In 1800s America, when life was much more rural for most, backyard chickens were a common sight in many households. Families kept birds outside, regularly collected their eggs for consumption, and occasionally slaughtered them for the table. This image of a picturesque free-range life in harmony with humans is what many still imagine about where animal products come from. But sadly, this is no longer the case in the modern United States, and indeed much of the world.
In the 1920s, broiler farming – raising chickens specifically for meat production – was introduced for the first time. Farmers began raising birds in their thousands to increase profits and the era of industrialized factory farming began. Now, research suggests that most farm animals, not just chickens, but also cows, sheep, pigs and turkeys, are raised in factory farms for the food industry. In fact, in the United States, one study estimates that about 99 percent of farm animals come from industrialized farms.
But what is factory farming? Is it ethical? And how is it affecting the environment? Here, we take a closer look at the industry, but there are some options available.
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What is factory farming?
Although small family farms were the norm in many countries, this gradually changed with the rise of factory farming, a system of intensive, industrialized animal agriculture. Every year, billions of animals around the world are raised on these farms, which cram in as many animals as possible to maximize output and increase profits for the food industry.
In the U.S. alone, studies have shown there are about 250,000 factory farms in operation, many of which can hold thousands of animals. The average medium-sized poultry factory farm, also referred to as a concentrated feedlot operation, can hold about 125,000 broiler chickens. A medium-sized pig farm typically houses about 2,500 pigs, while about 30,000 chickens can live in medium-sized egg factory farms.
Is factory farming ethical?
Most animals are crowded together in factory farms, with little room for their natural behavior. In chicken factory farms, studies have shown that most birds occupy little more space than an A4 piece of paper. They are bred to grow abnormally fast so that their bodies produce more meat. In intensive pig farms, sows are repeatedly artificially inseminated and often placed in gestation crates, which are so small, they cannot turn around. The story is similar for cows, turkeys, sheep and other farm animals.
During their short lives, factory farmed animals often suffer physical pain (with chickens, for example, their legs may be bent as their bodies are bred into abnormal shapes), as well as emotional distress. The bottom line is: industrial methods of factory farming were designed to prioritize production and profit, not animal welfare.
But animal cruelty isn’t the only reason factory farming is considered unethical by many. Because of cramped, unsanitary conditions, industrialized agriculture is a breeding ground for disease. This means that antibiotic use is widespread across industries. In fact, some studies suggest that about 75 percent of antimicrobials are given to farm animals. But the consequences are disastrous. As a result of excessive drug use, the meat industry may be driving antibiotic resistance in humans.
And on top of that, it turns out, factory farming is bad for the planet too.
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Environmental impact of factory farming
Animal agriculture contributes to many major environmental problems. For one, it accounts for about 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.
Cows, in particular, are responsible for high methane emissions, a greenhouse gas about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. On average, a cow spews about 220 pounds of methane into the atmosphere each year. And in the United States, the beef industry has about 30 million cows raised on factory farms, and the dairy industry has about 9 million cows.
Factory farming is also linked to issues such as deforestation (agroforestry is the top culprit of tropical forest destruction), as well as air pollution and water pollution. The latter often occurs as a result of fertilizer runoff into local waterways, such as streams and rivers. It is harmful to underwater ecosystems, but it is also dangerous to humans, as it can contaminate drinking water. In October 2022, a lawsuit was filed against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for not doing enough to control this pollution from factory farms.
The lawsuit was filed by 30 environmental groups and included a declaration by Julie Duhn, a resident of Iowa, where more than one-third of factory-farmed pigs in the United States are raised. “There’s just so much wrong and it feels urgent,” he said Guardian. “Water is essential to life and when you can’t feel comfortable drinking it, let alone swimming in it, it seems very urgent to me.”
Mapping factory farms
Feeding the world’s factory-farmed animals is incredibly resource intensive. Most pigs, for example, eat corn and soy, the latter of which is also linked to high rates of deforestation. In fact, according to a recent report that mapped the world’s food system, pigs have the largest environmental burden because of the amount it takes to produce their food.
But cattle farming is not far behind, suggests the study – which was put together by 16 researchers from a range of universities, including the University of Leeds and the University of Santa Barbara – as dairy and beef make up around 25 per cent of the industry. Agricultural land.
After creating a digital map to show how much pressure animal agriculture and factory farming place on the environment, researchers discovered that the worst offenders (responsible for nearly half the food impact on the planet) are China, the United States, India, Brazil, Pakistan, and India.
But that doesn’t mean other countries are off the hook. A few initiatives have attempted to map factory farms to drive home how prevalent factory farming practices are in many countries around the world.
Sympathy for World Farming (CiWF), for example, produced a map of the UK, showing all the areas with the highest concentration of domestically reared cattle. In North Yorkshire, it was found that more than 7.2 million animals are confined to indoor factory farms. and in Norfolk, more than 12.3 million.
“This is the reality of factory farming that has spread worldwide to satisfy our hunger for cheap meat, dairy and eggs, at a great cost to animal welfare, human health and the environment,” notes CiWF.
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An alternative to factory farming
Factory farming is a threat to our health and the environment, and it’s also deadly to animals. But this is not the only way to produce food. Many scientists and researchers have instead advocated a shift to an animal-free food system, centered on plant-based agriculture.
In 2021, research from Our World in Data suggests that if we collectively shift to plant-based agriculture instead of animal agriculture, we could reduce land use by 75 percent, helping to mitigate issues like deforestation and biodiversity loss.
And in 2022, researchers at Stanford University and the University of California suggested that phasing out animal agriculture and switching to a global plant-based diet would “effectively halt the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases” for 30 years. As a result, it will be time for humans to make a transition away from fossil fuels.
We may not have moved away from animal products yet, but the plant-based food industry is growing. By the end of this decade, it is predicted to reach more than $162 billion. If you’re looking to break away from the factory farming system and try a more plant-based diet, we’ve put together a handy beginner’s guide to plant-based eating.
For more vegetarian guides, read:
Charlotte is a writer and editor based in sunny Southsea on the south coast of England.