How is factory farming legal

They're also genetically manipulated for the supposed benefit of human consumers. M any people don't know where their meat, eggs, or dairy come from, preferring to imagine a pleasant country scene with animals sunning themselves in grassy fields. Factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations CAFOs , are a form of intensive animal agriculture. Virtually all animal products in the United States are produced on factory farms, and while it originated in the US, factory farming is becoming increasingly common around the world.

Factory farming includes terrestrial farms involving animals such as pigs, cows, chickens, and sheep. Aquaculture—in which large numbers of salmon and other fish are farmed for food—is considered another form of factory farming. Factory farming operations are designed to produce large volumes of yield for the smallest possible price. It's expensive to farm animals because animals require constant supplies of food, water, and shelter in order for them to grow large enough to be slaughtered, or to produce milk or eggs for human consumption.

Factory farming is the result of techniques for keeping animals alive and producing at the lowest costs possible, using cost-saving measures such as smaller cages and extreme confinement. The impacts on the lives of animals in factory farms are significant.

Animals bear the burden of the cost-saving measures on factory farms. On factory farms, animals are subjected to routine mutilations, extreme confinement, and are otherwise manipulated to benefit human consumers. These practices are generally harmful to the animals. Below are a few ways that factory farming affects animals.

A lifetime of confinement is unnatural and difficult for any animal to endure. On factory farms, however, confinement is taken to extremes. Cows destined to become beef are allowed to wander outside for a portion of their brief lives. Even then, they are packed into feedlots where they are forced to stand in their own feces, packed closely together with other cows. Other species are not so lucky; they're kept indoors for their entire lives.

Layer hens used in egg production are often confined to battery cages. Donate to Protect Animals Help animals win the legal protections they so desperately need and deserve, and ensure they have an advocate in courtrooms and legislatures across the country. Related Cases. Farmed Animals. Status Active. Updated November 3, Kimberly Reynolds, et al. Updated August 10, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Updated October 7, View Resources See More.

Related News. However, there are no federal laws that set humane care standards for animals in factory farms. Toggle navigation. Get Involved Donate. Education Programs. Recent Action Letters. Sign up for the Future Perfect newsletter. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all.

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