Factory Farming Research Paper

Marisa Runyon

English 101

Professor Blumberg

3 December 2012

Factory Farming

Civilization began with agriculture. For decades, farming has been associated with the production of basic food crops and plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. It can be considered the backbone of our society. Farming not only supplies the economy with food, but also provides thousands of individuals with jobs. When our society looks at farming we are showered with visions of cows lying peacefully in the lush green fields, pigs rolling around in the mud, and chickens roaming freely around the barnyard. We are empowered by the image of all animals running around gracefully. When it comes to buying groceries, it seems that many people are more concerned with saving a few dollars than saving the environment. People are excited to see the low prices of beef, pork, and chicken at the grocery store, but what they don’t realize is that the true costs are much greater than the price they pay. The idea of the animals living out their days in such peace is far from reality. A majority of these farm animals have miserable lives. Farmers today, motivated by greed and profit cage the animals in a warehouse in confinement to have as many animals as possible. In fear that the animal will act out with aggression, the animals’ bodies are altered; most drowned with antibiotics and hormones to maximize growth and encourage higher productivity. They don’t have the freedom we think; they live their life in fear of dying at any moment. This process that is nothing like what our society suspects is known as factory farming and is a huge threat to our environment as well as the people living in it today. The small tractor and traditional farming methods can no longer compete with the more efficient practice of factory farming. While factory farms are only trying to produce more for the vast population, why do they have to do so in such an inhumane way? Although factory farming has produced large...