Factory farming is a very controversial topic that has been argued for the past few decades on the basis of whether or not it should be terminated.  Those against this specific practice believe it to be unethical and inhumane, while those who support it believe it helps sustain the environment, provide food, and is in no way inhumane.  Not only is factory farming harmful to animals, it affects the health of the person consuming that animal.   Meat from factory farms has been linked to diseases and foodborne illnesses due to the crowded conditions in the factories.  It has also caused human resistance to antibiotics and a spread of infections, such as influenza, due to outbreaks in the factory farms.  Factory farming needs to be stopped due to it being unethical, abusive, and harmful for not only animals but consumers and producers, too.

Factory farming gained its popularity almost immediately after World War II.  As the article, “Health Leaders Must Focus on the Threats From Factory Farms,” states, “Factory-like farms radically increased the number of cows, chickens and pigs they could raise and slaughter with economic efficiency.”  The results of World War II almost left the American economy in shambles.  At the time, factory farms seemed most effective in order to produce more meat at a more efficient rate and cheaper price.  Today the need for factory farms is not as important.  The purpose of factory farms seems to have changed over the years.  Instead of it just being economically sufficient, it is used to make animals significantly larger in size to appeal more to the consumer.  Due to this, animals are suffering more greatly and in turn it leads to less nutritious meat. 

Farm animals such as pigs, cows, and chickens should be treated better and live in more suitable conditions because it will provide healthier and higher quality meat/poultry. As stated by Anomaly in What’s Wrong With Factory Farming, “[…] crowding animals together in close confinement can induce stress and suppress their immune systems, raising parasite loads and making animals more susceptible to infections […] because animals on factory farms are genetically similar, they can be more susceptible to specific parasites” (246).  These infections and diseases can then be passed on to humans during consumption.  Animals are also injected with hormones in order to keep them healthy and make them larger in size; however, these hormones can have a negative effect on the consumer.  Studies have shown that these hormones are linked to antibiotic resistance in humans. Anomaly states the various ways factory farming is causing humans to become resistant to antibiotics,

First, those who work on farms and handle animals or raw meat can pick up antibiotic-resistant bacteria from animals who have it, and transfer it to other people; second, some bacteria survive in meat even after it is cooked, and are transferred directly to those who eat it; third, animal waste from factory farms that contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria is often used to fertilize crops, and some of these bacteria infect people who either work with crops or consume them […] (248).

This means that if the use of antibiotics in factory farmed animals is not stopped, then the antibiotics will soon be useless in helping humans fight illnesses such as strep throat, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia.  The living conditions of animals in factory farms also affect their quality of life and the quality of their meat.  As Evelyn Pluhar mentions in “Meat and Morality: Alternatives to Factory Farming,”  “In the United States alone 76 million are stricken annually by fouled food, 5,000 of them fatally (Harris 2009)”  (Pluhar 456).  The conditions of factory farming increase disease in the factory animals which then ultimately affect the consumer.  In his book Factory Farming, Johnson quotes Paul James saying, “Under such crowded conditions control of infectious diseases is a major problem; the majority of chicken carcasses are infected with salmonella, and chicken meat is responsible for a high proportion of food poisoning incidents” (Johnson 31).  Not only do the crowded conditions increase disease, they are unethical in general.  For example, chickens are forced to live in cages so small that they cannot turn around; the same goes for pigs.  Johnson specifies on the size of the living area by stating that chickens are allowed only about 450 sq cm of space to live in and pigs are restrained in cages made out of stout steel tubing (Johnson 31).  Since the spaces are so small and so overcrowded, the animals end up living in their own waste, which is detrimental to their health.  The ASPCA states, “Because they live in their own waste, high ammonia levels irritate and burn their eyes, throats and skin.”  The animals are being tortured due to the conditions they live in.  Their living conditions are inhumane and unethical, no creature should be forced to live in a confined environment that prohibits them from even turning around.

Not only are the animals forced to endure such horrible conditions, so are the workers in the factory farms.  By working in these factories, the workers are constantly being exposed to harmful and hazardous gasses.  In the article, “The Human Victims of Factory Farming”, Patton mentions, “During an average workday, employees inhale anything from ammonia to hydrogen sulfide, plus a number of other airborne bacteria.”  This is harmful to their health and often causes diseases and respiratory issues to develop.  The workers are also highly susceptible to injuries as a result of handling dangerous machinery.  Also stated by Patton, “[...] very few workplace hazards are reported to supervisors for fear they will lose their jobs or be replaced by somebody else willing to do the grueling and dangerous work.”  Most of the workers in these factory farms are from outside of the United States and are desperate for work, making them easy targets for this torturous job.  Depending on their specific job, workers are required to do anything from administering antibiotics to handling animal carcasses.  In addition, the workers in these factories make very little in terms of money; Patton states that they make around $23,000, which barely keeps them out of poverty.  If the practice of factory farming were to end and traditional farming were to once again take its place, workers would experience much better working conditions and be able to avoid many health risks.

       Factory farmed animals are not treated with nearly the same respect as household pets.  Household pets such as dogs and cats are treated with love and kindness.  Considering this, how does society accept such cruel treatment of animals such as pigs, chickens, and cows on factory farms?  In his TED talk, Animal Factories and the Abuse of Power, Wayne Pacelle discusses how factory farm animals are treated compared to household pets.  He states, “All 50 states have anti-cruelty laws that codify the notion that malicious torment of animals is not just a moral problem, it is a legal problem.”  Even though these laws are in effect, they really only pertain to household pets and ignore factory farmed animals.  Not only are factory farmed animals treated differently than household pets, they are also treated differently than farm animals in past decades.  Johnson states, “[…] many of the ways in which animals are now bred and housed are inherently more cruel than the methods of fifty years ago”  (Johnson 10).   According to the ASPCA, these methods include: living in small, crowded spaces, having chickens sleep restricted to keep them eating and growing, and removing newborn piglets from their parents and containing them in areas without sunlight or fresh air.  Cows are also branded, castrated, and often have their horns removed (ASPCA).  Also mentioned by the ASPCA, “In 1925, it took 16 weeks to raise a chicken to 2.5 pounds. Today, chickens weigh double that in just six weeks!”  Since the creation of factory farms, the treatment of farm animals has become much more cruel and inhumane, causing health issues in the factory farmed animals, which then affect consumers.

This research is arguable because a lot of it comes down to whether or not animal ethics can override industry and prevent factory farming from continuing in the future.  Many people, such as Timothy Hsiao, believe animals do not have rights, making factory farming an acceptable practice.  This can then lead to another argument of how some people believe climate change is not caused by an excess of carbon from factories and is just a natural occurrence that can be proved by history.  One of the main disagreements found was whether or not animals are eligible to have rights.  In “Industrial Farming is Not Cruel to Animals,” Timothy Hsiao states, “Since this entails that animals do not have any kind of right to non-interference on our part, it is morally permissible for us to use them for our own purposes.”  People argue that animals have no rights and humans are superior to animals; therefore, animals can be used in any way to benefit humans.  Another reason people support factory farming is because they believe it helps the environment.  According to the article, “Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment” by Jayson Lusk, farmers who work on these factory farms are able to better regulate the type and amount of nutrients for soil, the amount of water used for the crops, and the amount of seeds planted due to modern technology.  Lusk states, “These technologies reduce the use of water and fertilizer and harm to the environment. Modern seed varieties, some of which were brought about by biotechnology, have allowed farmers to convert to low and no-till cropping systems, and can encourage the adoption of nitrogen-fixing cover crops such as clover or alfalfa to promote soil health.”  Another reason why people believe factory farming should not be stopped is because it is a good source of jobs.  As mentioned by Patton, approximately 500,000 workers are employed in factory farms each year.  The ending of factory farming would mean the loss of a half a million jobs.  Therefore, those who support factory farming believe it is beneficial for the environment, provides an abundance of jobs, and feel animals do not have the right to their own opinion or feelings.

There are many alternatives to factory farming that can provide higher quality meat/poultry, better conditions for animals and workers, and major health advantages for consumers.  One alternative would be to go back to traditional farming where animals graze freely.  Pluhar discusses the effects of humane animal farming,

Smaller, more numerous family farms that practice sustainable agriculture and humanely raise the animals they market for food would impose much less of a burden on the environment. Animals raised in much less stressful conditions would shed fewer pathogens. They would not be pumped with hormones and nontherapeutic doses of antibiotics; their feed would not be contaminated with cattle parts and poultry litter. The animals would also suffer much less (461).

The benefits of farming animals in a humane way eliminates the need for factory farms.  Another alternative would be to convert to vegan or vegetarian lifestyles.  Pluhar also states, “According to nutrition research, compared to the traditionally meat-heavy omnivorous American diet, vegetarianism has health advantages for the prevention and amelioration of various diseases (ADA Reports 2003)” (460).  Although adopting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle does not ultimately end factory farming, it does lessen the need for it and provides many health benefits. These health benefits include: prevent some cancers, preventing heart disease, lowering blood pressure, preventing and reversing diabetes, decreases the chance of getting gallstones, kidney stones, and osteoporosis, and reducing asthma attacks in those that are asthmatic.  All of these are due to vegetarian/vegan diets being low in saturated fats and high in fiber.  Factory farming can be avoided by focusing industry back towards traditional farming or encouraging consumers to adopt vegetarian/vegan lifestyles.  Both in turn will provide major health benefits and encourage the end of factory farming.

Animals have the right to graze on open land, and not be trapped in confined areas where they can barely move.  Animals also should not be pumped with hormones, which not only affects the animal, but also the consumer.  Farmed animals that are meant to be consumed should be treated with respect, not as if they are just objects that can be taken advantage of.  Why is it that people are all for saving puppies and putting an end to puppy mills, but give no thought to the animals that are sent to factory farms?  Yes, the difference between puppies and animals such as pigs, cows, and chickens in America is that the last three groups are designated as food; that does not mean they should be treated any different while they are alive.  It is time for factory farming to step down from its throne and end its reign because it is unethical on the basis that it is ultimately hurting society more than helping it.  It is abusive to animals due to the overcrowded, unsanitary conditions they are forced to live in.  The conditions of the factory farms then cause animals to become infected with diseases which are transmitted to the consumers and producers, ultimately harming them along with the animals.  Do we really want to continue allowing the food industry to torture animals and negatively impact our health just so the food production companies can be a little richer?
