Daughtery 1

C.J. Daugherty
Aughenbaugh
English 12
24 March 2016
The Disadvantages of Factory Farming
Factory farming is unhealthy for the animals and the humans that eat the meat. The animals
are unhealthy because of their tight living quarters. The living conditions are a very important
part in factory farming because if they live in tight quarters they get very stressed out. According
to the article Factory Farming is not cheap, efficient, or healthy, In 2007-2009 there was 44
million pounds of meat recalled for ecoli because of the factory farms.(Debra A. Miller) Factory
farming is one of the unhealthiest ways to raise any kind of animal. It is unfair for the animal
because they are crammed into little pens and they can barely lay down to sleep or even turn
around. Factory farms put an average of ten families out of business every year.(Debra A.
Miller) The factory farms try to put little farmers out of business that way they can make more
money each year. The animals are on antibiotics due to the stress that is created from fighting
with the other animals. The stress causes the meat not to be any good. To fix the stress they give
all the animals drugs or steroids which helps deal with the stress and fatigue caused from
fighting and the sores caused from tight living quarters.
Factory farming is not the way to feed America. The grain is subsidized which isnt good for
the cattle or hogs. The animals need good nutrition and taken care of really well so that the meat
is good and healthy. The animals should not be injected with drugs to make them grow faster
because then the meat isnt the same as if it was just grown normally. The meat that is injected
tastes a lot different and is not healthy for humans to be eating. The dairy industry contributes to
the cholesterol and is the primary source of infectious bacterias such as ecoli and salmonella.
The government says that the manure run off contaminates the water supply which that is false.
When the manure is properly placed on the land it does not affect the drinking water.

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Beef cattle become extremely scared when they are transported or put into tight spaces
together. They are loaded onto big cattle trailers and hauled to either feed lots or the slaughter
house. The feed lot managers administer drugs to all the cattle. The drug that is administered is to
help with rapid growth. The animals then grow faster than normal which means they can get the
animals in and out faster. They can make more money because then the animals are not there
very long so then they can get another herd of cattle. The slaughter houses handle the animals
inhumanely. They beat the animals, which that bruises the meat. They also drag the sick and
unhealthy animals around on the ground with skid steers and front end loaders because they cant
walk. The slaughter houses are unhealthy to any animal that enters them because the way they
handle them. The animals get abused if they do not do what they want them to right away. The
cattle are scared and unsure what is going on due to being hauled on the trailers and being
handled so much. When cattle are constantly being hauled around and handled they start to
become mean with the other animals. Cattle are like humans, if they are being constantly abused
then they starts to turn mean as well. They become mean by attacking the people handling them
and they start to be mean with the other cattle as well. Animals get stressed just like humans.
Cattle are not very different from humans, they get stressed and they can become mean. Cattle
are not animals to play around with because they can hurt you if you start teasing them. During
2003--2007, deaths occurring in the production of crops and animals in the United States totaled
2,334. Cattle production is not the safest job but it needs to be done for Americans to live and
survive.
Broiler chickens are one of the most mistreated animals in factory farming. The chickens are
in a tight space and they are all really packed into one big pen. The chickens breathe ammonia
which is created from living in their own manure. The ammonia is created through the manure
which is not healthy for the chickens. The broiler chickens do not get any fresh air. The only time

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they get fresh air is when they leave the big barn to go to the slaughter house. The broiler
chickens are debeaked and their toes are cut so they cannot fight with the other chickens. They
become very aggressive with each other because they are all in extremely tight quarters. Some of
the broiler chickens cannot eat after they are debeaked. Then the ones who cannot eat die from
starvation. Broiler chickens have lots of respiratory problems due to their living conditions.
Some of the diseases are Bacterial Infections, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, heat
prostration, and cancer. Those are all caused from the living conditions.
In the hatcheries they sort out the females and the males. They kill at least 50 % of the males
because they cannot be used to lay eggs. (Mason, Jim and Peter Singer.) The layer chickens
produce a lot of manure which has to be removed. If the manure is left in there then the layer
chickens will get infected and then they will not be able to lay eggs anymore. Layer chickens
produce 90-95% of the eggs sold in the United States.( . Debra A. Miller) When the peeps are
born they are placed on a conveyor belt to be sorted. The males are placed into garbage bags that
are taken to be ground up. Most of the males are ground up alive for meat. The female peeps stay
on the conveyor and move to the next station. The next station is where their beaks are cut off so
that they cannot fight with the other chickens once they grow up. The layer chickens have many
diseases just like the broiler chickens. Some of the diseases are cage layer fatigue, bacterial
infections, fatty liver syndrome, broken bones, and paralysis. The layer chickens are placed in
cages and are not removed because thats where they lay all their eggs. At night the lights are
dimmed in the broiler pens. The lights are dimmed to help reduce some of the fighting. It wont
stop all of the fighting but it will help a lot with it.
Factory made pigs are not healthy for humans to eat. The factory made pigs never get to see
day light ever. The only time that the pigs get to see daylight is when they are loaded onto trailers

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and taken to the butcher shops or slaughter houses. Factory made pigs are produced in 13 midwestern states. (Mason, Jim and Peter Singer)
To feed the world in 2050 we will need a massive, Global ramp up of industrial scale,
corporate-led agriculture.( Philpott, Tom. ) Help support local farms and family farms. Family
farms are the better way to raise animals.

Works Cited
Factory Farming Is Not Cheap, Efficient, or Healthy. Factory Farming. Ed. Debra A. Miller.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. From Three Big Factory
Farm Lies. CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories. Ed. Daniel Imhoff. 2010.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
Factory Farms Produce Meat in Unethical Ways. Factory Farming. Ed. Debra A. Miller.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from Factory Farming: The
Truth Behind the Barn Doors. www.lcanimal.org. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.

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Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
Mason, Jim and Peter Singer. Animal Factories. New York: Crown Publishers, 1980. Print.
Philpott, Tom. Factory Farming Is Not the Only Way to Feed the World. Factory Farming. Ed.
Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from Factory
Farms the Only Way to 'Feed the World'? Not So, Argues Science Paper. http://grist.org.
2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.
Steuer, Karen. "Factory Farms Are Contaminating US Drinking Water." Factory Farming. Ed.
Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from Where
Have All the Farms Gone? EcoWatch. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 2 Mar.
2016.

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