...respiratory infections, food poisonings, obesity, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and obesity. A lot of individuals are becoming increasingly aware of the health effects of factory farming. Two solutions that would help decrease the harmful effects of factory farming are making the living and manufacturing conditions of the livestock more humane. Another solution to help decrease the harmful effects of factory farming are feeding the livestock a natural diet with limited use of antibiotics and pesticides. The decline in family farms has caused a number of health concerns for some individuals. According to Pollan (2006), the evolution and production of corn have greatly impacted the decline of family farms. The influence of government policies on cheap corn production made it difficult for many family farms to sustain production and profitability (Pollan, 2006, p. 40). By the early 1980’s, many family farms were struggling to maintain due to the increase profit of feeding and...
Words: 1379 - Pages: 6
...In today’s day and age where food production yield is critical, protection of the environment is imperative, and the state of American health is distressing nutritional health has become a very heavy and conflicting topic in society, especially where meat is concerned. The inception of the fast food industry in the mid 1900’s saw the demand for cheaper meat in the U.S skyrocket. With cheaper meats more readily available the average meat consumption by U.S citizens also increased significantly. In order to accommodate this high demand for cheaper meat, the raising of prime meat animals such as cows, hogs, and chickens was rapidly moved away from traditional pasture and barn raising methods to a wholly subsidized industrial system (Sherman 10)....
Words: 1921 - Pages: 8
...are fading away as the years go by. The lives of the animals are becoming devalued while the demand for their bodies increase. Factory farmers have been restricting the lives of their live-stock. Animals in factory farms are living lives which are far from the lifestyles that nature had intended for them. After reading many articles about the negative effects factory farming has on animals, I now know what truly goes on behind the walls of factory farms. I’ve been so disgusted by this that I’ve decided to eat less meat and consume organic products. Consumers of meat need to be aware of this foul practice. This not only affects the animals, but it also affects the consumer and the environment. Factory farming is not only inhumane,...
Words: 1731 - Pages: 7
...Animal Ethics The issue regarding the morality on whether or not people should consume meat has been debated for several decades. Factory farms, where animals are raised in filthy conditions, pumped with antibiotics and growth hormones, and fed a diet that includes animal bi-products, are viewed by animal rights activists to be inhumane and torturous. Since the beginning of time, the human race has been consuming meat. In the book of Genesis, it says “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything”. In a traditional sense, I believe it’s morally acceptable to eat meat if the animal is raised on a good farm. This is where the animal is treated in a humane way by allowing them to roam and graze freely in conditions similar to their natural habitat. Additionally, their life span is much longer than that of an animal living on a factory farm. This supports the view that animals should not be caused to suffer. However, I’ve never given much thought about this subject matter prior to taking this class, and in all probability have been eating meat from factory farms. Thus, I will write about factory farms, despite my newly acquired position. Even though I believe it’s acceptable to consume meat, and my personal experience is more than likely related to factory farms, there are several valid arguments against them. The most significant argument is regarding the inhumane, torturous treatment these animals...
Words: 858 - Pages: 4
...pounds of bacon. Contrary to popular belief, all this meat is not raised on Old McDonald's farm ("Factory-Farming.com", 2010-2015). As arable land has declined over the last 100 years along with farmers as a percentage of the U.S. population, factory farms have taken their place ("How is Land in The United States Used? A Focus on Agricultural Land", n.d.). However, while factory farms produce more food optimizing economies of scale, modern technologies, and genetic engineering, factory farming more often than not incorporate abusive treatment to the animals. Factory Farming is an inhumane way of producing meat and dairy products due to its common practices of confined living conditions, wide usage of antibiotics and genetic engineering, and slaughterhouse practices. One of the most common forms of animal cruelty in factory farms is the overcrowded and confined living areas of the animals. Chickens are the most confined animal in Factory Farming with up to 120,000 birds on one farm. (Madhani, 2015). Both egg-laying hens and fryer chickens are housed in “battery cages”. Battery cages hold between five and ten hens with each hen allotted between 67 - 76 sq. inches (less than the size of a standard sheet of letter paper). Being confined to such a small area creates multiple physical and mental problems for the chickens. Among the more common noted problems is the inability to spread their wings, standing up, nesting, perching, and dust bathing. (“The Humane Society of the United...
Words: 1383 - Pages: 6
...day I went to a sit down restaurant and ordered chicken wings. Obviously there are laws protecting people from getting tainted food, but the source of this food was unknown to me and could of had something wrong with it. Luckily I am fine and I survived that meal, but the process of how that food got to my plate and how that animal was treated before it was slaughtered to become my food was unknown to me. Even though farm animals such as chickens, pigs, and cows are most likely going to be killed for food purposes, they are living things and do deserve to live a decent life before they become our food. The opposition might argue that there are too many people in this world who eat meat, so these means are necessary to feed all the people. But if the meat eating society were to look closely at how these animals were treated before becoming our food in most cases they would not see a very good life and even would be disgusted with the environments as well as the treatment of these animals. Due to this fact the way in which animals are treated before and while being slaughtered needs to be altered to a more humane way. In the past, animals were treated almost as part of the family, since they usually were the family’s only source of food or means of getting money. This is still...
Words: 2947 - Pages: 12
...Colquhoun, J. & Bosch, L. (Directors) (2008). Food Matters [Documentary]. Permacology Productions. James Colquhoun had spent many years researching and studying nutrition at the Global College of Natural Medicine in Santa Cruz. His passion clearly lies within the food that we eat and has founded the concept of Food Matters. Laurentine ten Bosch holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business but her drive for better health led her to study nutrition at the same college as James. This is where they got together and started putting together the hit film Food Matters. Food Matters is a well put together series of interviews from leading nutritionists, doctors and researchers that give us information about what we eat and how it affects us. I think that the film is almost summed up entirely by quoting Hippocrates – “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. Kenner, R. (Director) (2008). Food Inc. [Documentary]. Participant Media. Robert is an Emmy award winning film maker that has produced films for National Geographic. His career in film making began in 1971 and continues to produce films still today. His most recent film is Food Inc. which examines the corporate farms of America to unfold the unethical, unhealthy and environmentally unfriendly practices that are behind them. His film tells us about the mass production on meat and how inhumane the practices are and then gets into vivid detail about the agriculture industry. Food Inc. is an eye opener for everyone...
Words: 682 - Pages: 3
...horrific as such scenario sounds, we are contributing to these dreadful acts. Factory farming is when large quantities of animals such as cattle, pigs, and poultry, are housed together for mass production for the pleasure of our consumption. As a consumer ask yourself, is the murder of an animal justified? Is wanting a hamburger more important than the suffering and torture of the animal which it came from? Though a large amount of people are for animal rights, most are uninformed of the suffering behind factory farming. If people knew the true conditions in which the animals live, the unacceptable lifestyle these creatures have, and the torturous process that contributes to having food on your plate, we would all be hostile to the practice. Factory farming is unacceptable and it should be abolished....
Words: 1472 - Pages: 6
...01-27-2013 Why Don’t We Eat Dogs? What makes some animals better than others? Or better yet, why do we eat certain animals while it is a crime to eat others? It is questions like these that many people would hope to ignore forever or rather avoid. But as humans, these are the type of questions which define us as better beings and often challenge us to think and act in a way that’s worthy of our better capabilities, intellect, conscience, and hearts. If only an animal would ever speak or rise up the way many human rights activist did in the past in defense of human equality regardless of race or skin color. Surely we would have massive protests and riots from pigs, cows, lambs, goats, and many other animals whose rights are just completely ignore by the vast majority. It is sad to see that these rights are only applied in favor of a handful of animals, while others are locked away and confined to feedlots where the powerful meat industry obliterates their rights and turn their lives into profitable pieces of meat. Though it is legal by law, culture, and trade, the maltreatment and killing of these animals to feed the inhumane and greedy meat for profit industry must stop not only because it violates animal rights, but also because it promotes an agenda of animal abuse, exploitation, and unhealthy human nutrition for generations to come. Instead, the Government should partner up with animal rights activist groups and launch a national animal cruelty awareness campaign, impose a feedlot...
Words: 2645 - Pages: 11
...Do Animals Have the same Rights as Humans? Today millions of Americans and others around the world have pets. Whether it is a dog or cat, fish or bird, hamster or a mountain lion, owners love their pets. To many they are loved as one of the family and considered to possess the loving and functional qualities of a human. Unfortunately, any way these people like to view their animals, does not change the fact that they are still in fact animals. Animals do not possess the cognitive reasoning humans do. They will respond to a stimulus which can be used through classical conditioning to produce a desired result but the training of something does not give it value. Apart from the capacity of animals, there is something else that separates humans from them. If you believe in a soul or spirit that lasts more than this physical life then that is the main difference between animals and humans. I believe God made Man in His image and was given rule over the earth. This however does not mean that animals are to be treated without respect. Humans have a responsibility, being the dominant species on the earth, to care for the rest of our resources. For example, animals can be used to test psychological tendencies and effects of certain drugs or health issues. It would be much wiser to let the death of a rat help produce a way to save the lives of many humans. However, cruelty and inhumane ways of treating animals, usually for no reason, is a careless treatment of the gifts we are given...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...The number of animals killed each year in the United States alone varies between 17 and 70 million. The Animal Welfare Act (ACA) states that laboratories must report the number of animals used in experiments; yet mice, birds, and rats are not included in this figure. These animals are used in 80 to 90 percent of all animal testing. Because of this, it is impossible to calculate the exact number of animals used in such experiments (PETA, 5). Animal testing might not directly affect ordinary people each day or be an issue on everybody’s mind, yet the actions people do daily can affect animal experimentation. This has been a worldwide issue and an ongoing battle for decades. Vivisection, the practice of lab experimenting on live animals, has been around since the beginning of scientific medicine. It is an alternative to the dissection of human corpses, which resulted from religious leaders’ protests (Choose Cruelty Free). There are numerous reasons why people and organizations want animal testing changed. People of all nations and religions argue differently on this topic. Yet the main factor in deciding the moral correctness of animal experimentation is one’s personal belief. No matter which side a person takes on this topic, they feel there are several things that must be done to benefit their stance and its publicity. A group in opposition of animal testing is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Their main claim is put as, “Animals are not ours to...
Words: 1084 - Pages: 5
...Would you continue buying ivory if you need what had to happen to the elephants to obtain ivory? Would you continue buying a product that is made in another country, knowing about the hard lives of the indivudals making it? Would you continue buying a product that is tested on animals first, knowing the conditions and horrors the innocent animals go through? Would you continue buying puppies from places in which are funded by puppymills if you knew what was truly happening, or about all the dogs that are being euthanized every year in shelters because everyone wants something brand new? Puppy mills are defined as by the ASPCA “… large-scale commercial dog breeding operations where profit is placed above the well-being of animals. Bred without consideration of genetic quality, this produces generation of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.” Other definitions include the fact that they are bred at unsafe speeds, where the idea that the individual dog the people are dealing with is an actual living being, rather than the machine they view it as, is lost on the way. In todays society, faster and cheaper is always better when it comes to producing product. No one wants to spend a...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
...amount of areas of knowledge. Within the Chinese fur farms animals the main goal of the production process is to make a maximum profit – at the expense of the animals. Organizations such as EU, and the UN have tried to impose policies upon china for the safety of the animals but the Chinese fur farms have yet to treat the animals ethically. Many efforts by global organizations such as PETA have been made to ban fur trading with china but despite that the fur trade with china has only strengthened and become a larger, lucrative powerful monopoly. Period. 8 - Blackmon Areas of Knowledge History Human Sciences Ethics Ways of Knowing Perception Emotion Reasoning Topic A – History (Politics) What political involvement does the U.S. have with the Chinese fur trade? What policies are implemented within China & the United States that deals with the protection of animals? UN, and the EU primarily deal with political issues regarding the fur trade. Federal Fur Labeling Act Law Topic A Counterclaim Why do the UN and EU feel the need to implement laws on China regarding the ethical treatment of animals? Foreign nations have no right to urge animal cruelty laws imposing their beliefs on China. Topic B Counterclaim Topic B – Human Science (Economy) The Chinese fur trade has become a large monopoly that has gained control of most of the east pacific supply of fur. They maximize profit at the expense of the animals. The largest consumers of fur are North America and Northern...
Words: 506 - Pages: 3
...rapidly growing problem in the United States. Factory farming first started in the 1930’s on a low scale. New kinds of incubators lead to chickens being able to be produced in larger quantities in large scale operations. After World War II the increased demand of eggs led to specialized breading and an increase in factory farming in the United States. Soon following suit between the 1960’s and 1970’s was the boom of fast food chains thus increasing the demand for cheap, fast products (Safe for Animals, 2012). Mass production swept the nation at the expense of the animals and our health. This movement cannot be stopped unless people can get informed with what is happening in these factory farms, and possible alternatives to better our nation’s moral standing. Factory farming of egg laying hens is when they are kept under strict guidelines with intensive methods in order to achieve mass production, in this case, of eggs. These hens are deprived of life, they are only used as means of production and might as well be categorized as machines. First let’s discuss the killing and disposal of chickens in this industry. In the egg industry obviously hens are the only useful chicken to these business owners, seeing as males cannot produce eggs, because of that over two hundred and sixty million chickens are killed each year after hatching (Sanctuary, 2012). They will do this either by sucking them through a series of pipes onto an electrified killing plate or being ground up alive and turned...
Words: 2393 - Pages: 10
...process, Cheney and Ellis investigate the effect of the increasing production of corn on American society, both physically and economically. Also, they highlighted on the role of government subsidies which encourages the enormous amount of corn grown. This film illustrates how industrialization in corn production abolished the typical family farm and replaced by much larger industrialized farms. These families are forced to give up their farms in order for industries to take over to start a mass production. The industrialized farms would produce approximately 200 bushels of corn per acre, which is the equivalent of 10,000 pounds or five tons. They also came across inhumane confined animal feeding operations, which would one day be killed for their meat and the heavy use of corn sweetener (high fructose syrup) may be linked to obesity and diabetes. Both Cheney and Ellis depict the necessity of industrialization in the North American food and produce system. They found that high fructose syrup is found in basically all industrialized and processed foods. Another thing shown in the film is the are the government manipulated economic deliberation are affecting the decision relating to the manner in which what crops should be grown and how should they be grown. This shows that the government is ignorant about the true economic and environmental in which crops should be grown and this is demonstrated by the production of high...
Words: 337 - Pages: 2
