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Salt Lake Community College"

The Global Effects of Factory Farming"

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Ethics, human health, and environmental impact. "
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Kathryn Buda"
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Biology 1010"
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William Green"
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4/17/2015"

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The problems arising from the animal agriculture industry is proving to be more

profound than previously considered. By definition, factory farming is a system of

rearing livestock using intensive methods, by which poultry, pigs, or cattle are confined
indoors under strictly controlled conditions. Although the barbaric techniques used by
factory farmers is reason enough to end the practice all together, human and
environmental well-being is now proving to take a hit from the widespread use of factory
farming. The inhumanity, health concerns and environmental implications of factory
farming produce a strong case against it. "

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Anti-biotic resistant bacteria !
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80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used on livestock and

poultry, not humans. Animals raised in a factory settings are commonly fed antibiotics to
make them more resistant to diseases and increase their weight. To improvise for the
crowded, unsanitary conditions, animals are fed antibiotics so they maintain their health.
By feeding animals who are not sick antibiotics it kills off the good or weak bacteria
and creates an ideal environment for antibiotic resistant bacteria to multiply. Drugresistant bacteria travels on meat, which in turn can travel directly into our bodies if
consumed. However, these dangerous bacteria can be transported in other ways as
well. The anti-biotic resistant bacteria can travel on animal feedlots and onto workers
who handle contaminated animals or meat. Contaminated animal waste houses this
bacteria and can travel via water, soil and air. A clever way these anti-biotic resistant
bacteria can grow their population is by teaching other bacteria how to be resistant."

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The Center For Disease Control stated in their 2013 report on antibiotic

resistance, Up to half of antibiotic use in humans and much of antibiotic use in animals
is unnecessary and inappropriate and makes everyone less safe. Many of the nations
leading scientific and health-focused organizations believe this to be a serious concern
and have started alerting the government and the public of a potential health crisis. The
Director General of the World Health Organization said, Things as common as strep
throat or a childs scratched knee could once again kill. ... A post-antibiotic era means, in
effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. While the bacteria grows stronger,
antibiotics will become weaker and less efficient. A broad coalition of prominent medical
and public health groups has also warned congressional leaders that the "overuse and
misuse of important antibiotics in food animals must end, in order to protect human
health."
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The chain of events that will likely occur in an instance of anti-biotic resistant

bacteria will happen as follows; (1) Use of antibiotics in food-producing animals will
allow antibiotic-resistant bacteria to grow while susceptible bacteria die; (2) Resistant
bacteria will be transmitted from food-producing animals to humans through the food
supply; (3) Resistant bacteria will cause infections in humans and infections caused by
resistant bacteria will result in adverse health consequences for humans."
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Although this problem will cause the most harmful health concerns in the

forceable future, the anti-biotic resistant bacteria is beginning to rear its head in
supermarkets today. 74 percent of store-bought raw turkey samples were tainted with
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria resistant to at least one antibiotic, researchers at

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Northern Arizona University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute reported
in 2011. The health concerns of Staph are, skin infections in exposed cuts and it can
produce toxins that cause food borne illness."
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The American Society for Microbiology suggests action must be taken, A

comprehensive approach to control and ultimately reverse antimicrobial resistance must

limit the inappropriate and non-judicious use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary
medicine and food production. With the booming animal agriculture industry, it is
important to the future of modern medicine that antibiotics are kept working by curbing
their misuse and overuse on the farm."

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Exploitation of animals.!
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Whenever people say We mustnt be sentimental, you can take it they are about to do
something cruel. And if they add We must be realistic, they mean they are going to
make money out if it.
~Brigid Brophy"

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Many animals that are being exploited in the animal farming industry today are

highly intelligent, social and sensitive creatures. Animal behaviorists say pigs are
smarter than dogs, cows develop friendships over time, and chickens are deceptive and
cunning. Research has shown that cows distinctly understand cause-and-effect
relationshipsa definite sign of advanced cognitive abilities. An example of this is that
cows can learn how to push a lever to operate a drinking fountain when they are thirsty.
Cows also enjoy the intellectual challenge and get excited when they find a solution to a
problem, like humans do. Journalist for the New York Times, James McWilliams, wrote a

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personal account explaining the anguish factory farmed mother cows endure and its
affect on his consumption of animal products:"
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I watched a video of a calf being born on a factory farm. The baby was
dragged away from his mother before he hit the ground. The helpless calf
strained its head backwards to find his mother. The mother bolted after her
son and exploded into a rage when the racer slammed the gate on her.
She wailed the saddest noise Id ever heard an animal make, and then
thrashed and dug into the ground, burying her face in the muddy placenta.
I had no idea what was happening respecting brain chemistry, animal
instinct, or whatever. I just knew that this was deeply wrong. I just knew
that such suffering could never be worth the taste of milk and veal. I
empathized with the cow and the calf and, in so doing, my life changed."

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Typical factory farms intensively restrict animals in large, overcrowds and barren

sheds, denying them the ability to engage in most of their natural behavior, the Humane
Society of the United States reported. Pigs rank number 6th on Animal Planets top 10
smartest animals list and the age at which humans are as smart as pigs is three. 60
million dogs live as pets across the United States, and over nine billion animals are
being run through Americas slaughterhouses each year. These facts put factory
farming into a larger perspective. Factory farms deny farm animals everything that is
natural and important to them such as maternal bonding, friendship and healthy living
conditions. The findings from a study by Macquarie University In Sydney, Australia
recognized that chickens have cognitive traits that were once thought to be restricted to
primates. This scientific discovery presents ethical concerns for how society treats

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farmed chickens. Chickens are smart, and they understand their world, Carolynn L.
Smith, author of the study states. Knowledge like this compels moral consideration of
the conditions that factory farmed animals endure as a result of an industry set on
producing cheap animal products rapidly. "
CO2 emissions!
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1,000 gallons of water is what it takes to produce one steak, according to People

for Ethical Treatment of Animals. The water and carbon footprint of a meat eater is
astronomically greater than that of a vegetarian or vegan. Managing the demand for
animal products by promoting a dietary shift away from a meat-rich diet will be an
inevitable component in the environmental policy of governments, Mesfin Mekonnen,
Department of Water Engineering and Management of the Netherlands, reported in his
2012 global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products. According to the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the animal agriculture
sector is responsible for 18 percent of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. This includes
the production of feed crops, the manufacturing of fertilizer and the shipment of meat
and dairy product. The implications of greenhouse gas emissions from human actions
are long-lasting as they can build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate. This can
lead to other changes in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans. The warming
effects on the climate can linger because many GHG stay in the atmosphere for
hundreds of years after being released, in turn effecting present and future generations
of plants, animals, and humans. "
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CO2 is considered the most powerful GHG as it has the most significant direct-

warming impact on global temperature as a result of the volume of its emissions. CO2

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is released from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum. Animal
agriculture produces CO2 in many ways. A significant way animal farming produces C02
emissions is the production of high energy feed. Factory farmed animals are normally
fed high-energy crops like corn which is dependent upon large amounts of fertilizer. The
production of fertilizer for feed crops has potential to emit 41 million tonnes of CO2
annually and globally, the FAO estimates. Desertification is another detrimental step in
animal agriculture. Grazing of pastures can cause fertile soil to dry and releases up to
100 million tones of CO2 into the atmosphere per year. "
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CO2 emissions is the most commonly recognized GHG, however, the emissions

of Methane (CH4) has more than 23 times the GWP of CO2. Its concentrations have
increased by 150% since 1750. Animal agriculture is responsible for 35-40 percent of
anthropogenic CH4 emissions, according to the FAO."
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Nitrous Oxide Emissions (N2O) has nearly 300 times the Global Warming

Potential (GWP) of CO2. Farm animal production across the globe which includes
growing feed crops accounts for 65 percent of global N2O emissions. The long-lasting
effects of Nitrous Oxide are detrimental to the future sustainability of the environment.
N2O can stay in the atmosphere for up to 150 years and its presence is substantially
greater now than ever before. Its concentration is now 16% larger than in 1750. The
causes for Nitrous Oxide and other harmful GHG to be emitted into the atmosphere can
be attributed to; high energy feed, fueling factory farms, processing and packaging,
deforestation, feed crop cultivation and desertification."
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Animal farming generates GHG emissions as well as toxic airborne pollutants

and ammonia that negatively effect the environment. The factory operated meat industry

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is not environmentally sustainable nor an efficient use of the worlds diminishing natural
resources."
Effects of factory farming!

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The factory farming industry puts unbelievable strain on our natural resources.

The extensive use of antibiotics on factory farms to counteract the health problems
caused by unsanitary living conditions can create drug resistant bacteria and put human
heath at risk. The inhumane treatment of billions of factory farmed animals each year
raises questions of ethics and empathy. The amount of waste created by farming so
many animals in a single place is polluting our land, air and water. Humans can take
steps to migrate the devastating effects factory farming has on animals, human health
and the environment by practicing three simple steps: reduce, refine, replace. "

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Works Cited"
"Antibiotic Resistance." Natural Resources Defense Council. Natural Resources "
Defense Council, Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2015."
McWilliams, James. The Politics of the Pasture: How Two Cattle Inspired a "
National Debate about Eating Animals. N.p.: Lantern, 2013. Print. "
Mekonnen, Mesfin M., and Arjen Y. Hoekstra. "A Global Assessment of the Water "
Footprint of Farm Animal Products." Ecosystems 15 (2012): 401-15. "
J-stor. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://waterfootprint.org/media/ "
downloads/Mekonnen-Hoekstra-2012-WaterFootprintFarmAnimalProducts.pdf>. "
"Positions of Medical & Scientific Organizations on Antibiotic Use in Livestock "
Operations." Natural Resource Defense Council. Natural Resources Defense "
Council, Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015."
Smith, Carolynn L., and Jane Johnson. "The Chicken Challenge: What Contemporary "
Studies of Fowl Mean for Science and Ethics." Between the Species 15.1 "
(2012): 75-102. United Poultry Concerns. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. "
<http://www.upc-online.org/thinking"
"Superbugs Invade American Supermarkets." Environmental Working Group. "
Environmental Working Group, 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. "
<http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/superbugs/>. "
"The World's Water." Information on the Worlds Freshwater Resources. Pacific "
Institute, Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2015."