Factory farming should be referred to as largely an industrial process that targets mass-produced animal products. According to the latest surveys on intensive production of farm animals, it becomes apparent that factory farming brings a number of risks and/or threats to public health and the welfare of animals themselves. Specifically speaking, factory farming as “a system of industrialized and intensive agriculture” (Foer 34) creates prerequisites for conceiving of animals as nothing more than a source of food derived from their bodies. It is not an exaggeration to say the 21st century trend of rising farm animal populations contributes negatively to the way animals are seen indeed. In concrete terms, the industrial animal farming leads the masses to think that animals should be viewed as commodities to be produced for profit. With the unprecedented increases in factory-farmed animals, the public’s predisposition towards regarding them as sentient beings is increasingly rare. Obviously, the system of farming that largely rests upon keeping animals in a small closed area does not make stress upon bringing the public’s attention to unique psychological characteristics inherent in these living things.
All in all, factory farming builds on raising animals exceptionally for food. It follows from this that intensive animal farming posits as a business that gravitates towards revolutionizing mass production of animals; in this way, companies engaged in factory farming are seeking to increase their profits. Due to America’s agricultural policy unfit for improving animal welfare, it is high time for both the public and authorities to rally together with a view to putting an end to a truly brutal treatment of animals. Obviously, the United States is at the critical moment in its history, the time when the nation needs to prove its ability to denounce the inhumane standard practices on factory farms.
Contemplating upon factory farming, it is imperative to attach the public’s attention to the fact that the prevailing majority of farmers practice what’s called cutting costs by mixing the remains of diseased animals into the feed. One cannot but encounter the fact that many factory farms demonstrate a strong reluctance to provide bedding, thereby showing no concerns for the lives of animals. Since animals are exposed to such an inhumane treatment on a daily basis, they face both boredom and stress, which in turn increases aggressive tendencies among the cattle. In order to manage animals behaving in aggressive ways, the bulk of farmers choose to administer drugs. As many experts in veterinary care report, giving a regular dose of antibiotics may seemingly have a positive effect on animals; in fact, however, antibiotic use for farm animals often jeopardizes the chances of protecting animals against various diseases. While “today’s business model is infinitely more efficient” (Kristof SR11), there is another side to the story – one of adverse consequences. To be precise, it is about an uncontrolled amount of drugs used in food-animal production that eventually leads to the excessive aggression in animals, the imbalance in the environment and new health risks.
Yes, as a matter of fact, factory farming positions itself as increasingly cruel towards animals; more importantly, however, this system occurs as extremely bad for the environment and our planet. After a thorough consideration, it may be assumed that the more the citizenry expands the insight into factory farming, strongly associated with cruelty and abuse that the system sticks to, the more chances there are that people will speak out against factory farming as a whole. Of course, one can come across multiple ideas on how to change the situation with regard to animal abuse in factory farms; and going vegan stands out as one of those methods that work towards curbing animal cruelty. In particular, going vegan means that you restrain yourself from consuming animal-based products, which in turn creates a platform for lowering demand for meat. Apart from the above-said, there are some other ways to help animals experience less harm. It is imperative to understand that disregard for expressing concerns about inhumane treatment of animals in industrial agriculture can only exacerbate the chances of improving animal welfare conditions. One has to take into account the fact that actions directed towards raising the public’s awareness would definitely make sense in this respect, since it is only after recognizing that animals are in danger because of human beings that factory farming can improve its deplorable conditions.
Among the strategies that aim to change factory farming industry for the better, it would be reasonable to place an emphasis on the one that encourages the masses to sign petitions. Surely, America’s society must draw special attention to the hidden power that well-organized groups of the public may be armed with. To put the matter differently, one has to be conscious that some organizations are ultimately committed to launching campaigns that intend to convey some important messages about factory farming industry in non-violent ways. By participating in the present, the masses are likely to create the future; to be more specific, the citizenry must be in favor of signing relevant petitions, for it, in fact, highlights their ability to rally together with intent to get some social issues on the public agenda. Clearly, petitions serve as a highly effective vehicle in calling upon the authorities to shift to another factory farming model.
In addition to a dire need to participate in signing petitions, the public must absolutely support farm animal sanctuaries, the organizations that advocate against factory farming as one of the worst crimes in history. Significantly, farm animal sanctuaries cultivate new thinking with regard to adequate production conditions for farm animals. By maintaining these organizations and appealing to commonly shared industrial farming concepts, the public works to convey the message and encourage the government to implement new policies. And, plus, it is important to support local campaigns that press for direct changes within the area of factory farming industry. In this way, most members of the society can get inspired with the idea of boycotting intensive animal farming.
The last but not the least, it is a critical moment for America to inform people about the urgent need to have a look at what they “as a society have done to animals” (Foer 93); this might constitute the major step towards putting an end to the suffering of millions of innocent animals. As for now, the U.S. animal abuse problem continues to remain hidden from public view, and the Trump administration could be some sort of the catalyst for a fundamental change in terms of the way people refer to factory farming.
In sum, it becomes evident that industrial livestock production strives to minimize feed cost, thereby maximizing profit. The major problem is that industrially farmed animals are subjected to a lot of abuses throughout their miserable lives. Clearly, factory farming is unlikely to be stopped overnight. Notwithstanding this, it does not mean that Americans should cease to act in a way that might greatly enhance the ability to contribute to US policy change. On the whole, though animals are treated badly in factory farms, there is a cure for people’s addiction to industrial agriculture; to fix this burning issue, the public needs to encounter the “realities of factory farming” (Foer 192) and reinterpret the attitude towards the price paid for cheap meat, respectively.
- Foer, Jonathan S. Eating Animals. New York: Back Bay Books, 2010. Print.
- Kristof, Nicholas. Animal Cruelty or the Price of Dinner. The New York Times 17 Apr. 2016: SR11. Print.
