Factory Farming Can Help Feed the Masses Jamie Geller 21 November 2011 Research Writing Sample With

precipitously rising populations, a plummeting economy and worldwide environmental concerns expanding at an exponential rate, there is one question on everyones minds: How are we going to sustain ourselves in the future? The answer to these problems is factory farming. Factory farming successfully produces large amounts of inexpensive food in condensed spaces, as opposed to spread out organic or free range farms which produce less food for a higher cost on their farms. Nowadays, people are starting to comprehend how our habits have negatively impacted the environment that has always provided our resources. As these resources are rapidly diminishing, action must be taken to insure the welfare of the planet. This modern method to growing food in an organized and controlled factory farm is the most beneficial solution for the population, economy and the Earth. By concentrating production areas, more sustenance is produced in less space and made readily available to a larger market with cheaper prices. The vertical integration and concentration of the farms allows goods to further drive down prices, making the food more accessible. Furthermore, by using minimal land and scientific advancements to catalyze food production, less land is compromised than with traditional farming. While some argue that factory farming is unethical in its treatment of animals, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. Those against factory farming have been unsuccessful at stopping it due to a guileless reality: the results of factory farming are what consumers demand. The factory farmers are solely meeting this demand as efficiently as possible with the aid of modern technology and innovation.

Factory farming is the most progressive farming approach that benefits the population, the economy and the environment beyond than any other modern farming method. The widespread infamy of factory farming is best debunked through the causes and values of its innovative features. Some may argue that the value of organic farming is more beneficial to both people and the environment because it allows animals more room to roam around which some consider to be healthier for the animals. However, factory farming clearly is able to feed a higher percentage of the population than organic farming can do because of the standard of efficiency held by factory farms in producing goods. Richardson says, Contrary to the negative image often associated with large farm operations, the U.S. population's requirements for dairy products is best fulfilled and most sustainable through the application of modern agricultural techniques (Richardson). As Richardson suggests, the true value of factory farming lies in its ability to satisfy many of the nourishment needs of the world. Nowadays, with the escalating population size and the trend to eat more than ever before, factory farming is the only method to sustain current nutritional demands; no other farming method can even come close to producing the same value and amount of food. Furthermore, factory farming is typically done in a smaller area than environmentally friendly organic farming; factory farming leaves more land untouched and able to run its own natural life cycle. Additionally, it adds more bang for your buck. As opposed to organic farming, the dollar can go a lot further in purchases of factory farmed food. If more farming methods changed over to factory farming, less land would be used by man and would allow nature to run its course without human interference. Factory farming has demonstrated the potential to give back more to the environment and take less from our wallets.

Factory farming is a modern technique less than a century old that has rapidly changed the way that food is produced and distributed. The discovery of vitamins A and D in the 1920s gave way to the beginning of factory farming. Until that point, traditional spread out family farms were the global norm and mass production was barely a known phrase. Soon enough, the traditional farming ways gave to those with a scientific method. Brady says, Business found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using mechanization and assembly-line techniques (Brady). Because of the vitamin discoveries, animals could grow to full size indoors without ever seeing sunlight or requiring exercise. In the following 70 years this business and consumer base would only continue to expand. Combining new scientific understandings of vitamins with nature and farming generated successful results that many food empires including Tyson and McDonalds attribute much of their success. The vitamins allow animals to grow larger and therefore each individual animal has a higher value. Factory farming enables more animals to be placed in a smaller precinct in order to keep production costs and retail costs at their absolute minimums. Corporate giants have progressively cornered the market in this industry. Ferrell says: In developed nations, factory farms have expanded rapidly since their origins in the early 20th Century. So much so that in the U.S. only 3% of farms now generate an astonishing 62% of that nations agricultural output! In fact only five food retailersaccount for a whopping 42% of all retail food sales in the U.S. (Ferrell). These brands, all household names, have clearly reached their target market and have been successful in their endeavors as their size and profits can confirm. Although small in numbers, these factory farms are clearly the most efficient since they produce more than half of the nations agrarian goods. The global domination of the fast food

industry continues to increase the demands for mass-produced food at rock bottom prices, causing the expansion and popularization of factory farming to swell conversely. Financially, factory farming is beneficial because of large companies control over every aspect of production. Ferrell explains Typically, they control all aspects of production, including animal rearing, feeding, slaughtering, packaging and distribution a process known as vertical integration (Ferrell).

Through vertical integration, the powerful companies do not have to worry about rising prices on independent farms or separate shipping charges because they are all in their control and work as one fluid system instead of involving many different companies in the process. This system leaves less room for miscommunication between different steps in a products creation and distribution and saves money because the different middle men are essentially cut out of the process. In comparison, organic farms often depend on local businesses and various companies and distributors to create products which is a much more expensive method. Factory farming allows not only better communication when making and selling food, but allows companies to control prices as well since there are less external factors.

A main benefit of factory farming is its ability to produce and distribute more food to more people around the world. David Adam says, In the UK, we are becoming less self-sufficient in food. I think it's possible in the next 25 to 50 years that there will be food shortages in the UK (Adam). If the UK would to adopt more factory farming methods the country could easily combat food shortages and dependency on other nations for food, which is also more expensive to import in compassion to local farms; it would

make food more accessible to the masses in location and price. The high demand for the inexpensive food that comes from factory farming is what drives the business in the first place. It is clear that these adaptations are already in progress. Smith says, Between 1950 and 2000, the number of dairy cows in the United States fell by more than 50 per cent, yet during that same period the average annual milk yield more than tripled. Looking purely at the most efficient, profitable and productive way of organising milk production, it would seem that large-scale farming wins hands down (Smith). This change in the United States is something especially boast worthy in our innovative nation. As demands have risen in the last half-century, factory farmers have found ways to minimize the number of animals, and therefore expenses, and still meet the amassed demands for milk. The modern system of farming is simply more efficient and cost effective than those of past generations. Farming methods should only continue to progress in this to meet the growing demands. It is simple math to why factory farming is such a highly successful business venture. Ferrell explains, Because factory farms are so large, they achieve economies of scale, producing much more food at cheaper prices than smaller farms (Ferrell). The perceived value of factory farmed goods appeals to the consumer base because at the end of the day they want to put food on the table and save as much money as possible. Clearly, the demand is present and growing around the world as more people realize how much they can save by buying food from factory farms. Factory farming is the safest method of farming for the environment because it uses less land and is beneficial to animal health. Adam successfully summarizes why using factory farms is better for the land than organic. "There are only two ways to do that [use farmland]. We either take land from rain forests or we intensify existing farms.

We will protect the wild environment by making better use of farms" (Adam). Clearly, maximizing usage of smaller amount of land is the better option for the environment. Environmentalists must agree that leaving as much land alone as possible is the best thing that we can give back to our environment and factory farming successfully accomplishes this goal. Factory farming is better for animals than organic farming because they are cared for more diligently by the farmers. Most factory farms have veterinarians looking to maintain the best health of the animals in order to create the best food to sell. Turner elucidates: Feeding farm animals has the aim of maximizing yield and huge resources worldwide are devoted to providing high quality, specialized feed to maximize the animals physiological performance (Turner). Since factory farming is in essence a scientific method of producing food, they have clearly developed the most effective ways to treat the variables in production- the animals. Therefore, much thought and effort goes into figuring out the most efficient ways to grow the animals into the best quality food possible. In other farms, not as much care is given to the animals in this sense and while many labels say free range it really means that the animals are left to their own devices, whereas factory farm animals are heavily supervised and taken care of when needed. Smith explains: The barns have a $1million air conditioning system to keep cows cool in the summer, and they are properly insulated for winter. The cows are under 24-hour surveillance, and the farm employs four full-time vets and 20 cattle hands. Manure from the farm is vacuumed up before being put through anaerobic digesters, which produce 100 per cent of the farms electricity (Smith). In comparison to organic farms where animals are often left outside despite predators and harsh weather, factory farm animals

seem to be getting a lot closer to a spa treatment. Whereas organic farm animals are susceptible to diseases they can pick up outside, factory farm animals are under constant medical supervision and care and have the necessary food and medication administered to the animals as requisite. Additionally, factory farms innovation also allows them to be more environmentally friendly by recycling the manure in a creative way by converting it into a sustainable electricity source as opposed to organic animals whose manure just stays on the ground. Factory farming is beneficial to the world as whole because it helps combat concerns with feeding the growing populations demand for food, the high cost of food and helps the environment. The causes and values of factory farming are clear and it is clearly a demand-driven farming method that has found ways to not only sustain what the people want but also what the environment needs. With the discoveries of vitamins that radically strengthen the animals, factory farming allows more food to be created in less space, a method that saves both land and money and allows food to be sold at a less expensive rate than organic farms can do. Vertical integration only drives down prices even more and makes the food accessible to a larger percentage of the population. The animals on the farm are well taken care of and receive superior treatment to any other type of farm animals. Overall, factory farming is the best farming method because it meets food demands, helps the planet, and doesnt rob your wallet in the process.

Work Cited: Adam, David. "'Only Intensive Farming' Will Feed Britain." The Guardian [London] 18 Apr. 2007. Print. Aldrich, Ian. "How Do You Make a Real Happy Meal?" Yankee 75.5 (2011): 94-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Brady, Diane. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. BusinessWeek 3978. (Apr. 3 2006): 13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Clarke, Philip. CWIF videos put factory farming in the firing line. Poultry World 165.9 (2011): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. Ferrell, Robert R. "Factory Farms: Are They Good for Consumers?" The Real Truth. 10 June 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.realtruth.org/articles/070601-004-ff.html>. Reboiro, Jato, Glez Dopazo, R. Glez, J.F. Galvez, R. Pavon, Pena Glez, and Riverola Fdez. "Using Inductive Learning to Assess Compound Feed Production in Cooperative Poultry Farms." Expert Systems with Applications 38.11 (2011): 14169-4177. Academic Search Premier Web. 3 Nov. 2011. Richardson, Jill. "Junk Science Study Says Factory Farming Is Better." Organic Consumers Association. 13 June 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. <http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18260.cfm>. Smith, Jason. "In Defense of Factory Farming." Spiked.com. 25 Oct. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. Turner, Jacky. "Factory Farming and the Environment: A Report for Comapssion in World Farming Trust." Compassion in World Farming. Compassion in World Farming Trust, Oct. 1999. Web. 15 Nov. 2011 Williams, Erin. "Appalling Animal Abuse and Food Safety Threats at Top Egg Producer." Humanesociety.org. The Humane Society of the United States, 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. <http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2010/11/calmaine_111710.html>.