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Topic Overview
PROS AND CONS OF FACTORY FARMING
Pros
- Factory farms provide large amounts of meat, poultry, dairy products, and eggs at a low cost to the consumer. The vast majority of animal products Americans consume come from factory farms.
- Large commercial farming drives innovation and has contributed to the development of technologies that reduce water use, improve soil health, and reduce or repurpose agricultural waste.
- Factory farms are efficient and profitable and provide jobs that sustain communities around the country.
Cons
- Factory-raised animals are often confined in small, crowded, and unsanitary spaces that severely restrict their mobility. They are forced to grow unnaturally fast, aided by the overuse of antibiotics and hormones.
- Factory farms place smaller farms at a competitive disadvantage, leading to the continued decline of family farms in the United States. The industry's reliance on automation reduces the overall number of farming jobs available.
- Industrial-scale farms release large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to soil erosion, nutrient loss, and water pollution via the runoff of pesticides, waste byproducts, and other contaminants.
Argument IN FAVOR of Factory Farming (FOR)
Argument OPPOSED to Factory Farming (AGAINST)
