5 Facts about Factory Farming You Should Know
No more willful ignorance
While discussions about animal welfare often center on popular topics, such as closing down puppy mills and boycotting Seaworld, I’ve found many people adopt an avoidant mindset to the harsh realities of the factory farm industry. Perhaps it is because it unveils some uncomfortable truths about our own impact on the lives of animals. But the only way for protections to be passed and welfare standards to be raised is if people are willing to confront what is currently happening
While instances of exceptional cruelty and abuse have been investigated and documented by activist groups, this article will stick to the standard practices utilized by the factory farm industry instead of focusing on extreme outliers in either direction.
1. Pigs in Gestation Crates
Pigs in the factory farm industry will spend the duration of their pregnancy inside of gestation crates. These enclosures are designed to enhance space efficiency and allow farmers to keep the most amount of pigs in the least amount of space, maximizing profits. The pigs can take a few steps forward or back but cannot turn around. The floors are slatted so that excrement falls down and can be collected in a lagoon below. An expectant sow will stay within these confined quarters for four months while she is pregnant.
After pregnancy, the pigs are then moved to a similar enclosure known as a farrowing crate. These are similar to gestation crates, but one side is grated to allow the piglets to access the mother to nurse.
These conditions are so brutal, they have been banned in the UK, Canada and Sweden but they are still legal in the majority of the United States.
Currently, only ten states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode Island have banned gestation crates.
2. Dairy Cows and Their Calves
What I’ve come to find is a surprise to many people is that dairy cows produce milk for the same reason as any mammal does — to feed offspring. This means in order for dairy cows to produce milk, they must undergo artificial insemination and pregnancy. After birth, the calves are removed so that the milk can be used for human consumption. Many animal rights activists claim that this process of separating mothers and calves causes distress in the animals, with the oft-cited Bovine Sophie’s Choice becoming a rallying cry.
But to maintain the needs of multiple industries, the calves are separated by sex so that the male calves can be culled for the veal industry. Female calves will go on to become future dairy cows. Keeping mothers and calves together cannot work in a system that relies on maximizing milk profits.
The process of consistent impregnation, birth and lactaction is also strenuous on the cows’ bodies. While a cow’s natural lifespan is around 20 years, most dairy cows start to wane in milk production at around 5 years old. Once their peak milk production is over, they are sent to slaughter for the beef industry.
3. Male Chicks to the Meat Grinder
In industrial agriculture, the chickens used for egg-laying and the chickens used for meat are bred for separate purposes. Male chicks cannot be sold as broiler chickens, nor can they produce eggs. As a consequence, male chicks are culled upon hatching.
In total, an estimated six million chicks are culled around the world each year. 300 million of them in the United States alone. They are normally killed via an industrial meat grinder which functions exactly as it sounds (watch here).
United Egg Producers (UEP) made a commitment to attempt to change these practices. A new technology would allow the gender of chicks to be ascertained prior to hatching. This system would prevent male chicks from ever being born. Unfortunately, their 2020 commitment came and passed without a shift in practices.
In July of 2020, UEP put out an updated statement claiming they are still seeking “an economically feasible, commercially viable alternative to the practice of male chick culling at hatcheries.”
4. Battery Cages and Debeaking
Battery cages are the most common housing for egg-laying hens. According to some sources, these housing conditions cause considerable frustration to the hens.
It has also been shown that battery cages frustrate hens in many other ways such as by preventing them from roosting high on a perch at night, by crowding them too close together, and by preventing them from performing some activities and adopting some natural postures. It can be concluded that battery cages lead to frustration in laying hens and this results in a serious reduction of welfare.
Ian J.H. Duncan, in Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (Second Edition), 2019
Due to the close proximity of the hens, farmers often have to take steps to avoid the chickens from harming themselves or their cage mates. Debeaking is banned in the United Kingdom due to extensive welfare concerns. Research has indicated that continued nerve pain is quite possible after beak-trimming, similar to phantom sensations seen in human amputee victims. The sensory receptors are cut from the tip of the beak which may lead to problems with natural behaviors such as eating.
It is still allowed in the United States with few regulations.
5. Foie Gras and Force Feeding
Fatty liver syndrome is something that can occur in both animals and humans. It can lead to fatigue, discomfort, cirrhosis and liver failure. And it is considered a culinary delicacy.
In order to reach this standard of fattiness, the ducks and geese within the industry must be force-fed by machinery until excess consumption creates the diseased liver craved by culinary experts.
The production however, is considered so cruel it is banned in multiple countries starting with India and then followed by countries such as Finland, Italy, Turkey, Germany and the Czech Republic.
California and New York City have instituted bans on the production of Foie Gras but it is legal everywhere else in the United States.
