Factory Farming: Mechanized Madness

Intensive livestock farming: Specialized efficiency

I thought it might be an interesting exercise to look at some of peta's propaganda and debunk some of the myths.

The test in black is taken directly from their factsheet. The text in red is the truth.


The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past, which are still portrayed in children’s books, have been replaced by windowless metal sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems—what is now known as “factory farming.”


First, lets get one thing straight. The term, "Factory Farm" was coined by the media in the mid 1970's it portrays an image that the animal rights movement has manipulated and exaggerated to the extreme in order to shock the public into believing all livestock farmers are evil animal torturers. Second, children's books and movies are the only places those idyllic barnyard scenes, where all the animals lived together in clean knee deep straw, under perpetual sunshine, ever did exist. The real lives of both farm animals and farm families was harsh and cruel. Ask any senior citizen who farmed during the thirties forties and fifties which they prefer and I doubt a single person will tell you it was better then.


Farmed animals have no federal legal protection from horrific abuses that would be illegal if they were inflicted on dogs or cats: neglect, mutilations and drug regimens that cause chronic pain and crippling, transport through all weather extremes, and inhumane slaughter.

Yes they do, at least in western countries. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, EU countries and Scandinavian countries all have excellent animal welfare laws and codes of conduct for intensively farmed animals. Scandinavian laws are particularly strict. What economic benefit would there be in not treating the animals well? There would be none. Profits are tiny enough without deliberately damaging the product. To treat the animals as you suggest would be the equivalent of General Motors leaving some engine parts out, then slashing the seats and chipping the paint before shipping the cars to the showroom. They just wouldn't do it, and neither would a livestock farmer.


Yet farmed animals are no less sensitive, intelligent, or capable of feeling pain than are the dogs or cats whom we cherish as companions.

As a general rule farmed livestock are not kept as domestic pets. Unlike dogs and cats they are large and cumbersome, expensive to keep and cannot be housetrained.



Deprivation and Disease
The factory-farming system of modern agriculture strives to produce the most meat, milk, and eggs as quickly and cheaply as possible—and in the smallest amount of space possible.

Exactly. Less space leaves more of the countryside available for crops,wildlife and recreation. Tiny profit margins per animal, and often a loss per animal, means we must produce large numbers of animals in order to make any money.


Cows, calves, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, rabbits, and other animals are kept in small cages or stalls, where they are often unable to turn around.

Nonsense. Cows and calves normally range in open pasture, dairy cows may be kept indoors in open barns, poultry are normally kept in open barns, with the exception of layer hens that are sometimes kept in battery cages, but this is increasingly not the case, Rabbits may be kept in open barns or cages, but the cages have plenty of space for movement, and raising young. Sows In North America are sometimes confined to stalls but this practice is increasingly being phased out in favour of housing pigs in large open barns with bedding (loose housed). Loose housing is the normal practice for sows in Europe and Scandinavia.


They are fed drugs that fatten them faster, and they are genetically manipulated to grow faster or produce much more milk or eggs than they would naturally.

"Genetic manipulation" as you put it has been going on for millenia. It is more accurately called selective breeding. By continually selecting only the most productive animals the standard is constantly improved. It has nothing to do with drugs. Even Noah selected the best animals to take on the Ark.



Because crowding creates an atmosphere that welcomes disease, animals in factory farms are fed and sprayed with huge amounts of pesticides and antibiotics, which remain in their bodies and are passed on to the people who consume them, creating serious human health hazards. The industry simply could not continue to raise billions of animals per year in such extreme conditions without the drugs that allow animals’ bodies to survive conditions that would otherwise kill them.

Gosh, wherever did you dredge up this nonsense?

No, nothing could be further from the truth. Animals are treating with antibiotics if they develop a bacterial infection. This helps the sick animal return to a normal state of health and helps prevent the spread of disease through the herd.

All drugs have a "withdrawal period" this is the number of days after the last treatment that all traces of the drug are cleared from the animal's body. The animal or its produce (milk,eggs) cannot be used for human consumption until after the withdrawal period has passed. In many cases, animals that have been given any drug are tagged (with a strikingly coloured tag) so that they can be easily identified at slaughter. These tagged animals may be processed separately or even sent to a different facility. It is rare for animals to be treated with any drug within 30 days of slaughter, this is way longer than any withdrawal period. Carcases are routinely tested for drug residues and there are large fines for those whose animals test positive.

With some animals, poultry for example, or if disease becomes endemic, antibiotics may be administered through the feed or water system, in this way the stockman can be assured that every animal is treated. Withdrawal periods still apply. Antibiotics do not promote growth. However, an animal that is in good health will eat more and therefore grow more than one whose health is compromised. Antibiotic resistance in humans does not come from antibiotic use in food animals, it comes from the over use and incorrect use of antibiotics in humans. I.e.. Not completing a course of prescribed antibiotics and using antibiotics when not necessary, for the common cold for example.

All livestock are periodically treated with anthelminics to control parasites, but this is no different to using Revolution or flea spray on your dog or cat. Not using these products would result in the possibility of parasites being passed into the food chain.








Quote of the day


What we must do is start viewing every cow, pig, chicken, monkey, rabbit, mouse, and pigeon as our family members.
Gary Yourofsky
- The Toledo Blade (June 24, 2001)

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