When asked to think about farms, one typically thinks of cows grazing peacefully in a pasture and pigs running free. Even though this is what Americans think about farming, it is far from the normal in current times. Factory farming has taken over the way food is produced in the United States. It is becoming a growing social concern because people are starting to become aware of the health, economic and social issues factory farming presents. On the one hand, I agree with factory farming proponents that factory farming is an efficient way to produce mass amounts of food in an extremely short time period while also making a steady income. But on the other hand, I still insist that the problems with factory farming outweigh the benefits, which is why I believe that we need to completely get rid of factory farms. The animals in factory farms are being wrongly treated which is leading to many health issues. One of the main concerns of the public is the absurd amount of hormones being injected into the animals. More than eighty percent of all the medicines used in the United States are put into the animals we eat. The hormones being put into the animals are used for pain killing and to produce bigger animals, faster. Although I believe that pain killers are a necessary use of the hormones, the other use of the hormones is going against mother nature and causing harm to the animals we eat. Some of the chickens we eat gain too much weight in an extremely short time period and this causes them to be unable to walk. This is just one example of how badly treated the animals are. Another concern is the health of the animals due to the environment they are in everyday. When all the animals in factory farms are put into small areas, many of the animals pass away due to diseases and they are just left to lie in their cages. All the dead bodies, along with the helpless animals that are stuck standing knee deep in their own manure, make a breeding ground for different diseases that spread easily. Many times those diseases take days to catch and by then large groups of poultry are already being consumed by the people. This is when we get mass recalls on food because of dangers diseases found in the poultry. This hotel for germs is a major health concern for many of the workers as well. As the decomposing bodies of the animals lay for weeks, the air around these farms are contaminated with large amounts of diseases. Not only are the workers catching deadly diseases, they are at risk of becoming incurable. When the workers are exposed to the mass amounts of antibiotics, their bodies build up a tolerance to the medicine which causes a problem when they come down with illnesses. Another negative health effect is loss of hearing because of the loud, pain filled squealing that comes from the animals as they lay in pain or are being thoughtlessly slaughtered. Many people would say that organic is a good alternative to eating factory produced animals, but I would still argue that this is wrong. Organic meat is when an animal has not been given any kind of medications. Something that people do not realize is that organic animals are still grown on factory farms and that some of the medicines they are given are needed. I personally feel that organic is almost just as bad. The animals going through these factory farms are being put into a high stress situation and all this stress they are going through cause’s health problems. They are being killed without any kind of painkillers which is causing even more stress to their body because they are left to dye slowly and painfully. Factory farming is causing social and economical issues. These large factory farms are wiping out smaller farm towns because they are putting them out of business. The large companies come in and insist on buying out smaller family farms. They are forcing them into selling and this is causing an economical distress among these family farmers. They have a hard time competing with these factory farms because they produce a lower amount of product and the big fast food companies and grocery chains need mass amounts fast so they rely on the factory farms to deliver. It is sad that the family farms our country once prided itself in, is now becoming a rare seen. Not only are these factory farms affecting smaller farms but they also are affecting social classes. Less fortunate people are facing the problem of basically being forced to become obese. When healthy food costs almost double that of a meal at a fast food place, they have no choice but to eat the fast food. People should be just as able to buy healthy foods as they are to eat processed meats from factory farms. Although factory farming has its benefits, like being able to produce mass amount in a very short period of time, we need to stop and ask ourselves if factory farming is really worth it. The poor treatment of animals, the health hazards they present, and the economical and social problems prove that factory farming needs to be stopped as soon as possible.
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