Health Risks of Factory Farming

     Factory farming is detrimental to health of everyone involved. Animals, workers, consumers of meat, people who live near the farms... All are at risk for many harmful effects. 

     Beginning with animals. The internet is filled with undercover videos, many of them bloody and brutal. Here is a link to several videos revealing how factory farms treat their animals: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/investigations. To put in simply, all animals in factory farms (chickens, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, etc.) are treated in the most inhumane ways possible. Lack of sanitation, minimal space to move, forced rapid growth, and immediate removal of newborn animals are just a few of the injustices that occur within factory farms. Violence is often used toward these animals, as they are seen as having no rights. Many companies refuse to discuss the methods used to raise, collect, and slaughter the animals, so undercover film is necessary. A large amount of animals obtain health problems, including obesity, cardiovascular complications, leg damage, chronic pain from debeaking,  tail docking, and castration, and more. 

     Workers are treated cruelly as well. They are constantly in the unsanitary conditions of the factory farms, breathing ammonia-filled air even through their special masks. The machinery used, and constantly dealing with animals, often cause injury. Infections are common (Food Inc. describes infections that often occur in the fingernails of workers). Many factory farms hire illegal immigrants or people desperate for work, but care little about their health and see them as disposable. 

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     Meat produced in factory farms is unhealthy on many levels for consumers. Meats contain high levels of fat, which is unhealthy in large amounts. Because the animals in factory farms are loaded with unnecessary antibiotics that breed resistant bacteria, humans are more likely to become sick with strains of antibiotic-resistant infections. The meats themselves from diseased animals can spread disease like Swine Flu to humans. Over 55% of uncooked chickens in supermarkets contain arsenic, toxic to humans and animals. Meat has been proven to cause certain kinds of cancer. There are countless harmful effects of factory farm meat, and some of these as well as greater elaboration of previously mentioned effects are listed on this very informational website: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/factory-farming-and-human-health/. 

 

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     The waste produced by factory farms is horrible for the environment and for neighboring communities. Tons of manure are produced per day, which pollutes the environment and makes people sick. According to the website listed above, residents of communities next to factory farms have higher rates of respiratory, neurobehavioral, and mental illnesses. 

     For more information about factory farming and health, visit PETA's page, http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/health-risks-meat-industry/. Because factory farming causes so many risks to health to all people and animals involved, I suggest you take action against factory farming. Some options are buying fewer products contributed to by factory farms, buying locally-raised meat, raising awareness about the horrors of factory farms, protesting to the government, and pleading for more laws to be passed. Even the smallest actions can make a difference.