Factory farming is unsustainable and destroying the environment. For approximately the last 40 - 50 years, factory farming practices in America have been using any means necessary to supply the outrageous demand for meat. What once started as a small industry made up of individual farms has turned into a multi-billion dollar business at the cost of people’s health and the environment. These corporations bypass any concern for the damage they are creating by worshipping the almighty dollar. This is not only a problem in the U.S.A., but also in other developed nations that have fallen into the factory farming business. Many people never think about where their food comes from because by the time it reaches them, it is neatly packaged in a store
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Not only do we not have the type of intestines that are designed for carnivores, but we also don’t possess talons or sharp, pointed incisors needed to tear meat. If that doesn’t convince someone that we can either live without meat or we can drastically cut down on eating it, then perhaps we need to consider the epidemic of starvation in this world. An issue that is not discussed enough is the fact that we are feeding perfectly good food to animals which we intend to eat, instead of just feeding that food to humans in need. In fact, according to the research organization Food For Life Global, “more than one-third of all grain produced in the world is being fed to cattle and other livestock.” (Turner, Paul. “Our Human Responsibility – Practical Solutions to World Hunger.” www.ffl.org) That means that millions of acres of land are being cleared to grow grains to feed to cattle instead of the millions of people starving around the world. This not only causes an enormous amount of destruction to our environment by clearing the land so that grain can be planted, but it is also a waste of the food being grown. When that food is given to animals to quickly fatten them up for human consumption, the meat is then sold at what are considered high costs to many underprivileged people; thus continuing the cycle of destruction and …show more content…
There are so many dangers to the environment due to factory farming that I’m just going to point out a few I find very important. First off, looking at studies from environmental researchers we have found that: “According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, including 37 percent of methane emissions and 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. The methane releases from billions of imprisoned animals on factory farms are 70 times more damaging per ton to the earth’s atmosphere than CO2.” (Cummins, Ronnie. “How Factory Farming Contributes to Global Warming” www.ecowatch.com ) To put it simply, we have overproduced animals by such an amount that their emissions and waste are literally poisoning the air and water we need to survive. Nature never intended to have so many animals in large concentrations destroying the ecosystem in this way. If animals were left to their own devices, they would naturally regulate the cycle of life and death and their manure could actually help improve the soil. If that’s not scary enough, let’s look at the fact that having thousands of animals cramped together unnaturally in cages and confined
Not only do we not have the type of intestines that are designed for carnivores, but we also don’t possess talons or sharp, pointed incisors needed to tear meat. If that doesn’t convince someone that we can either live without meat or we can drastically cut down on eating it, then perhaps we need to consider the epidemic of starvation in this world. An issue that is not discussed enough is the fact that we are feeding perfectly good food to animals which we intend to eat, instead of just feeding that food to humans in need. In fact, according to the research organization Food For Life Global, “more than one-third of all grain produced in the world is being fed to cattle and other livestock.” (Turner, Paul. “Our Human Responsibility – Practical Solutions to World Hunger.” www.ffl.org) That means that millions of acres of land are being cleared to grow grains to feed to cattle instead of the millions of people starving around the world. This not only causes an enormous amount of destruction to our environment by clearing the land so that grain can be planted, but it is also a waste of the food being grown. When that food is given to animals to quickly fatten them up for human consumption, the meat is then sold at what are considered high costs to many underprivileged people; thus continuing the cycle of destruction and …show more content…
There are so many dangers to the environment due to factory farming that I’m just going to point out a few I find very important. First off, looking at studies from environmental researchers we have found that: “According to a 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, including 37 percent of methane emissions and 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions. The methane releases from billions of imprisoned animals on factory farms are 70 times more damaging per ton to the earth’s atmosphere than CO2.” (Cummins, Ronnie. “How Factory Farming Contributes to Global Warming” www.ecowatch.com ) To put it simply, we have overproduced animals by such an amount that their emissions and waste are literally poisoning the air and water we need to survive. Nature never intended to have so many animals in large concentrations destroying the ecosystem in this way. If animals were left to their own devices, they would naturally regulate the cycle of life and death and their manure could actually help improve the soil. If that’s not scary enough, let’s look at the fact that having thousands of animals cramped together unnaturally in cages and confined