For decades, factory farming has the primary method of raising livestock in the United States. Feeding a population of over 300 million people everyday factory farming came about as a method of raising livestock that is both efficient and cost effective. Factory farming uses new, advanced technology which increases production. (Factory Farms: Are They Good for Consumers?) An increased production allows for the cost of the product to be less expensive. Less expensive for the producer to make the product which will boost their profits, and less expensive for the consumer to buy the product which will save them money. In the poor economy that exists today factory farming seems to be a great method of raising livestock as it not only reduces costs but also creates jobs for the American people. Although ideal for both the producer, consumer, and even employee this does not make factory farming ethical. Over the years the industry has evolved into a method which questions its morality. Factory Farming is an unethical method of raising livestock as it permits the maltreatment of farm animals and in turn harms both the environment and the human population. 

Merriam - Webster dictionary defines factory farming as, “a large industrialized farm in which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost” (Merriam- Webster). Since the 1960’s, livestock has been crammed into small, dirty, smelly indoor facilities for the entirety of their lives. These farm animals will often never see sunlight with their own eyes or experience exercise or the love from a human hand. Factory farming has developed into an unethical method of raising livestock. In everyday life unethical may be defined as a practice of behavior that is morally wrong, and in terms of the treatment of animals, the pollution of the environment, and the effect on the human population factory farming displays unethical behavior.

 In 2013, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) conducted undercover work on the Catelli Brothers calf slaughtering plant in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. During this time the HSUS documented horrific acts of neglect such as calves still lucid for approximately two minutes after having their throats slit. The documentation of the abusive actions taken at the Catelli Brothers led the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to shut down the plant in January of 2014 (Shapiro). The Catelli Brothers plant and many other plants alike continue to be shut down each year because of the inhumane treatment of their farm animals. The maltreatment of animals suspended operations of over 90 slaughter plants in 2016 alone (USDA). Animals born into the factory farming industry live sad, abusive lives. “Treated as nothing more than meat, egg, and milk producing machinery of massive agribusinesses,” factory farm animals experience horrific abuse (Shapiro, 121). They suffer for the entirety of their lives, and feel the pain inflicted on them by workers. Paul Shapiro, Vice President of Policy of the Humane Society of the United States, states that “Animal abuse is the norm in the meat industry,” and this sadly becomes truer each and every day (Velez-Mitchell).

 Living conditions of pigs display how factory farm animals are forced to live in horrific abusive conditions. Pigs live out their lives in what is called a gestation cage; a small cage where pigs are allowed to stand up and lie down. These pigs do not have the ability to make a full 360 degree turn or move around. Residing in such a small enclosure, pigs frequently rub up against their cages which leaves large red sores all over their bodies. Lacking the ability to properly move around or exercise causes mental anguish of pigs. They will chew on their cages to the point of bleeding and tooth loss due to their ultimate boredom (Pacelle). Pigs are subjects to abuse and improper living conditions. 

Pigs are not the only factory farming animals forced to live in horrific conditions. Egg laying hens experience the horror as well. 95 percent of egg laying hens live out their lives in barren battery cages, and with that government policy calls for an egg laying hen to have approximately 67 square inches of space for living equaling about two thirds the size of a piece of standard computer paper (Pacelle). Six to eight hens cram every barren battery cage full (Pacelle). These hens are put under immense stress from their living situations. They climb on top of and urinate on each other incessantly, which results in the hens losing their feathers (Pacelle). Egg laying hens, pigs, and all other factory farm animals do not live in healthy conditions.

The maltreatment of farm animals is not limited to the way that they are forced to live, but extends to physical harm inflicted on them by a farm’s employees. In one account reported by Rolling Stone Magazine an undercover worker for the HSUS explained to the magazine that one specific worker, “seemed to take pleasure in abusing newborn pigs - flinging them around by their legs, boasting of stabbing a sow with a pen and ripping the ear off of another” (Solotaroff). There are few workers assigned to upwards of a thousand animals to “care” for, so maltreatment becomes inevitable. As workers become stressed or annoyed they take their anger out on the farm animals, and in the end these animals experience grave pain solely as an outlet of stress and satisfaction for the employees. Factory farming is an unethical method of raising livestock as animals are physically abused for the pure enjoyment of it. 

Environmentalists, animal activists, and vegetarians all can agree on one thing, “that factory farming is immoral because of what it does either to suffering animals or to the natural order” (Sapontzis). The animals on factory farms defecate enormous amounts of waste. Each year, the factory farming industry produces about 500 million tons of waste, and farms cannot seem to dispose of their animals’ waste fast enough (Solotaroff). When waste is removed from the barns it is brought to large outdoor pits or lagoons, which are often located near larger bodies of water such as rivers. The farm animals waste is stored in these pits and lagoons in order to be later on used and sold as manure for a further profit. The problem with this method is that oftentimes the lagoons will leak into surrounding bodies of water and pollute them. In 2013, it was reported that there were 35,000 miles of polluted waterways across 22 states in the U.S. (Solotaroff). Manure emitted into the environment can cause grave dangers to the wildlife and the people around the area. 

A man named David Kirby wrote a book titled Animal Factory in which he writes about the pollution brought to the environment as a result of factory farming. He focuses in on the pollution brought to the Neuse River in North Carolina. In the 1990’s, many pig farms popped up in the North Carolina area. It was at this time that local residents noticed strange occurrences taking place on the river. One of those occurrences being the death to marine life, countless numbers of dead fish appeared on the surface of the river each day, but dead marine life was not the only strange occurrence to happen. People who had come into contact with the water developed red sores on their bodies, and reported confusion. (Suddath) The people of North Carolina were baffled as to what was causing all of the chaos. It was later on revealed that waste from the pig farms was running into the water and this caused deadly toxins to be released into the river water, and causing harm to both the marine life, which rooted for the harm of those who had come into contact with it (Suddath). The 500 million tons of waste produced by factory farms each year brings harm to the environment as it has the potential to kill wild life and pollute breathing air with deadly toxins.

Factory farming brings grave harm to the environment, and in today’s society harming the environment in any way is a serious matter. Global warming and the talk of the ozone layer deteriorating has become more prevalent. Moving towards an era of efficiency and going green, the United States uses earth friendly tools such as solar panels, recycling, and wind turbines to be more kind to the environment. Factory farming may be holding the United States back from being environmentally friendly. This method of raising livestock harms the environment in several ways such as requiring large amounts of natural resources to operate such as water. The water used to feed millions of farm animals takes away from the source used to feed the rest of America. Not to mention, both air pollution and toxins are emitted into the environment from waste storage of farms, which can be very dangerous if not cared for properly. This waste is known to also leak into surrounding bodies of water across the United States and creates unsafe water for both marine life and the human population. As a result, factory farming has shown to be something that causes large amounts of pollution on the environment

The factory farming industry harms a population that many are unaware of; humans. Meat produced on factory farms can be dangerous for several reasons. Living in confined quarters disease spreads extremely fast from animal to animal and the constant fear of outbreak is always present. Jonathan Anomaly, a professor at Duke University, weighed in on this topic within his article “What’s Wrong With Factory Farming?” in which he states that, “Living in close confinement can induce stress and suppress their immune systems, raising parasite loads, and making animals more susceptible to infections” (246). Disease and infections are not limited to farm animals. They can spread from the animal to the human just as fast. Consuming meat that has been infected with viruses such as Swine Flu and Avian Flu can easily spread from animal to human and infect the human body. This deems a major problem within the factory farming industry as it’s consumers have the potential to become seriously ill upon ingesting their meat.  

In an effort to cease rapidly spread diseases on factory farms, farm animals take antibiotics daily, “Nearly half of all antibiotics worldwide are given to farm animals to promote growth and prevent diseases… In the US, an estimated three quarters of all antibiotics go directly to livestock on factory farms” (Anomaly, 248). Antibiotics not only help to keep disease from spreading, but it also promotes the growth of farm animals. Major downfalls come with feeding farm animals antibiotics such as antibiotic resistance, which can weaken the immune system of both the farm animals and humans. Antibiotic- resistant bacteria can spread from the animal to a human easily in ways such as handling raw meat containing antibiotic- resistant bacteria, eating the cooked meat, or consuming crops fertilized by waste of an animal who has antibiotic- resistant bacteria (Anomaly, 248).  Resistance to bacteria can be dangerous to both farm animals and humans. Immune systems of those who contain antibiotic- resistant bacteria are weakened due to the inability to fight off viruses and diseases. Factory farming is an unethical method of raising livestock as the excessive use of antibiotics in the industry harms the human population and suppresses immune systems.  

Harm brought to the human population as a result of factory farming further extends to the problem of the overconsumption of meat. Each year, the United States slaughters nine billion broiler chickens, 33 million cows, 113 million pigs, and 250 million turkeys (Solotaroff). This equals about 405 million animals killed each year for human consumption. Factory farms often sell their meat to fast food chains across America, meaning that factory farming contributes to directly to the United States obesity crisis (Velez- Mitchell). Eating at a fast food restaurant in America is considered a norm. The juicy burgers and delicious fried chicken ordered off the menu comes directly from factory farms. Not only is the meat consumed from fast food restaurants dangerous to one’s health risk because of gaining weight, but also dangerous to one’s risk for a diagnosis of cancer.  An article published by the American Cancer Society states that, “eating 50 grams of processed meat every day increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%” (Simon). Fast food chains meat is considered to be processed as the meat is chemically cured in order to have a longer shelf life. Factory farming results in the production of processed meats used at fast food restaurants which can increase a person's risk of obesity and even cancer. 

In addition to processed meat leading to cancer and obesity and cancer, a high protein diet can lead to serious health risks in a person. Excessive meat consumption has been linked to causing a multitude of health problems. These problems include “high cholesterol, heart disease, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and sleep apnea” (Velez- Mitchell). Living with health problems such as these are not easy. They often require daily medications or shots, and frequent visits to the doctor in order to monitor progress. Medications and doctors’ visits may add to the list of an individual’s expenses. An expense which is not necessarily cheap. A lengthy list of health problems as well as possible health care costs may caused from eating large amounts of meat, is it worth it? 

The argument against the factory farming industry greatly outweighs the argument for the factory farming industry. Factory farming causes harm to animals. Factory farming causes harm to the environment. Factory farming causes harm to the human population. All of this harm for what? For the exchange of inexpensive meat, which may possibly be filled with disease and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Then the issue of proper protein consumption arises. When a person thinks of what a good source of protein is, it can be assumed that a juicy steak pops into their mind. Yes, meat is a great source of protein but it is not the only source of protein that the human body can receive. Organic beans, chickpeas, peanut butter, quinoa, and lentils are all great sources of protein that can replace a high protein meat based diet. The costs outweigh the benefits in these circumstances.

The problem with factory farming is that it is unethical, but with every problem comes a solution. The unethicalness of factory farming comes about as a result of the policy that is “enforced” upon the system. 

Keeping an eye on the way American meat is grown. That’s rightfully the job of U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the agency is so short- staffed that it typically only sends inspectors out to slaughterhouses, where they check a small sample of pigs, cows, and sheep before they’re put to death. That hour before her end is usually the only time a pig sees a government rep; from the moment she’s born, she’s on her own, spending four or five years in a tiny crate and kept perpetually pregnant and ade sick from breathing in her own waste while fed food packaged with growth- promoting drugs, and sometimes even garbage. (Solotroff)

A solution to the problem may be policy change, which means that the government needs to get involved. A policy change such as government workers for the USDA to be required to visit factory farms monthly, bimonthly, or even semiannually can make all the difference. This has the potential to stop all of the shady “under the table” type of work that factory farm workers partake in. A policy change on the food and drugs that farm animals are allowed to consume also has the potential to make a significant change in the way that the industry is ran. Regulating the food to what an animal is naturally supposed to eat will create a much healthier product for the consumer and omit the garbage and miscellaneous bagged food that the animal had once been forced to eat. The European Union follows policies such as the banning of antibiotics, gestation cages, and battery cages (Anomaly, 251). These policies are present in some of the States across America but not fully accepted by the United States. A law to pass this policy will greatly help to improve the quality of life of farm animals and in turn make our meat happier and healthier. One final policy change to be considered in farming industry is to instill a policy in a way that the amount of waste produced on factory farms is disposed in a proper manner that will reduce pollution to the air and waterways across the United States. Policies like these may help to improve the factory farming industry to be one that is more ideal to the consumer’s health, the environment health, and the animals well-being.

With policy changes like these comes funding. Funding from the government and therefore increased taxes on the American people. This is a major point of controversy for reforming the factory farming industry. The American people do not want to pay more than what they have to in an order to save money. But, spending an extra dollar or two on meat products can make all the change in the United States. This extra dollar or two can increase the quality of life of animals and the quality of life of humans. Funding reform for the factory farming industry will create a better living environment for farm animals. An environment in which animals can be animals. Meaning they can have natural instincts and exercise. In addition, the animals will be fed what they are naturally supposed to eat and will consume no antibiotics. This in turn makes the meat slaughtered antibiotic resistance free, so a human’s immune system will not be suppressed. Paying more tax dollars to reform the factory farming industry will bring it back to a method of raising livestock that is ethical, and in turn create a healthier America. 

The maltreatment of animals, pollution of the environment, and harm brought to the human population come together to show that factory farming is an unethical method of raising livestock in the United States. Helpless animals are abused, forced to stand in one place their whole life, and are driven mentally anguished from living under stressful circumstances. Factory Farms release toxins into the air and waterways which harm marine life and the people who live around the affected areas. Humans are put at serious health risks such as resistance to antibiotics and cancer. All of these harms for the purpose of selling meat at a cheaper price. The price of factory farming ethically is through the roof, and policy changes are desperately needed in order to change the system to be both ethical and just. Joel Salatin, a farmer, once said “while vegans and meat-eaters disagree, we can all be united in our fear and hatred for the horror that is factory farming.”
