Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms
Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms
“This is horrible! I can’t even watch this!” Those were my immediate thoughts the first time my eyes were opened to the inhumane animal cruelty on factory farms. Factory farming enables mass production to supply the demands of today’s society but also enables the cruel treatment of animals. We need to end the cruelty and abuse that these animals have to endure at the factory farms because it causes loss to the business, reduces the quality of the product produced, and endangers the health of those who buy the product. We can promote humane treatment of factory farm animals by prevention through education, by enforcing humane laws by being an example of humane animal treatment, and by donating and/or volunteering at local humane law enforcement agencies.
Cruelty and abuse of animals on factory farms cause loss to the business. Animals at the farms are injected with growth stimulants so that they can grow faster. According to Professor Ronald J. Adams, “A three-pound chicken can now be grown in approximately 6 week, a process that used to take four months (Adams, 2008).” The cost of the growth hormone is costing the company unnecessary money when all the animals need is more time. The use of growth hormone has been found to “increase bacterial udder infections in cows…increasing the need for antibiotics (Food safety, 2007).” Antibiotics are mixed into the animal feed “to fight disease associated with close confinement and stress (Adams, 2008).” Animals on the farms are forced to be inhumanely closely confined which creates great stress to the animals. One farmer who “stopped using antibiotics saved $12,000 a year (Weeks, 2007).” According to an article from Food and Water Watch, seventy “percent of all antimicrobials used in the United States are fed to livestock…25 million pounds…annually, more than 8 times the amount used to treat disease in humans (Food safety, 2007).” Without the use of antibiotics and without
“This is horrible! I can’t even watch this!” Those were my immediate thoughts the first time my eyes were opened to the inhumane animal cruelty on factory farms. Factory farming enables mass production to supply the demands of today’s society but also enables the cruel treatment of animals. We need to end the cruelty and abuse that these animals have to endure at the factory farms because it causes loss to the business, reduces the quality of the product produced, and endangers the health of those who buy the product. We can promote humane treatment of factory farm animals by prevention through education, by enforcing humane laws by being an example of humane animal treatment, and by donating and/or volunteering at local humane law enforcement agencies.
Cruelty and abuse of animals on factory farms cause loss to the business. Animals at the farms are injected with growth stimulants so that they can grow faster. According to Professor Ronald J. Adams, “A three-pound chicken can now be grown in approximately 6 week, a process that used to take four months (Adams, 2008).” The cost of the growth hormone is costing the company unnecessary money when all the animals need is more time. The use of growth hormone has been found to “increase bacterial udder infections in cows…increasing the need for antibiotics (Food safety, 2007).” Antibiotics are mixed into the animal feed “to fight disease associated with close confinement and stress (Adams, 2008).” Animals on the farms are forced to be inhumanely closely confined which creates great stress to the animals. One farmer who “stopped using antibiotics saved $12,000 a year (Weeks, 2007).” According to an article from Food and Water Watch, seventy “percent of all antimicrobials used in the United States are fed to livestock…25 million pounds…annually, more than 8 times the amount used to treat disease in humans (Food safety, 2007).” Without the use of antibiotics and without
References: Adams, R. J. (2008). Fast food and animal rights: An examination and assessment of the industry 's response to social pressure. Business & Society Review (00453609), 113(3), 301-328. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e9f18d7a-4fea-4815-99a8-6e5e73ea2ba4%40sessionmgr113&vid=6&hid=106. Clemmitt, M. (2010, January 8). Animal rights. CQResearcher, 20(1), 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.cqresearcher.com. Factory farming. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.wspa-international.org/wspaswork/factoryfarming/default.aspx Food safety consequences of factory farms. (2007, March). Retrieved from http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/images/food/factoryfarms/FoodSafetyFactoryFarms.pdf. Marks, R. (2001, July). Cesspools of shame: how factory farm lagoons and spray fields threaten environmental and public health. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/cesspools/cesspools.pdf. Suzworksy, R. (2001). From the marketplace to the dinner plate: The economy, theology, and factory farming. Journal Of Business Ethics, 29(1/2), 177-188. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=45a85a7a-c599-43a1-8cbc-6ef453142059%40sessionmgr112&vid=5&hid=106. Weeks, J. (2007, January 12). Factory farms. CQResearcher, 17(2), 25-48. Retrieved from http://www.cqreasearcher.com.