Factory farming

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Factory animal farms produce meat through routine torture and environmental destruction Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

These farms are more like an assembly line system of animal harvesting than anything resembling a genuine farm or ranch. "Factory farming has taken the joy out of the lives of millions of calves and pigs, and billions of hens; it has driven countless family farmers off the land; it has polluted streams and rivers; it has injected massive amounts of antibiotics and other drugs into the public food supply resulting in serious health risks. It has lowered food quality," says Christine Stevens, author of the book factory farming, The Experiment That Failed.

REPPED: Public and environmental health is being severely threatened through the institution of animal factory farming, which pollutes our water, air, soil and even our bodies with harmful chemicals and pollutants. Corporations now have taken over the practice of family farming and have developed cost-saving mass-production strategies that are not only dangerous to public health, but are also cruel to the animals being processed.

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. See book keywords and concepts

Because of the toxins, antibiotics, steroids, pesticides, and growth hormones used in factory farming, I'm reluctant to recommend unlimited amounts of nonorganic meat and poultry. But let's not kid ourselves—protein is a critical part of a healthy diet. Of course we should try to get it from the healthiest sources we can (which, in my humble opinion, doesn't include fast-food restaurants). While it's certainly possible to be healthy on a vegetarian diet, it takes more planning than you might imagine.

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century James Howard Kunstler See book keywords and concepts

In fact, the current system is explicitly called "factory farming" by those who run it. The technology of factory farming promotes the expansion of farms by orders of magnitude above what had been the upper limit for traditional nonindus-trial farms. Increasingly farming has changed from being organized on a family and community basis to being corporate and national, even global, with few benefits for the localities where it takes place and with devastating effects on local ecologies and social relations. The diminishing returns of technology in farming have been especially vicious.

Factory animal farms produce meat through routine torture and environmental destruction Mike Adams, the Health Ranger See article keywords and concepts

While many other industrialized nations have enacted restrictions on cruel factory farming practices, the U.S. lags behind other countries on the issue of animal cruelty. The torture of animals is well tolerated in the United States today. (And why not? The U.S. also tolerates the torture of war prisoners. This "civilized" nation has proven itself to be anything but civilized...) According to interviews with slaughterhouse workers included in Gail Eisnitz's book Slaughterhouse, the end of an animal's life is a torturous and abusive process.

It has lowered food quality," says Christine Stevens, author of the book factory farming, The Experiment That Failed. Conditions inside animal factory farms To understand the conditions present in these factory farms, you must first examine what the animals in these factory farms are eating. The factory farmer has redefined what constitutes animal feed in a 'bottom line' effort to save money. They seem to care little about the health or the happiness of the animal, and instead treat it like a product.

Meat from members of the same species -- The factory farming industry is turning farm animals into cannibals. Scientific research has linked this practice to the spread of both mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE) and avian bird flu. Manure and animal waste -- This can include cattle manure, swine waste, and poultry waste. It can also contain wood, sand, rocks, dirt, sawdust and other non-food substances.

The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith See book keywords and concepts

In recent times, since the introduction of factory farming, large cattle-raising operations have mainly fed grain to their livestock because it's cheaper and makes animals fatter and heavier. That means more profits for food companies. Consequently, most of the cuts of meat in supermarkets are from grain-fed animals. However, the meat from grass-fed animals is more nutritious than the meat of grain-fed animals. It contains more conjugated linoleic acid (a component of fat that boosts fat-burning and the buildup of lean muscle mass), more omega-3 fats, and vitamin A.

Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food Ann N. Martin See book keywords and concepts

If you want to learn more about human meat production and the problems with factory farming in terms of animal welfare, health, and environment, read Dr. Michael Fox's book, Eating with Conscience: The Bioethics of Food.) Be creative when cooking for your companion animals. Just be sure that your pet gets a recommended balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. I guarantee your animal companion will love you for the homecooked meal! Dog Menu Simple Recipe 3 cups cooked oatmeal or cream of wheat 2 cups cooked ground beef 2 tbsp.

This material is often obtained from factory farming operations. Dried swine waste is an animal waste product composed primarily of swine excreta that has been artificially dehydrated to a moisture content not in excess of 15 percent. AAFCO states that "it shall contain not less than 20 percent crude protein, not more than 35 percent crude fiber, including other material such as straw, wood shavings, or acceptable bedding materials, and not more than 20 percent ash." As with the poultry waste, this often comes from large hog operations.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

Before factory farming, most crop species appeared in hundreds of varieties that were often admirably adapted to local soil types, weather patterns, and growing conditions. Replacing these many "heirloom" varieties with a few industrially bred ones not only allowed for the creation of the monocultures that corporate farms spray so vehemently to defend, it also drove many heirloom varieties into extinction. As we move away from petrochemical-based agriculture, we need to both rediscover and reinvent heirlooms.

Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini Gabriel Cousens, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

It is hard to believe that we can end crime, war, or hatred in the world as long as we are killing animals for our food, particularly in the modern era of brutal factory farming. The Mahabharata states: "What we eat in this life, eats us in the life after death." We must not forget the chain of karma: • Compassion and non-cruelty toward animals are linked morally and spiritually to world peace. Killing an animal for food, even one that we raise ourselves or hunted, is a violent act, which we forget in consuming its flesh.

What's In Your Milk?: An Exposé of Industry and Government Cover-Up on the Dangers of the Genetically Engineered (rBGH) Milk You're Drinking Samuel S. Epstein, M.D. See book keywords and concepts

The Parliamentary report also warned of the serious consequences of factory farming practices, involved in the large scale administration of rBST to cows. "rBST use removes the foundations of non-industrial farming." WHERE: Plaza Hilton, Vienna, Austria CONTACT: Michael Buchner (Animal Welfare), Robert Hanke (Communication Director), VIER PFOTEN (Four Paws), SechshauserstraBe 48, 1150 Vienna, Austria Samuel S. Epstein, M.D.

December 13,1999: A European Parliament Report warned that the use of rBGH, involving factory farming practices, "removes the foundations of non-industrial farming ... [and threatens] preservation of the agricultural landscape." December 20, 1999: Monsanto and Pharmacia & Upjohn merged in a $27 billion deal to create the 11th largest global pharmaceutical company with combined sales of $17 billion.

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century James Howard Kunstler See book keywords and concepts

The huge rise in world population and relative remission of global warfare in the decades since 1945 has also seen a tremendous increase in the factory farming of animals both in sheer numbers and scale of operation. This has led to many unhappy consequences, some of them rather arcane. For instance, when hurricanes Floyd and Irene successively struck North Carolina in 1999, the damage they caused was due not to high winds as much as flooding from torrential rains.

The technology of factory farming promotes the expansion of farms by orders of magnitude above what had been the upper limit for traditional nonindus-trial farms. Increasingly farming has changed from being organized on a family and community basis to being corporate and national, even global, with few benefits for the localities where it takes place and with devastating effects on local ecologies and social relations. The diminishing returns of technology in farming have been especially vicious.

North Carolina had somewhat recently developed an enormous pig factory farming industry, which was very hard hit by the hurricane-caused floods. As these storms sent local streams over their banks, untold quantities of pig manure and hundreds of thousands of drowned swine carcasses were distributed over the lowlands of eastern Carolina. In a matter of days, the dead swine began to rot. Groundwater was compromised for months afterward and homeowners who used wells—which were the majority of residents in these rural counties—had to make other arrangements for their water.

In the chaotic period around the peak oil event, China will not be without extraordinary problems of its own, starting with enormous population pressures, and moving on to massive environmental degradation and the incubation and spread of epidemic diseases, including deadly influenzas associated with factory farming as well as accelerated AIDS infection (see Chapter Five). The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak was a preview of coming attractions.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century Alex Steffen See book keywords and concepts

The race to develop GM crops is largely an attempt by large corporations to monopolize factory farming, and raises huge social and economic questions. Corporate research into GM crops is not geared toward redesigning crops for free distribution to the world's poorer farmers but toward design-patented products that prop up agribusiness and generate wealth for a powerful few. Nonetheless, genetic modification is not inherently evil, and when applied with wisdom, it can have positive results.

As a result, Cuba had no money with which to buy oil, fertilizers, or pesticides—the main ingredients of factory farming. One result was hunger. In 1989 Cubans were consuming an average of 3,000 calories per day; by 1993 that number had dropped to 1,900—the equivalent of skipping one meal. The Cuban response to this crisis, born out of necessity, was to create a system of sustainable agriculture'that was not reliant on fossil fuels or global shipping systems. Urban farming became a big part of this system.

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century James Howard Kunstler See book keywords and concepts

Methods of factory farming in recent decades have included massive dosing of the animals with antibiotics; the predictable result has been the evolution of germs and bugs that are now resistant to drugs, in particular the bacteria responsible for food poisoning: Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter. It takes years to develop, test, and gain approval for new antibiotic drugs. So while pharmaceutical companies are slowly developing potent new classes of antibiotics, resistance is developing at a rate faster than the drug companies can develop replacements.

Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet Jeremy P. Tarcher See book keywords and concepts

I think about the cruelty to animals and the harm to rivers and estuaries, and to air and earth that the waste of factory farming generates. Yunus took his capacity to rethink institutions from the bottom up and applied it to banking. It's possible, we hope, that this questioning—why does it have to be this way?—can inspire rethinking of all the businesses Grameen spawns. Grameen can help the potential Perdues of Bangladesh, for instance, rethink the poultry business, as is already happening here in the U.S., in Europe, and elsewhere, too.

Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition Larry Trivieri, Jr. See book keywords and concepts

Mad cow disease originated from "factory farming" practices. After 15 years of deal ing with this crisis, scientists advising European governments have come to the conclusion that ending factory farming is the only way to eradicate the disease. One way to bring this about is to get involved politically. Support activist and consumer groups and vote for politicians whose priority is to stop the poisoning of ourselves and our planet.

The Natural Way to Heal: 65 Ways to Create Superior Health Walter Last See book keywords and concepts

While I do not recommend eating commercial eggs from hens in battery cages, even if well cooked (to kill salmonella, which is common in factory farming), eggs should only be ingested raw if they are free-range or organic. Swallowing an egg with yolk and white intact can cause indigestion in individuals with a weak digestive system. A raw egg is much easier to digest if it is well mixed with other food or drink. Alternatively, you can beat the white and then mix the yolk back into it. You can easily detect how fresh an egg is by immersing it in water. If it lies flat on the bottom, it is fresh.

Health problems associated with eating meat fall into three categories: those common to all meat, those associated with cooked meat, and those with meat produced by factory farming. Common to all meat is a high phosphorus content with an unfavorable phosphorus-to-calcium ratio. The high phosphorus content of meat stimulates the parathyroid glands (associated with the thyroid in the neck) and raises the calcium blood level, in some cases by activating and freeing calcium from the bones.

This is due to the common practice of factory farming. Chemical contamination is much worse in grain-fed beef from feedlots than in grazing animals. There are numerous studies showing the harmful effects of residues from pesticides, antibiotics, and growth promoters. If we cannot obtain the meat of healthy, chemical-free animals and eat it predominantly digestive enzymes and appropriate cleansing periods, then it is better for our health to eat meat only sparingly.

Food Revolution: How your diet can help save your life and our world John Robbins See book keywords and concepts

The goal is to produce cattle, pigs, and chickens that are "better suited" to the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of factory farming. Agribusiness dreams of pigs as large as hippopotamuses but as docile as slugs, and featherless chickens that won't need to be plucked and never peck. Human genes have been transplanted into pigs, but with little public-it}', owing to concern about "public acceptance" of the idea. The pigs developed severe arthritis, had spinal deformities, and most were blind.44 This may seem like the stuff of horror movies, but it is rapidly becoming reality.

In 1987, when I published Diet for a New America, hardly anyone had any idea what "factory farming" meant, much less had an opinion on the subject. But in 1995, a poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation found that 95 percent of Americans disapproved of confinement methods used in the production of eggs, veal, and pork. The U.S. animal agriculture industry has not been pleased to see the public's growing resistance to inhumane farming practices. In response, it has increased its advertising budgets and its propaganda campaigns.

Noting the human health consequences to factory farming, I wrote . . . "Increasingly, in the last few decades, the animals raised for meat, dairy products and eggs in the United States have been subjected to ever more deplorable conditions. Merely to keep the poor creatures alive under these circumstances, even more chemicals have had to be used, and increasingly, hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other chemicals and drugs end up in foods derived from animals." (Diet for a New America)"1 How do you think the cattlemen countered this charge?

Every day, more people are opposing the most abusive forms of factory farming. They are appalled by veal production, they are beginning to learn about what is done to chickens. And since the late 1990s, with the advent of the enormously popular and Golden Globe-winning movie Babe, they are beginning to realize something of the plight of pigs. . . hat about Babe? The actor who played Farmer Hoggett and starred in the movie Babe is James Cromwell. As a result of what he learned about meat production in the course of making the movie, he made a decision —to eat no more animal products.

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ABOUT THE CREATOR OF NATURALPEDIA: Mike Adams, the creator of this NaturalNews Naturalpedia, is the editor of NaturalNews.com, the internet's top natural health news site, creator of the Honest Food Guide (www.HonestFoodGuide.org), a free downloadable consumer food guide based on natural health principles, author of Grocery Warning, The 7 Laws of Nutrition, Natural Health Solutions, and many other books available at www.TruthPublishing.com, creator of the earth-friendly EcoLEDs company (www.EcoLEDs.com) that manufactures energy-efficient LED lighting products, founder of Arial Software (www.ArialSoftware.com), a permission e-mail technology company, creator of the CounterThink Cartoon series (www.NaturalNews.com/index-cartoons.html) and author of over 1,500 articles, interviews, special reports and reference guides available at www.NaturalNews.com. Adams' personal philosophy and health statistics are available at www.HealthRanger.org.