Unfortunately, the modern reality of farming in america is not at all like those images. Factory farmed fish may also be contaminated with industrial toxins, artificial coloring, and possibly mad cow disease prions. Down on the factory farm 435 to associate this package with a living, breathing, walking, suffering animal. New report details how factory farms have displaced small. I conclude that the costs of factory farming as it is currently practiced far outweigh the bene. Part i of this note discusses the current conditions on factory farms, including the. Agribusiness corporations claim that animals in factory farms are as well cared for as their own pet dog or cat. New report details how factory farms have displaced small farmers subject washingtonbased food and water watch has released a report titled factory farm nation. Factory farm is a term used to evoke emotion, or rather, lack of emotion. The number of dairy cows on factory farms doubled, and the averagesized dairy factory farm increased by half, between 1997 and 2012. Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while minimizing costs. This documentary provides a rare opportunity for the general public to see what happens on factory farms and will encourage even more people to support farm animal protection efforts and actively engage in hfas campaign against factory farming. However, factory farming occurs in the raising of all farm animalshogs, calves, dairy cows, cattle, and so forth. Genetically modified crops gmos, agricultural chemicals, and concentrated animals feeding operations cafos or factory farms are but a few on a growing list of public concerns.
In his new book the humane economy, animal protection 2. Across the united states, nearly 10 billion land animals are raised and killed each year for meat, eggs, and milk. In addition to providing drinking water for farm animals and irrigation for feed crops, factory farms use scarce freshwater resources to flush manure out of barns and for other industrial uses. Second, unchecked mergers and acquisitions between the largest meatpacking. In polling, 94% of americans agree that animals raised for food deserve to live free from abuse and cruelty. In illinois, there are virtually little or no factory farms in the collar counties around the city of chicago and yet when one factors in illinois total factory farm operations, the results are staggering. While they efficiently produce abundant supplies of affordable food, cafos also raise questions about animal welfare, public health and environmental degradation. For many of us, the word farm conjures images of green pastures, red barns, and freeroaming cows, chickens, and pigs. Its both interesting a piece of economic history as well as provocative defense of soviet planning. This overcrowding frequently causes stress, frustration and joint pains. More specifically, pigs manure will flow to a level below them. As congress gears up to reauthorize the farm bill next year, the stakes are high.
Factory farms continue to take over the agricultural landscape of the united states. Factory farming definition in the cambridge english. We encourage you to see death on a factory farm and spread the word to family and friends. Death, slavery, and dominion on the banks of the cape fear river. We caught their presentation earlier this week in chicago. On the other hand, opponents of factory farming contend that the negatives that come along with factory farming far outweigh the positives. The facts about factory farms cafos 1 john ikerd2 a variety of controversies have seriously eroded public trust in american agriculture. It can be about either the animal or about the way in which a factory farm deals with the animal. Have them list 10 specific details about the farmraised food they have chosen. To achieve this, agribusinesses keep livestock such as cattle, poultry, and fish at high stocking densities, at large scale, and using modern. A new interactive map of factory farms across the us. How america turned its livestock farms into factories. Area of land required in a typical industrial country the netherlands to produce 1 kg of either.
Animal factory farming is exposed to at least 28 environmental, social and governance esg issues. Also, have each student read the notable quotes page and be prepared to discuss next class period. Some factory farms and feedlots, which are used for beef production, are. This section presents several examples of factory farming techniques and the cruelties they impose on farm animals.
Early 20th century agriculture was labor intensive, and it took place on many small, diversified farms in rural areas where more than half the u. The number of hogs on factory farms increased by more than onethird, and the average farm size swelled nearly 70 percent from 1997 to 2012. In the meantime, see our 2015 report, factory farm nation, which includes maps and graphics using data from the previous census. There are many solutions to the problem of factory faming, the most obvious being shut down the factory farms all together, but this solution would not work because factory farming is far too large and profitable of an industry to shut down. The true cost of animal agribusiness 7 from farms to factories. Large livestock farms create huge quantities of animal waste. Most factory farm production is controlled by a small number of.
Turning farm workers into farmers in california, near immense industrial farms, small plots are rented out to field laborers so they can try to create their own farm businesses. Yet the majority of the nearly 10 billion landbased animals, plus countless more aquatic animals, farmed for food each year in the u. The onfarm death rate ranges from a low of 4 percent for cows and calves to 12 percent for turkeys, 14 percent for hogs, and 28 percent for some types of chickens. Considering the rationales for factory farming for presentation at. In terms of its quality as a book, farm to factory is top notch, but not simple. The report also examines the causes for industrialscale livestock and the demise of small and medium farms. Raised by the thousands at a single location, animals are confined in such tight quarters that they can barely move, let alone. Is not a life lived off the factory farm and a death humanely inflicted superior to the terrible lives we know they lead and the horrible deaths we know they suffer in bladen county today. Why factory farming is not just cruel the guardian. Agricultural production in the 21st century, on the other hand, is concentrated on a smaller number of large, specialized farms in. Our friends at food and water watch have unveiled a new interactive webbased map tool of factory farms across america, and ffw representatives are touring the country to promote it. People who learn about factory farming are becoming more enlightened, and as. Typically, large numbers of animals are kept in close confinement on such farms, having little room to maneuver. The number of dairy cows on factory farms rose 120.
This is how many factory farms we need to satisfy america. Its a term used by those who oppose modern farming and want farmers to go back to the good old days of farming. First, unchecked mergers and acquisitions between the largest. Farmers have adopted factory farming practices largely at the behest of the largest. The problem with the good old days is they really werent that good in regards to animal care. Factory farming practices melissa jarel introduction factory farming is an agribusiness strategy that employs a variety of practices in order to maximize agribusinesses profits at the expense of society and of the environment. American agriculture and rural life underwent a tremendous transformation in the 20th century. By joining community supported agriculture csa or shopping at a farmers. The fda issued voluntary guidance to remove nontherapeutic antibiotics from farm animal production, however, it is nonbinding and legally nonenforceable. Sustainable food advocates often call these operations factory farms, while people. Based on data provided by the usda, the mapping tool displays factory farm stats by state and by county, showing. The rearing of farm animals today is dominated by industrialized facilities known as confined animal feeding operations, or cafos often referred to as factory farms that maximize profits by treating animals not as sentient creatures, but as production units. This report investigates the links between animal welfare abuses on factory farms and the human health implications for the food produced from intensively reared animals.