cows in the farm

The Problematic History of Industrial Animal Farming

For millennia humans and animals lived side by side, working together to create a balanced ecosystem. Humanity approached animal consumption with humility and respect, recognizing their role as leaders on the earth, not owners or rulers.

Origins of Industrial Animal Farming 

Unfortunately the last two hundred years gave way to an industrial and technological revolution that effectively separated humanity and the natural world, inflating the eager ego of the materialist western world.

Along with the self-centered idealism humanity developed food production practices that valued monetary gain above health and the environment, practices that we now see as distinct problems not only for humans, but for the entire planet.

The doughy eyed, post world war United States found itself at the forefront of the world’s fast growing technological advances, which at the time appeared to be amazing progress in human history, but as we now know this heedless progression separated humans from their environment like never before.

The latter half of the industrial revolution saw the advent of antibiotics, the discovery of vitamins, and the invention of synthetic pesticides inspired by chemical weapons used in WWII. All of these technologies would sooner than later be used and abused in the agricultural business, giving rise to intensive animal farming also known as factory farming.

The factory farming process is designed for one thing only: to produce the most amount of food at the lowest cost possible, regardless of the quality of food or quality of living for the animals.

The more common victims are cows, pigs, and chickens. The animals are forced to live at high densities in confined indoor spaces, at the expense of the animal’s health and humane treatment. This method of food production not only gave rise to problems like unethical treatment of animals and over use of drugs on farms, but also created a rift between the accelerating pace of human living and the natural world.

In 1947 Britain began giving subsidies to farmers who implemented more technologically advanced techniques on their farms, this is often recognized as the official start of the factory farming agenda. In 1966 The United States and the United Kingdom began factory farming cattle and domestic pigs with seemingly unbiased success which then led to the globalized use of factory farming techniques in many other industrialized countries. The reasoning for this intensive process was due to the increasing population of the western world, to assure that there is plenty of food, but why choose the most inhumane and morally deficient route possible?

Key Issues with Industrial Factory Farming

Any small amount of research on factory farming yields devastating results, a vicious cycle of problems arising and attempting to be solved with quick fix methods regardless of long term repercussions.  This creates problems not only for the animal’s well-being, but for humans alike.

Antibiotic Resistance

One very pressing issue is the rise of microorganisms that are resistant to antibiotics and potentially deadly.  Antibiotics have been used in industrial farming since 1946, and the use of the drugs increased 50% between 1985 and 2001. Due to the extremely harsh living conditions of livestock on factory farms, animals are fed an array of antibiotics to help thwart the spread of disease. Pigs are crammed into confined spaces, packed densely into cages where they are forced to live in piles of feces and other bodily fluids. These conditions are ideal for the spread of harmful microorganisms, which in turn are dealt with by creating various antibiotics over and over again, thus allowing the organisms to evolve and become resistant to the medicine, creating disease that costly drugs and research can only begin to treat. Long term effects of this haphazard practice could find the human race in the midst of a microorganism that cannot be eradicated, spreading disease quickly and easily.

Physical Stress on Animals

Another issue that is directly a problem for both animals and humans is the physical abuse if the animals in the factory farms. All factory farms force their animals to live under stressful conditions, being packed tightly into small spaces, subjected to abuse by their handlers, and being pumped full of drugs are only a few broad examples of abuse. This unethical treatment causes the animal’s health to decline, which is not only cruel, but also affects the meat that is being eaten to be affected negatively, causing endorphins to be released into the meat along with various drugs. These drugs include the aforementioned antibiotics along with vitamin supplements and hormones. Hormones are used to increase the growth of the animals for maximum quantity, disregarding quality.  The Hormones are given to cows for increased milk production; even know the dairy industry’s most used hormones have been linked to increased risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Animal Waste Management Problems

This abuse is not limited to animals and humans alone, the lack of effective waste management practices poses a threat to the environment itself. The dense populations of animals in such small spaces makes for a lot of waste that is subsequently taken care of using chemicals and waste lagoons, but not before infecting the water, soil, and air first.

Cruel Physical Abuse of Animals 

Pumping the food supply and the animals themselves full of harmful drugs is not the only form of abuse. It is very prominent on these farms for the handlers of these animals to physically abuse the animals. Tasers and various other violent tools are used to herd the animals and reprimand them if they don’t obey the unnatural demands of the handlers. Animals are slaughtered in unethical ways often not being killed while fully aware of what’s going on. This fear and stress carries over into the meat, milk, or eggs through naturally occurring chemicals that become the sustenance for the human population, while simultaneously furthering the separation of humans from our fellow creatures.

Separation of the Human and Animal Connection and Economic Impact

Alongside the obvious health risks the factory farming industry poses, there are economical down falls as well. In the 1930s 24% of the American population worked in the agriculture field, in 2002 the numbers were dramatically lower at 1.5%. The focus on increased production regardless of quality led to the increase of automated techniques such as machine milking cows. This not only eliminates a very important job market, but also contributes to the separation of humans and the animals, eliminating emotional investment and cruelty free practices.

Since the beginning of the factory farming agenda there has been an emphasis on animal products for human consumption, leaving behind the mostly plant based diet that upheld humanity for so many centuries. The variety of foods that humans consume has decreased exponentially in the past two hundred years, leaving many important plants behind in favor of meat and other animals products.  It is no secret that a great first step in changing the dietary landscape of our culture is to focus on plant based meals in efforts to fight against the unnecessary need for huge commercial factory farms.

Industrial Factory Farming – A Thorn in Humanity

Factory farming is an obvious thorn in the side of environmentally conscious humans, and although the wound created by the industry is deep the population is taking action against the practices. Many states and many major companies in the United States have publicly sided against cruel farming practices. As an undeniable influence on the entire world the U.S. needs to lead by example.

Today we see the subtle changes; the popularity of the vegan diet, each generation becoming more and more fed up with current industry, and even government agencies taking action. The USDA implemented stricter rules for farms, calling for better living conditions for animals on organic farms. The small steps that can be taken to change the industry seem simple; larger and more natural space for animals to thrive, drug free food supplies, laws against inhumane treatment, positive human/animal interaction and connection, and plant based diets will lighten the load on the industry and make for dramatic change for a more balanced and beautiful world. It is up to humanity to put these practices into motion, we need to reclaim our state of symbiosis with the natural world before it no longer exists, and the role of the human in this equation is leader.

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