Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms free essay sample

We can promote humane treatment of factory farm animals by prevention through education, by enforcing humane laws by being an example of humane animal treatment, and by donating and/or volunteering at local humane law enforcement agencies. Cruelty and abuse of animals on factory farms cause loss to the business. Animals at the farms are injected with growth stimulants so that they can grow faster. According to Professor Ronald J. Adams, â€Å"A three-pound chicken can now be grown in approximately 6 week, a process that used to take four months (Adams, 2008). The cost of the growth hormone is costing the company unnecessary money when all the animals need is more time. The use of growth hormone has been found to â€Å"increase bacterial udder infections in cows†¦increasing the need for antibiotics (Food safety, 2007). † Antibiotics are mixed into the animal feed â€Å"to fight disease associated with close confinement and stress (Adams, 2008). † Animals on the farms are forced to be inhumanely closely confined which creates great stress to the animals. We will write a custom essay sample on Animal Cruelty on Factory Farms or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One farmer who â€Å"stopped using antibiotics saved $12,000 a year (Weeks, 2007). According to an article from Food and Water Watch, seventy â€Å"percent of all antimicrobials used in the United States are fed to livestock†¦25 million pounds†¦annually, more than 8 times the amount used to treat disease in humans (Food safety, 2007). † Without the use of antibiotics and without confined space, factory farms would save a great deal of money. According to an Instructor of Business Ethics, Zuzworsky stated, â€Å"Because (chickens) spend their lives in cages too small, their bones become to brittle†¦. the chickens go to slaughter unstunned (Zuzworsky, 2001). The electrical device or gun that stuns the chickens is a costly item that goes unused many times and the chickens have to suffer. If the chickens were not kept in such small cages, their bones would not be so brittle and stunning would be not only humane, but effective. Cruelty and abuse of animals on fact ory farms reduces the quality of the product produced. Contamination of the meat is a problem from poor conditions that the animals have to endure such as standing in their own waste and next to carcasses of diseased animals. The animals at these factories go at times without food, water, or rest. This makes the animal deteriorate. The deterioration of the animals then causes the protein in the animals to decrease. Cruelty and abuse of animals on factory farms endangers the health of those who buy the product. As mentioned earlier, antibiotics are given to the animals. Professor Ronald J. Adams states that â€Å"use of antibiotics lead to increased antibiotic resistance in humans (Adams, 2008). † This is becoming a widespread problem for the treatment of infections. Humans have to complete a longer course of antibiotics which often have to be given under the care of a healthcare provider due to the need of intravenous antibiotics. â€Å"Countries that have banned the use of antibiotics in animal production have seen a decrease in resistance (Food safety, 2007). † Also mentioned above was the injection of growth hormones, which â€Å"could affect the hormonal balance of humans, causing reproductive issues and breast, prostate, or colon cancer (Food safety, 2007). † People living near the factories are at a higher health risk from the waste of the animals contaminating the water. These facilities cannot process the enormous amounts of waste produced by thousands of animals, so they pour and pile manure into large cesspools and spray onto the land†¦causes health problems for workers and for neighbors (Food safety, 2007). † The decrease in protein, as mentioned above, can be linked to the obesity issue that has swept across America. â€Å"American’s have the highest obesity rate (Weeks, 2007). † Minimize the loss to the business by treating the animals humanely. Instead of injecting the animals with growth hormone, let them grow naturally. Cows won’t get udder infections and won’t need antibiotics (an unnecessary cost to the business). Give the animals more space and let them graze on the land as they would naturally and you won’t need preventative antibiotics. More space will help the animals grow and live as they were meant to. They will not be stressed. Their bones will not be brittle. Chickens can be stunned as they were meant to be before being slaughtered, the humane way. The products of the factory farms can increase in quality by treating the animals humanely. Cleaning up after the animal aste and getting rid of the carcasses will create a better and healthier environment for the animals. Allowing the animals to eat, drink, and rest when at their choice will allow them to grow healthier and not deteriorate as they do now. The protein in the animals will be as it should in a naturally healthy animal, creating a better product. The health of consumers will not be endangered if we treat the an imals humanely. Antibiotic resistance caused by factory farms cannot be reversed but we can prevent further resistance from happening just by giving the animals more space so that the use of preventative antibiotics will not be necessary. Stop using growth hormones and there will be a decrease in the imbalance in humans and a decrease in the rate of breast, prostate, and colon cancer in humans. Waste can be treated instead of being placed in a cesspool, affecting the health of all nearby. â€Å"The sustainable agriculture approach dries the manure and often adds other dry material to keep waste from running off, or seeping into water supplies†¦. these approaches benefit the environment, the producer, the animals themselves, and the communities that surround them (Marks, 2001). There are things that can be done to help prevent cruelty on animal farms. When buying the products offered from factory farms from the grocery store, look for labels that say â€Å"free-range† or â€Å"organic. † Not all labels are what they say. There is a labeling fact sheet to help on what to look at on the website www. foodandwaterwatch. org. We should look for labels that state â€Å"free-range† and â€Å"organi c. † To find local stores or restaurants that have â€Å"free-range† and â€Å"organic† items, go to the website http://www. eatwellguide. org/. Buying local and buying direct from the farmer is another way of helping. There is a website so to find local farmers markets at http://www. ams. usda. gov/farmersmarkets/map. htm. Discuss with the farmer how the animals are fed and how they are raised, if they have access to the outdoors or if they are antibiotic free. There is a question guide with other questions to ask found at http://wwww. sustainabletable. org/shop/questions. To help end animal cruelty, vote for political parties who are against animal cruelty and/or factory farming. Check which party has an animal friendly program by asking them in person, through email, or through their party programs (Food safety, 2007). There are many organizations to support that are there to protect the animal welfare at factory farms by donation or serving as a volunteer or a voice. Persons for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and Safe Tables Our Priority (STOP) are a few organizations that support the humane treatment of factory farm animals (Adams, 2008). There are recommended guidelines that all factory farms should follow. They include â€Å"the requirement that each of its suppliers have a documented animal welfare program in place, including a formal employee training program, reasonable precautions in the catching of poultry designed to minimize injury when they arrive at supplier processing facilities, space provisions for poultry in transport and/or held in storage sheds, and provisions for humane stunning and slaughter procedures (Adams, 2008). The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) shows how humane farming can be cost-effective and create a sustainable and secure food supply through the â€Å"Model Farm Project†. According to the WSPA, â€Å"Establishing model farms is necessary to demonstrate real humane alternatives to poor welfare farming practices and to develop practical solutions that are relevant in terms of culture, science, climate, species and topography (Factory farming, 2012). † The goals/objectives of the project can be found through its website at http://www. wspa-international. org/wspaswork/factoryfarming/default. spx. One goal is, â€Å"To provide an alternative to the industrial factory farming of animals-the cruel management, long-distance transportation and inhumane slaughter of animals for food or products. † Another goal of the project is, â€Å"To develop humane, sustainable farm systems which provide discernible benefits to animal welfare, the environment and human health. † The project states their goal is â€Å"to act a s a center of excellence for good farm animal welfare practice, and share this knowledge with commercial farmers and other interested parties as widely as possible. The Model Farm Project’s objective is to â€Å"demonstrate to governments and the public that humane and sustainable farming is a practical reality,† and to the community that it is â€Å"possible, and obtain their support for this highe r welfare method of farming (Factory Farming, 2012). † We need to end the cruelty and abuse that these animals have to endure at the factory farms. Teach others what you know and you can make a difference.