Changes In Factory Farming

Over the years farming practices have changed dramatically, and as a result many health complications have emerged. Because of the extreme transformations of agricultural practices, the health of animals, the environment, and more importantly humans have been put at risk. Today’s farming practices include feeding the livestock food they were not intended to eat corn and the remains of other animals. In contrast, farming in the 1700’s typically included animals eating grass (in which they were built to eat), living on an open range farm, and treating the animals with respect. These changes came about due to an increase in demands for meat as well as the desire for more money. Many Americans are oblivious to the changes that have been made in …show more content…
There have been many changes made to the way our farms are managed and how Americans get their food. For example, according to Animal Smart, today’s population produces on 2% of the fruit, vegetables, meats, and dairy. Looking back 200 years ago about 90% of our population produced their own food as well as lived on a farm. This change in farming has taken a toll on the food that is eaten every day. One major thing that is not thought of is how todays farmers treat the animals. Animals are put through physical and mental suffrage from being tightly packed in areas with no access to outdoors (Food & Water Watch). These animals do not have a choice in where they live and how they are treated but, farmers have a choice to treat them with respect in regards to making them comfortable. If the animals are not comfortable they can begin to be stressed which in return leads to a bigger problem. These stress-factors end up harming humans because when animals are stressed is has been proven that the livestock produces ill quality meat in regards to tenderness, perishability, and color (Science Nordic). Humans want to purchase the freshest looking meat so, if the meat does not look appealing and fresh then it will not be purchased. In addition to putting the animals through stress, they are pumped with large doses of antibiotics (Food & Water Watch). Pumping the …show more content…
Chronic health conditions have arisen like hearing loss, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, amputations, etc. (Physical disease & illness). All of these serious complications are typically overlooked and put the farm works health at risk. It may not be looked at as a problem now, but fast-forwarding to a few years it could produce a fatal outcome. To avoid most of these health impediments, the Workers Protection Standard was created in 1992, stating that workers must be provided with protection from potential pesticide exposure, be trained about pesticide safety, and be provided qualifications in case exposure occurs (EPA). Providing the workers with this has protected them from the harmful diseases that could occur due to pesticide exposure. In addition, the Food Quality Protection Act was established in 1996, to regulate the amount of pesticides that are introduced to our food so there is not an excess amount in the livestock (EPA). As imperative as this is for everyone, children are the ones who are most susceptible to pesticide related illnesses. Although this is not a part of farming practices, there was a book written on how factory food was being processed and how the workers were treated. The novel, The Jungle, focuses on the problems that were overlooked in the meat industry leaving the food unsanitary and disease prone. “These rats were nuisances, and