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PART ONE - An Introduction to Factory Farming

Published August 14, 2006
by Larry Parker



Wikipedia states that "Factory farming is a term used to describe a
set of controversial practices in large-scale, intensive agriculture,
usually referring to the industrialized production of livestock,
poultry, and fish. The methods deployed are geared toward making use
of economies of scale to produce the highest output at the lowest
cost."


At first glance, one can't help but notice a few interesting terms in
this definition, like "controversial practices", "intensive
agriculture", and "industrialized production", words that certainly
conjure up a set of powerful images. But of even greater importance
than these is the phrase: "...making use of economies of scale to
produce the highest output at the lowest cost." And, what does this
mean exactly for the purposes of a discussion about farm animals?
Simply that the owners, developers, and managers of factory farms,
under whose care reside hundreds of millions of farm animals, have
only one primary concern in mind, one goal that drives them - the
bottom line! The animals themselves mean nothing more to these
business people beyond their ability to "produce the highest output at
the lowest cost". A far cry from the caring farmer and concerned
caretaker from whom our meat and dairy products were obtained not more
than just a few years ago.


No indeed. What's going on today cannot by any perturbation of meaning
be referred to as farming. Today, with the exception of a few
surviving family farms, our meat and dairy production has become
completely dominated by large corporations. While the animals, whose
lives are controlled by these agribusiness entities, are looked upon
as mere commodities, food machines if you will. And in the quest for
greater profits, the treatment of these creatures has become more and
more barbaric.


At this very moment, countless numbers of animals that possess the
exact same feelings and sensitivities as your dog or your cat are
being forced into lives of protracted suffering and pain. Pigs spend
the majority of their lives confined in small metal cages known as
"gestation crates" where they're not provided enough room to even turn
around. Calves are confined in small cages known as "veal crates"
where, for their entire lives, they're chained by the neck to prevent
them from stretching, lying down comfortably, or turning around,
thereby inhibiting muscular development and making their meat more
tender. Egg-laying hens spend their lives crammed together with four
or five other hens in "battery cages", where they're not allowed
enough room to even walk or stretch their wings. And, tragically
enough, these practices are but the tip of the iceberg!


Factory farms have gained an immeasurable foothold in our economy, and
until such time as the movement to rid ourselves of this cancer gains
enough momentum, other means must be found to protect the animals. At
the very least, we should strive to provide relatively humane living
conditions for them, which, even in an industrialized indoor
environment, is not impossible.


The proponents of factory farms will, of course, do and say anything
they can to defend their "business as usual" position. The lobbies
which support and protect these interests are numerous, and they're
powerful. They'd have you believe that the arguments being made
against them are extremist or alarmist, that the animals really don't
mind the treatment they're receiving, or that the task of feeding a
hungry populace must take precedence over the feelings of the animals.


My response to this is quite simply that you should decide for
yourself what is right and what is wrong, or whether or not the
treatment of the animals should be considered and to what extent.
Please. therefore, take the time to follow and investigate for
yourself the links that have been provided. Educate yourself about
what is going on in this country for the sake of corporate profits and
at the expense of the welfare of defenseless creatures, who, of all
things, look to us for their stewardship.


Next Time: Inside the Heart of Darkness