Essay --

Factory Farming: Mass Production or According to the Organic Consumers Association, in 1970 there were approximately 900,000 family farms in the United States; by 1997 there were only 139,000 family farms. This number is continually decreasing by the year. Why is this a problem? Factory farms promote abusive practices in order to maximize production at minimal cost at the expense of the environment, the community, and even our personal health. They house thousands of animals and inject them with hormones in order to maximize their growth and food output. The techniques being used are inhumane and are used thousands of times a day. According to the Organic Consumers Association, two out of every three animal products in stores come from factory farms. Factory farms dominate food production throughout the country. Animals most commonly consumed that require large-scale farming practices are cows, chickens and pigs. The methods of farming are not only bad for the animals themselves, but it’s affecting the meat we put into our bodies, and is therefore affecting one’s health. Factory farms ultimately have a negative effect on the health of both the animal and the consumer of the animal product. In today’s traditional factory farms, beef cattle are being raised in cruel living environments. In an article written by Berry Estabrook titled Feedlots vs Pastures: Two Very Different Ways to Fatten Beef Cattle, published in â€Å"The Atlantic† written December 28th, 2011 says that most of Americas beef comes from factory farms. They are crammed by the thousands into crowded, confined dirt lots. The cattle have hardly any room to move around and are forced to live in piles of their own excrement. Due to the many cows, they are deprived from ve... ...hat can be made towards stopping factory farming corporations from taking over. One of those ways could be to discovering how animal products are made. You can research companies that you commonly buy to make educating purchasing decisions when buying items from a grocery store. If you decide to buy an animal product, look up if the animals were forced to live in confined environments or if they were raised in open fields in their natural habitats. We can also spread the word to others. Talk to them about the problems with factory farming and the issues and encourage them to take action. This can range to anyone from a small audience like your family, to a much larger audience like a local school. By taking these small steps you will impact animals that are being abused, your personal health, the health of loved ones, and the health of others throughout the country.