Informative Speech
Factory Farming
Informative Speech Henri Benefield When you buy eggs or meat from Walmart do you care where it came from? No one really knows or even thinks to care of where it came from. Most people think it was from a nice little friendly farm, most of the time that is completely wrong. There is a higher chance it came from a factory farm, because they are more efficient and are able to distribute their animals further and faster than family farms. Now you are probably wondering what factory farming is. Factory farming is a method of livestock production that was introduced after World War II to meet the needs and desire for cheap and easily accessible meat and dairy products. In factory farming nothing is real farming, it is all animals that never get to go out of their cages and are just being grown for food. Ninety Nine percent of animals used in food production around the country are raised within this system. “Thousands of cows, pigs, or birds are raised in confinement in small areas” (Hauter). “Even though many people would oppose this opinion, factory farms can be labeled as ‘efficient.’ The reason for using this adjective is that livestock are being raised in extremely confined spaces, which means that the spaces utilized are lesser compared to the number of animals raised” (Miller). The animals are often injected with chemicals to boost their growth and to keep disease low for the animals. Profit is their main priority and your –and the animals, well being is left on the back burner. The farms produce more than just meat. Manure is being produced by the animals in such vast quantities that nearby fields can absorb it all. “That leads to runoff into surface waters and contaminants leaching into groundwater” (Hauter). Storing concentrated quantities of manure releases toxins like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide into the air, threatening the nearby communities. “Scientists estimate that animal wastes emit 5.8 million tons of ammonia into the air every year, more than half of U.S. ammonia emissions” (Luoma). The system has proven effective in meeting the needs of Americans, it has done this at the expense of the welfare of the animals it raises, the workforce it employs and the environment it utilizes. Coming back to the first question I asked. When you are at the store looking at getting a Rib Eye or a Tenderloin you are gonna think of where it came from and realize the impact that factory farms have had on the environment and how much of a key role they are in the American lifestyle. Bibliography Brown, Stephanie. "Do They Not Bleed? Industrial Agriculture and the Cruel Fate of Farm Animals."Canadian Dimension, vol. 45, no. 4, July-Aug. 2011, p. 23+. Gale In Context: High School. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020. This helped describe some of the conditions that the animal had to go through and how the animals conditions were in the small animal pens they were couped up in. Hauter, Wenonah. “Factory Farming Is an Environmental Hazard.”; Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints. Accessed 8 Sept. 2020. Originally published as “What Fossil Fuels and Factory Farms Have in Common,” Yes! Magazine, 30 May 2018. When I talked about some of the environmental problems that were caused by factory farming this helped me with the facts and described what was happening with the manure and the gasses that were being released by the animals. Luoma, Jon R. "Hogging the Air: the EPA is Ready to Allow Factory Farms to Keep on Polluting."MotherJones, vol. 29, no. 4, July-Aug. 2004, p. 20+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020. This one talked about the reasons that factory farms have been releasing too much gases and how they have impacted the environment. Miller, Brandon. “List of Top 19 Factory Farming Pros and Cons.” Green Garage, 19 Aug. 2015, greengarageblog.org/list-of-top-19-factory-farming-pros-and-cons. This source gave the pros and the cons for factory farming. The quote showed the space that was being used was efficient but there was very little space for the animals so they described the harsh conditions. |