Encyclopedia
Factory farming is a term used to describe a set of often controversial practices in large-scale,
intensive agriculture, usually referring to the industrialized production of
livestock,
poultry, and
fish. The methods deployed are geared toward making use of economies of scale to produce the highest output at the lowest cost. The practice is widespread in
developed nations, and most of the
meat,
dairy, and eggs available in
supermarkets are produced in this manner.
Factory farming may also describe
farms that grow
fruits and
vegetables as intensive monoculture crops, and applies to
bees for
honey production and
fur-bearing
animals for the
fur trade when they are raised in similar intensive conditions.
Origins of factory farming
According to Jennifer Abbott's documentary,
A Cow At My Table, the expression
factory farming originated within the
agricultural industry itself, but it is now primarily used as a pejorative term. In the US,
concentrated animal feeding operation , a designation of the
Environmental Protection Agency, is the term generally used within the industry and various government regulatory agencies for intensive livestock production; elsewhere, factory farming is also known as "industrial agriculture".
The practices of large-scale agriculture that are classified as factory farming are the result of various scientific discoveries and technological advances. Innovations in agriculture beginning in the late 1800s generally parallel developments in mass production in other industries that characterized as the
Industrial Revolution. The identification of
nitrogen and
phosphorus as critical factors in plant growth led to the manufacture of synthetic
fertilizers, making possible more intensive types of agriculture. The discovery of
vitamins and their role in animal
nutrition, in the first two decades of the
20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed certain livestock to be raised indoors, without
sunlight. The discovery of antibiotics in the 1940s facilitated raising livestock in larger numbers by reducing disease. Chemicals developed for use in
World War II gave rise to synthetic
pesticides.
The precise origin of the term,
factory farm, is not clear, although the
Oxford English Dictionary attributes the first recorded use to an American journal of economics in 1890, while it didn't enter pejorative use until the 1960s. A 1998 documentary film,
A Cow at My Table, showed the term being used within the agricultural industry as descriptive of "factory-like" farming operations. In recent decades, the term has been widely used by environmental and animal rights movements, and thus has a negative connotation, at least in public forums. However, it has also been included in modern dictionaries as simply referring to "large-scale agriculture".
Relation to E. coli outbreak
In 2006, there was an
E. coli outbreak among people living in many different states. The young and old proved to be most vulnerable to the bacteria, with many ending up in the hospital within just a day of eating spinach. Many of these people, who considered themselves health conscious and tried to eat the right things, were very suprised that this E. coli outbreak was traced back to bagged spinach.
Investigations are continuing into how E. coli ended up on spinach. Especially considering the following: E. coli is in the digestive systems some mamals including both humans and healthy cows. Most E. coli can be broken down by stomach acids. However, the strain most deadly to people, , easily survives a human stomach.
The deadly 0157 strain of E. coli is most commonly found in the digestive systems of
grain fed cattle. In 2003 an article in the Journal of Dairy Science found that between 30 and 80 percent of dairy cattle carry E. coli O157:H7. Most cattle and dairy cows live on efficient, high yeild, farms where they are fed nutrient-packed grain.
This is why, as was pointed out by an article in the New York Times, that the ultimate source of many E. coli outbreaks are meat and dairy farms.
As it turns out, the stomachs of cattle fed grain are unnaturally acidic which kills most E. coli but not the the 0157 strain - which thrives on it. Once in a while , the manure from these cattle can contaminate groundwater - spreading E. coli bacteria to produce growing on nearby farms.
There has been research showing a quick solution to ridding, or at least lowering, the E. coli levels in cows: Cows that are switched from a
grain diet to a
forage diet saw within 5 days a 1,000 fold decrease in the abundance of that the abundance of strain O157. Ultimately, the US spinach industry was the victim of an outbreak it didn't directly cause. Rather, the farms that produce spinach happened to be downstream of high-production, dairy and beef factory farms.
Factory farming of animals
Operations identified as factory farms are often involved in producing food for human consumption at the lowest unit cost. Certain farming practices are commonly cited when describing an agricultural operation as a factory farm; the scale and intensity of their application are also important factors. These practices may include:
- confinement — To save space and improve supervision and feeding operations, animals are confined in pens or cages. In some cases, animals may be confined in small indoor areas, unable to turn around, lie down, or move without contacting other animals.
- drug programs — Antibiotics, vitamins, hormones, and other supplements are preemptively administered to prevent potential spread of disease and encourage growth.
- processed feed — Feeds may be processed on site. While traditional feeds such as hay and grain may be fed to animals, recycled and by-product feeds may be added or substituted. This allows cows to convert otherwise unutilized nutrients into milk and meat .
- large numbers of animals — Farms may contain extremely large animal counts.
In the US, this type of business is identified by the federal government as a concentrated animal feeding operation , and as such is subject to anti-pollution regulations aimed at protecting groundwater.
Criticism
Opponents say that factory farming is inhumane,, poses
health risks, and causes
environmental damage. Arguments and claims include:
- Disease — Animals raised on antibiotics are breeding antibiotic resistant strains of various bacteria .
- Air and water pollution — Large quantities and concentrations of waste are produced . Lakes, rivers, and groundwater are at risk when animal waste is improperly recycled. Pollutant gases are also emitted. Dust, fly, and odor problems are created for people living in the immediate region.
- Inhumane — Crowding, drugging, and performing surgery on animals. Chicks are debeaked hours after birth, commonly by slicing off the beak with a hot blade. Confining hens and pigs in barren environments leads to physical problems such as osteoporosis and joint pain, and also boredom and frustration, as shown by repetitive or self-destructive behaviour known as stereotypes.
- Resource overuse — Large populations of animals require a commensurately large amount of water and are depleting water resources in some areas.
- Taste — Some opponents, especially those who support organic farming, also claim that the taste of the meat produced through intensive farming differs from naturally grown animals.
Opponents believe that factory farming is responsible for many foodborne illnesses and many of our food safety risks. An estimated one out of every four
cattle that enters a
slaughterhouse may host toxic forms of the bacteria
E. coli, and this is blamed on fecal contamination resulting from closely confined animals wallowing in their own manure. A
Consumer Reports study of nearly 500 supermarket chickens found
campylobacter in 42 percent and
salmonella in 12 percent, with up to 90 percent of the bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Eggs pose a salmonella threat to one out of every 50 people each year. In total, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 76 million instances of foodborne illness each year, and more than 5,000 deaths.
Proponents
Proponents, while they do not use the term
factory farming, claim that large-scale, intensive farming is a useful and proven agricultural advance. A variety of advantages are claimed.
- Low cost — Intensive agriculture is necessary to meet demand for affordable food.
- Efficient — Animals in confinement can be supervised more closely than free-ranging animals, and diseased animals can be treated faster. Further, more efficient production of meat, milk, or eggs results in a need for fewer animals to be raised, thereby limiting the impact of agriculture on the environment.
- Safe — Properly run factory farms meet and exceed the government standards for safe and humane food production of the countries in which they are located, and provide a stable food supply for the populace.
- Economic contribution — The high input costs of agricultural operations result in a large influx and distribution of capital to a rural area from distant buyers rather than simply recirculating existing capital. A single dairy cow contributes over $1300 US to a local rural economy each year, each beef cow over $800, meat turkey $14, and so on. As Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff states, “Research estimates that the annual economic impact per cow is $13,737. In addition, each $1 million increase in PA milk sales creates 23 new jobs. This tells us that dairy farms are good for Pennsylvania's economy.”
- Industry is responsible and self-regulating — Organizations representing factory farm operators claim to be proactive and self-policing when it comes to improving practices according to the latest food safety and environmental findings. A 2002 article by a representative of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, arguing against increased CAFO regulation, stated, "Poultry growers, largely free of regulatory controls, are managing their litter in an environmentally sound, agronomically beneficial manner."
Proponents also dispute the foodborne illness argument. They note the fact that
E. coli grows naturally in most mammals, including humans, and that only a few strains of E. coli are potentially hazardous to humans. They also note that diseases naturally occur among chickens and other animals. Properly cooking food can effectively remove risk factors by killing bacteria. Proponents argue that there is widespread demand for a cheap, reliable source of meat.
Factory farming of plants
Main article at organic farmingFactory farming also at times describes some large produce and grain operations. The general criteria are similar to those for livestock factory farms.
- large scale — hundreds or thousands of acres of a single crop ;
- monoculture — large areas of a single crop, often raised from year to year on the same land, or with little crop rotation;
- agrichemicals — reliance on imported, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to provide nutrients and to mitigate pests and diseases, these applied on a regular schedule; the use of fertilizer recycled from toxic waste and other hazardous industrial byproducts is common in the US.
- hybrid seed — use of specialized hybrids designed to favor large scale distribution ;
- genetically engineered crops — use of GMOs varieties designed for large scale production ;
- large scale irrigation — heavy water use, and in some cases, growing of crops in otherwise unsuitable regions by extreme use of water .
Critics of factory farmed crops cite a wide range of concerns, many of which have not been scientifically investigated to any great degree. On the food quality front, it is held by critics that quality is reduced when crops are bred and grown primarily for cosmetic and shipping characteristics. Environmentally, factory farming of crops is claimed to be responsible for loss of
biodiversity, degradation of soil quality, soil erosion, food toxicity and pollution .
Factory farming around the world
Rules and regulations governing agriculture vary by region. Where there is greater public concern over food-related issues, restrictions on farming practices tend to increase. In 2003, a Worldwatch Institute publication stated that "factory farming methods are creating a web of food safety, animal welfare, and environmental problems around the world, as large agribusinesses attempt to escape tighter environmental restrictions in the European Union and the U.S. by moving their animal production operations to less developed countries."
Social and ethical considerations
Factory farming has extremely vocal opponents, mainly from two broad-based camps,
animal rights advocates and environmental activists. These may be considered popular
movements, representing a diversity of philosophies, with individual organizations basing their platforms on everything from
science to
religion. There are groups specifically opposed to factory farming. Other organizations include factory farming as one of their areas of activity over a broader range of concerns.
The organic movement is a somewhat special case in this regard, by defining what is
not factory farming. A number of countries, including the United States, the member states of the
European Union, and
Japan have legislated
organic production standards which in practice prohibit factory farming. These detailed regulations cover all aspects of agricultural production, processing, storage and transportation. Requirements such as minimum open pasture area for livestock effectively preclude factory farming practices. Organic regulations are, however, in the domain of
consumer protection, not agricultural policy, and are entirely voluntary—only producers who wish to market "organic" products need apply. While
organic food represents only about 2% of food sales worldwide, some surveys indicate a disproportionately high degree of participation. For example, in the U.S., some recent surveys indicate that upwards of 50% of consumers say they purchase some organic food products on a regular basis, but it is impossible to determine from this the true level of concern over factory farming.
Alternatives to factory farming
The definition of factory farming is somewhat variable, and the proposed alternatives to factory farming are not sharply defined. In general, critics of factory farming advocate decentralized approaches to food production, such as smaller farms serving local markets, and the reduction or elimination of synthetic agents in agriculture. Some have also proposed
Genetically modified foods as a solution in alleviating some of the issues of factory farming, including excess use of pesticides and fertilizers. The most common counter argument is that chemical-based, industrialized farming is necessary in order to feed the billions of humans on the planet.
See also
References
Editors' note: Due to the controversial and current nature of this topic, certain cited sources may be challenged by some as biased and even non-factual. The onus on the individual reader to apply critical thinking, and perhaps to pursue further research on the topic, is likely to be greater here than for many other articles.
External links
Government regulation
- - from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
Proponent, neutral, and industry-related
- , article on case studies of the impact of large scale agriculture
- , Farm and Ranchers association
Criticism of factory farming
- resources for consumers
- - Article with links to photos and videos of factory farming
- - Video of Foie Gras production
- Promoting sustainable, responsible, and ethical animal husbandry
- from The Humane Society of the United States
- - Video of hens in battery cages at various intensive egg farming facilities.
- - a parody of The Matrix is a science fiction [i]/action [i] film [i] written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski [i] ...
- - the second installment of the Meatrix parodying The Matrix is a science fiction [i]/action [i] film [i] written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski [i] ...
- - a PETA-produced factory farm tour narrated by Alec Baldwin
- - Undercover investigation of a Tyson Foods processing plant
