Ethical Ethics Of Factory Farming

"Veal calves, taken away from their mothers shortly after birth, live their entire lives in near darkness, chained by their necks and unable to move in any direction. They commonly suffer from anemia, diarrhea, pneumonia and lameness" (Motavalli N.p.). Veal, chickens, pigs, cows, and all other livestock animals are exposed to horrifying conditions when facing the end of their lives. All of these unethical experiences are due to factory farming. Factory farms are massive, dark, mechanized versions of the old-fashioned, outdoor, American farm that most think of. Leaders of the meat industry and other companies aspiring for rapid success use factory farming to gain the most profit they can for the least amount of effort and money put forth. There …show more content…
"A study funded by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that 95 percent of Americans believe farm animals should be well cared for" (Balk N.p.). In a society where the majority believes in the well treatment of animals, it is not surprising that most are unaware of the unethical practices in factory farms. If the population knew the circumstances placed on the animals such as chaining, crating, burning, dragging and more, all while still alive, there is no doubt that more people would protest and stop eating meat. "You 've got heat stress, rapid growth stress, ammonia stress due to poor air circulation, broken bones from rough handling," says Temple Grandin, an expert in low-stress animal handling facilities and professor of animal science at Colorado State University (Kimble-Evans N.p.). There is no ethical justification of these …show more content…
These leaders of big industry make the point that high yields, such as those seen in the graph, would be unattainable without factories. Scientists do not agree with these ideas and have the evidence for why not. "Britain--with 56 million people--could support a population of 250 million on an all-vegetable diet" (Motavalli N.p.). Options including lowered meat consumption would also be beneficial to the health of humans, along with higher sustainability; rate of disease would drop, rate of cancer would be lowered, and deaths from health problems would decline. Consumption of red meat clogs arteries and may lead to death or can even be a carcinogen, Ann Gibbons of National Geographic notes this saying, “Our gut bacteria digest a nutrient in meat called L-carnitine. In one mouse study, digestion of L-carnitine boosted artery-clogging plaque"(31). It is not necessary for the human body to eat meat for three meals a day, or even any meat at all. The hormones, additives, and genetically modified foods are not meant for human consumption. Man-made chemicals were not around for hundreds of years and humans have still lasted this