).
Operations typically called factory farms focus on producing a marketable product at the lowest unit cost. Common factory farming practices include:
confinement - To save space and improve supervision and feeding operations, animals are confined in pens or cages. In some extreme cases animals may be confined in small indoor areas, unable to turn around or move without contacting other animals. This may increase the incidence of behaviors such as cannibalism, which may be countered through procedures like debeaking and tail docking.
drug programs - Antibiotics, vitamins, hormones, and other supplements are preemptively administered, in part to counteract the effects of crowding.
processed feed - Feeds may be processed on site. While traditional feeds such as hay and grain may be fed to animals, other types of feed may be added or substituted (eg: cows may be fed food processing by-products such as molasses and cottonseed meal or in some cases poultry litter; calves might be given cow blood protein concentrate in place of milk).
nutrient management - The large quantities of generated manure and urine are collected in local sewage systems and redistributed to local agricultural lands as fertilizer. Liquid waste may be applied through an irrigation system, while solid waste might be applied with a manure spreader.
Critics claim that factory farming is inhumane, poses health risks, and causes environmental damage. Arguments include:
Animals raised on antibiotics are breeding antibiotic resistant strains of various bacteria ("superbugs").
Concentrated animal waste is polluting the groundwater, and creating dust, fly, and odor problems for their neighbors.
Crowding, drugging, and mutilating animals (often, debeaking and tail-docking, performed without anesthetic) are cruel practices that should be outlawed.
Large populations of animals require a lot of water and are depleting water resources in some areas.
Factory farming is displacing family farming and undermining society.
Proponents claim that factory farming is a useful agricultural advance:
Intensive agriculture is necessary to meet demand for affordable food.
Properly run factory farms meet government standards for safe and humane food production.
Animals raised in large groups can take advantage of local sources of food processing by-products.
Animals in confinement can be supervised more closely than free ranging animals and diseased animals can be killed or treated more quickly.
Factory farms may be harmful to the environment if not properly regulated and managed due to the large quantities of manure produced. Lakes, rivers, and groundwater are at risk of being polluted when the manure is not properly disposed. A Missouri hog farm paid a $1 million fine for illegally dumping waste, causing the contamination of a nearby river and the deaths of more than 50,000 fish.
An estimated one out of every four cattle who enters a slaughterhouse may have E. coli. A Consumer Reports study of nearly 500 supermarket chickens found campylobacter in 42 percent and salmonella in 12 percent, with up to 90 percent of the bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Eggs pose a salmonella threat to one out of every 50 people each year. In total, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 76 million instances of foodborne illness each year, and more than 5,000 deaths.
idausa.org
Factory Farming Our society is showered with images of happy animals living on farms where the cows graze in lush green fields and the chickens have the run of the barnyard. This vision of free-roaming animals living out their days in sunny fields is very far from the reality. A majority of the animals that are raised for food live miserable lives in intensive confinement in dark, overcrowded facilities, commonly called "factory farms."
The Evolution of Factory Farms
Factory farming began in the 1920s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D; when these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer require exercise and sunlight for growth. This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. The greatest problem that was faced in raising these animals indoors was the spread of disease, which was combated in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. Farmers found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using mechanization and assembly-line techniques.
Unfortunately, this trend of mass production has resulted in incredible pain and suffering for the animals. Animals today raised on factory farms have had their genes manipulated and pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals to encourage high productivity. 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, ammonia-filled air and artificial lighting or no lighting at all. They are subjected to horrible mutilations: beak searing, tail docking, ear cutting and castration. Even the most minimum humane standards proposed are thwarted by the powerful food conglomerates.
Broiler Chickens
The broiler chicken industry produces 6 billion chickens a year for slaughter. This industry is ruled by only 60 companies which have created an oligopoly. Broiler chickens are selectively bred and genetically altered to produce bigger thighs and breasts, the parts in most demand. This breeding creates birds so heavy that their bones cannot support their weight, making it difficult for them to stand. The birds are bred to grow at an astonishing rate, reaching their market weight of 3 1/2 pounds in seven weeks. Broilers are raised in overcrowded broiler houses instead of cages to prevent the occurrence of bruised flesh which would make their meat undesirable. Their beaks and toes are cut off and the broiler houses are usually unlit to prevent fighting among the birds.
Layer Chickens
There are about 250 million hens in U.S. egg factories that supply 95% of the eggs in this country. In these facilities the birds are held in battery cages that are very small with slanted wire floors which cause severe discomfort and foot deformation. Between five and eight birds are crammed in cages only 14 square inches in size. Since the birds have no room to act naturally, they become very aggressive and attack the other birds in their cage; to help combat this behavior, the birds have their beaks seared off at a young age. The chicks are sorted at birth and newborn males are separated and suffocated in trash bags. The layer hens are subjected to constant light to encourage greater egg production. At the end of their laying cycle they are either slaughtered or forced to molt by water and food deprivation, which shocks them into another layer cycle. Many birds become depleted of minerals because of this excessive egg production and either die from fatigue or can no longer produce eggs and are sent to the slaughterhouse.
Pigs
It is estimated that 90% of all pigs raised for food are confined at some point in their lives. Pigs are highly social, affectionate and intelligent creatures, and suffer both physically and emotionally when they are confined in narrow cages where they cannot even turn around. Many pigs become crazy with boredom and develop vices like mouthing, and nervous ticks; others are driven to fighting and cannibalism because of their frustration. Pigs are born and raised inside buildings that have automated water, feed and waste removal. They don't see daylight until they are shipped for slaughter. Dust, dirt and toxic gases from the pigs' waste create an unsanitary environment that encourages the onset of a number of diseases and illnesses, including pneumonia, cholera, dysentery and trichinosis.
Veal Calves
The veal industry is notorious for the cruel confinement of calves. Calves are kept in small crates which prevent movement inhibit muscle growth so their flesh will be tender. They are also fed a diet deficient of iron to keep their flesh pale and appealing to the consumer. Veal calves spend each day confined alone with no companionship and are deprived of light for a large portion of their four-month lives.
Dairy Cows
Dairy cows are bred today for high milk production. For cows who are injected with Bovine Growth Hormone, their already high rate of milk production is doubled. Half of the cows in the national dairy herd are raised in intensive confinement, where they suffer emotionally from being socially deprived and being prohibited from natural behavior. Dairy cows produce milk for about 10 months after giving birth so they are impregnated continuously to keep up the milk flow. Female calves are kept to replenish the herd and male calves are usually sent to veal crates where they live a miserable existence until their slaughter. When cows become unable to produce adequate amounts of milk they are sent to slaughter so money can be made from their flesh. The cows are kept in a holding facility where they are fed, watered and have their waste removed mechanically and are allowed out only twice a day to be milked by machines.
Chemicals and Factory Farms
Animals raised in confinement create an ideal setting for bacteria and disease to spread rapidly. Antibiotics were developed around the time of World War II and were soon adapted into the farming system. In the U.S., almost 50% of all antibiotics are administered to farm animals. These drugs form a toxic residue in animal tissue. It is much of this same tissue that is sold to consumers as food products. Each year, we see an increase in the number of salmonella poisoning cases from contaminated eggs, meat and milk. These strains of salmonella are difficult to treat because they are antibiotic resistant. Antibiotics are not the only chemicals administered to factory farm animals; many animals are fed growth-promoting hormones, appetite stimulants and pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and aflatoxins that collect in the animals' tissues and milk. |
