Factory farming is not extremely beneficial, but society needs industrial farms. While factory farming now controls a majority of the market, it was not always this way. On the contrary, individual farmers once supplied the United States with food instead of Massive company farms. However, even though small farms still comprise a majority of all farms, they retain very little control of the agricultural market. In general, large farms tend to rapidly produce meat. Consequentially, this results low food prices due to high efficiency and factory production methods. Therefore, consumers pay for the products and not the added costs from labor or land needed to care for livestock. In other words, everything gets done quickly and with as little cost
…show more content…
In general, the quick production of products on factory farms ensures low food prices. To explain, statistics show that citizens consume over “…10.378 billion U. S. land animals… nearly 25% of the total estimated number of non-aquatic animals killed for food in the world” in simply one year alone (Pluhar 456). Essentially, this means any farm taking over the food supply must produce equal that which factory farms produce. Moreover, any change in farming methods cannot substantially increase the price of food. If prices rise, then many citizens would suffer due to the inability to purchase products more costly that what their income once afforded them. Therefore, an immediate end of factory farming cannot take place. However, a gradual conversion to sustainable farming solves nearly all of the issues will the current agricultural market. In essence, agricultural experts argue that sustainable farms require “low-input farming aimed at direct markets… [it] is environmentally sound… and economically viable” (Macher 156). Sustainable farming does not require excessive amounts of labor nor high costs for antibiotics. Over time, sustainable farms will develop unique methods just as effective as current practices. Although society remains concerned about price, a transfer of government funding to sustainable farms rather than corporate facilities minimizes or …show more content…
In order to understand the advantages of sustainable farming, one must first know the downfalls of factory farming. To enumerate, factory farming results in large amounts of pollution. While large farms offer greater efficiency, the animal waste becomes problematic due to its high concentration. According to researchers from John Hopkins, factory farms are like nightmarish hospitals in which everyone receives medication, hygiene does not exist, and waste gets haphazardly flung from the windows (Phular 457). Essentially, large farms struggle to dispose of waste. Fecal matter and other byproducts of raising livestock build up once space becomes limited. Eventually, waste begins to pollute soil and groundwater around factory farms. In general, studies show that the toxic pollutants contained in manure and waste from industrial farms create “…more nutrients than crops can absorb” (Heinzen and Russ 477). However, sustainable farms do not have as great a concentration of animals. To explain, the ground has time to absorb the extra nutrients from waste. Firstly, this allows the ground to become fertile as it gathers more nutrients. Afterwards, as is the case in sustainable farming, the livestock can then rotate to another piece of land as crops are planted within nutrient rich soil. This also prevents excessive amounts of pollution from invading the surrounding
In general, the quick production of products on factory farms ensures low food prices. To explain, statistics show that citizens consume over “…10.378 billion U. S. land animals… nearly 25% of the total estimated number of non-aquatic animals killed for food in the world” in simply one year alone (Pluhar 456). Essentially, this means any farm taking over the food supply must produce equal that which factory farms produce. Moreover, any change in farming methods cannot substantially increase the price of food. If prices rise, then many citizens would suffer due to the inability to purchase products more costly that what their income once afforded them. Therefore, an immediate end of factory farming cannot take place. However, a gradual conversion to sustainable farming solves nearly all of the issues will the current agricultural market. In essence, agricultural experts argue that sustainable farms require “low-input farming aimed at direct markets… [it] is environmentally sound… and economically viable” (Macher 156). Sustainable farming does not require excessive amounts of labor nor high costs for antibiotics. Over time, sustainable farms will develop unique methods just as effective as current practices. Although society remains concerned about price, a transfer of government funding to sustainable farms rather than corporate facilities minimizes or …show more content…
In order to understand the advantages of sustainable farming, one must first know the downfalls of factory farming. To enumerate, factory farming results in large amounts of pollution. While large farms offer greater efficiency, the animal waste becomes problematic due to its high concentration. According to researchers from John Hopkins, factory farms are like nightmarish hospitals in which everyone receives medication, hygiene does not exist, and waste gets haphazardly flung from the windows (Phular 457). Essentially, large farms struggle to dispose of waste. Fecal matter and other byproducts of raising livestock build up once space becomes limited. Eventually, waste begins to pollute soil and groundwater around factory farms. In general, studies show that the toxic pollutants contained in manure and waste from industrial farms create “…more nutrients than crops can absorb” (Heinzen and Russ 477). However, sustainable farms do not have as great a concentration of animals. To explain, the ground has time to absorb the extra nutrients from waste. Firstly, this allows the ground to become fertile as it gathers more nutrients. Afterwards, as is the case in sustainable farming, the livestock can then rotate to another piece of land as crops are planted within nutrient rich soil. This also prevents excessive amounts of pollution from invading the surrounding