What is Factory Farming?

Factory farming (also called concentrated animal feeding operations- CAFO's) is the mass production of beef, pork and chicken for human consumption.

"Concentrated" is agri-business speak for animals confined in small, cramped, filthy yet efficient spaces as though they are nothing more than inventory.

One of the many problems with this is that the animals are alive. They feel pain and they suffer when their natural needs for movement, socialization and sunlight are denied. It's only human to see that this is not an acceptable way to treat helpless creatures. The more moms who know about it the better.

There is an award-winning animated film about factory farming called The Meatrix that brilliantly explains the problems with farm factories.

It's short so give it a watch as soon as you can. It gets the message across in as gentle a way as possible for such an emotional topic.

In the meantime, here are some highlights of farm factories and feedlots:

• Every cow on feed lots produces 25 pounds of manure daily
• 80 percent of the grain fed to most hogs is genetically modified
• A sow typically produces five artificially inseminated litters of 8-11 pigs before her productivity declines and she's off to slaughter
• Egg-laying hens cages are lined up like agricultural crops in that their movement is so severely restricted they may as well be planted
• Baby chicks are born in incubator drawers then crowded into "grower houses" to live in half a square foot of space until slaughter
• Broilers fatten so fast their immature legs collapse under their weight, causing them chronic pain for the last 20% of their lives

Did you know that pigs are smarter than dogs? Until I started doing research for this site, I didn't. Can you imagine a dog being forced to endure this?

"Pigs have a four month pregnancy, during which time they are confined in narrow metal "gestation crates". Then, shortly before giving birth, they are moved to similarly restrictive "farrowing crates" to give birth and nurse their young. When the piglets are taken away at about 3 weeks old, the sows are re-impregnated. Hog factories strive to keep their sows '100 % active', as an article in Successful Farming explains, "Any sow that is not gestating, lactating or within seven days post weaning is non-active." When the sow is no longer deemed a productive breeder, she is sent to slaughter."

These pictures will give you a better understanding of the gestational crating of pregnant sows.

Believe it or not, the pigs are lucky. At least they get to nurse their young for 3 weeks. Cows on the other hand...well, watch "The Meatrix II - Revolting" to learn what is done to factory farm raised calves immediately after birth.

Water and Air Pollution

Factory farming operations have to do something with the tons of wastes created by the animals they are mass producing, so they create "waste lagoons" as holding areas. These lagoons often overflow or leak allowing the toxins in the waste - nitrates, drug-resistant bacteria, dangerous microbes - to seep into the groundwater contaminating the local water supply.

According to The Sierra Club "Drinking nitrate-contaminated water can cause "blue baby" syndrome in infants, which can lead to developmental deficiencies or death." High levels of nitrates in drinking water near hog factories have also been linked to spontaneous abortions.

People living near factory farming operations breate in numerous gases as the manure in the holding lagoons decomposes. The effects of just one of the gases, hydrogen sulfide, are:

• sore throat,coughing, wheezing
• shortness of breath
• headaches
• diarrhea
• seizures
• comas
• death

It takes 16 pounds of grain to bring one pound of beef to the dinner table. When I read this in the book "Mad Cowboy" I was stunned. I also learned that one acre of fertile land can produce:

• 40,000 pounds of potatoes
• 30,000 pounds of carrots
• 50,000 pounds of tomatoes
Or
• 250 pounds of beef

Growing meat for food uses 70 percent of the grain grown and 50 percent of the water consumed in the United States each year.

I'm not a vegetarian...yet. I'm definitely buying all our meat from as close to home as possible now though, and leaving the mass produced meats in the grocery store.

I'm finding it hard to get organic meat locally. Ok I'm finding it impossible. But small farmers use far less drugs, if any, and they are usually happy to talk to you about their products.

The more moms who stop buying mass-produced meats the better-off our children will be, as well as our environment. And we'll be lessening the suffering of the animals in the process. Sounds good to me.

Use the "Eat Well" link below to look for natural and organic meats near you: