What are the cons of factory farming?

Answer 1

Some arguments supporting factory farming are that this practice meets the recent and high demand of people on a meat centered diet. These practices can produce affordable meat both quickly and inexpensively. In addition, factory farming practices have made it possible for the United States to participate in a wider variety of exports and trades because we have generated such a surplus of food.

Answer 2

Factory farming actually doesn't exist. It is a term coined by animal rights groups in order to get the general public's attention to the few farms that raise their animals in much more intensive (and thus considered "very cruel") practices than the sunny, always-green fields of grass that everyone thinks animals are raised on--a Disney-like mentality that is highly corrupt.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations or CAFOs produce meat, dairy and eggs on a much larger scale and on a more timely and consistent basis than the "traditional" family farm of the pre-Dust Bowl era could have ever imagined of accomplishing. These farms can put out more food more often all year round than what many others think can or should occur.

Animals raised in an indoor, confined environment require less space per head than if they were raised free-range or naturally because the feed and water always comes to them, literally gets served to them everyday without these animals having to make the effort, do the work and risk the harm from predators of getting their own food themselves, as is the natural way of raising them. As a result they get the best feed with the highest nutritional quality because it is pre-determined and formulated as a ration--limit-fed or full-fed--for these animals to eat. They also get the best healthcare. Dairy cows are kept in a quiet, comfortable environment that is not nearly as miserable and stressful as the animal rights groups like to make the general public think that happen to them. None of these people as part of these groups ever realize that a stressed, unhappy dairy cow is a cow that won't be producing nearly as much milk as a dairy farmer would want her to produce.

CAFOs make food cheaper for people with less-than-average income to buy and eat. It also makes more food available for more people regardless of level of income.

Answer 3

Because it is notorious for its inhumane treatment of animals, and the fact that much of the sole purpose of raising animals like that is for profits only. Factory farming als contributes negatively to the environment and to human health, with issues in manure management and feeding livestock, and the extensive use of antibiotics as therapy drugs in animal feed, growth hormones, and even the sometimes unlawful feeding of animal proteins (made illegal a few years ago) to other animals, especially ruminants like cattle.

Many animals that are factory farmed are bred for the sole purpose of what they're supposed to produce, whether it's milk, meat or eggs. Consequentially, negative and more dangerous behaviours come about, which pose hazards for the human handlers as well as the other animals. For instance, an increase in selection for more milk from dairy cows has lead to dairy bulls acting more aggressive and overly masculine. Broilers, selected for their meat, get so much muscle on their bodies that their legs and feet can no longer support them properly. Turkeys get the same way, and have to be artificially inseminated for them to actually be able to breed. Layers get overly nervous and hyper at the most trivial things, and are more prone to bone diseases because they have been selected to produce more eggs. Pigs have gotten much like the broilers have, hand have to be fed steriods for a couple months just for them to be able to walk up the trailer to the slaughter plant.

There are all sorts of issues with factory farms, and except for the income recieved, not much else that is good comes out of it.

Answer 4

There really is no such thing as "factory farming," as it is not recognized as a type of farming operation by any government or private agricultural business organizations or sectors.

Confined animal feeding operations are used so that more animals can be housed in a smaller area--being primarily indoors--so as to get a greater output in a shorter period of time. It is currently the only farming practice that can sufficiently sustain a large urban-based population with food--meat, milk and eggs--all year round with consistent, constant products distributed to a grocery store.

Answer 5

Factory farming does not exist. It is not a term that is recognized by any level of government or agricultural or business entity. Hence the question has no merit, unless it is implying about confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.

CAFOs are able to carry greater animal units over a smaller piece of land due to confined spaces and availability of feed through labour and mechanized operations. A consistent, quality product is available to consumers during all seasons, and is capable of feeding a greater number of people than the more "sustainable" alternative natural means of raising livestock. Dairy cattle, beef finisher cattle, hogs, chickens, turkeys and ducks are predominantly raised or kept in CAFOs.

Answer 6

• Factories are hard to plant
• Concrete and brick do not grow once planted, therefore no crop exists
• No harvester has been invented which can harvest a factory
• Hand labor is useless due to the size of the factory

Answer 7

The two largest advantages are lower cost and uniform product.