Should industrial factory farming be banned?

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poorer people also have access to animal products (3). This in turn leads to justice in the sense that no one is privileged or disadvantaged when buying food, because all have the same access to it. That automatically generates peace. Additional stability and security are generated by the fact that now, when animal products cost less, the money saved can be used for other purposes, which is particularly beneficial for people with lower incomes. social studies Due to automated operations (like milking with mechanical milking machines) and a herd of dozens of animals in a small space, it is only possible to produce so many goods. Nevertheless, manual workers are still needed, of course. As a result, factory farming creates new direct and indirect jobs, such as workers in the factory, transport services for the produced goods and manufacturers of the industry building (3). This means stable income for the employees. A great advantage of livestock farming is that it is completely indoor. By that, almost every "viable land resource can be used" (4) and it is independent of the condition of the soil (3). That is super efficient, effective and sustainable, because you don't have to waste the fertile land for it, but can cultivate crops on it. Thus, the well-thought-out use of the soil also logically leads to a higher yield of food. On top, industrial livestock farming requires less space than free-range farming (3), which has an efficient and sustainable impact on land use and also benefits the environment by protecting against deforestation, as no woodland needs to be cleared to create more space. Further to the indoor-aspect, these animal products can be produced all year round under the same conditions for animals and humans, regardless of the season (4), which leads to safety and stability for the workers and the food in the market. Also, there is a profit margin, because the animals in this mechanized and automated industry require less care and thus they have to spend less money on manual labor, so the companies' profit grows (5). Since all these points are given, industrial factory farming is a very lucrative and efficient business (5), because stability and security prevails. It seems that industrial factory farming is a good alternative to the conventional production of animal products. If that were the case throughout, I could stop the comment here. But there are massive negative aspects for animals, the environment and humans that speak against such a procedure. A survey in the USA showed that “around 87 percent of US adults agree with the statement "Farmed animals have roughly the same ability to feel pain and discomfort as humans."""" (6). Why then are these animals locked in cages that are far too small and live there under poor conditions (5)? We wouldn't want that either, and a majority has determined that animals would feel just as uncomfortable with it as we do. They often have hooves and horns removed, poop from higher floors drips down on them, wings are tied together (3). Where is the dignity of the animals? social studies In addition to the fact that they are extremely restricted in their movement (6), the animals become more and more physically and mentally ill under such bad conditions. To counteract this, the companies add antibiotics to the animals feed, which in many cases is still in the meat after slaughter, so that we consume meat contaminated with antibiotics afterwards (7). In 2014, the UK government announced that "700,000 people around the world die each year due to drug resistant-infections" (8). That is not the lonely, but also a cause by all the antibiotics in meat out of industrial factory farming. So this leads to health insecurity and offers neither stability nor efficiency. Furthermore, the industry makes a profit from the antibiotics by increasing the size and the mass of the animals (9). The animals grow steadily, which is also passed on to subsequent generations through genetic mutations and manipulations (7). Its not healthy. The following picture shows the unnatural and alarmingly growth of chickens between 1957 and 2005: 56 d 1957 905 g 1978 1,808 g 2005 4,202 g Poultry Science Figure 2 http://www.bu.edu/articles/2010/why-we-should-take-the-factory-out-of-farming/ As if all this were not enough, industrial factory farming contributes massively to the damage to our environment and also to us humans. The disposal of waste, antibiotics and feces often takes place in rivers, so that they are contaminated and, in many cases, end up in our groundwater (4). Besides, it can also affect the air. According to one study, industrial factory farming produces so many greenhouse gases worldwide, for example through product transport, that this industry alone contributes 14 percent to our general air pollution (4). social studies Another point why this system isn't effective, sustainable and healthy. As a final point I would like to quote the following: "A typical super market chicken today contains more than twice the fat, and about a third less protein than 40 years ago" (10). Too much fat is neither good for our diet nor for the body composition of the animals. Conclusion: this system damages our air, soil, water, animals and at the same time us. To sum up, it seems at first that industrial factory farming is THE idea to feed many people in a cheap way. This would give people a lot of security, stability and peace, so that the system would again be very effective. However, for me, the arguments against it clearly outweigh the others. I find it simply ethically and morally incorrect and not fair to the dignity of an animal. Health insecurity and a general pollution have also convinced me. Nevertheless, I don't strictly believe that industrial factory farming should be banned immediately. I am much more of the opinion that there are not only problems in industrial factory farming, but that problematic conditions actually prevail throughout the whole food industry. On the one hand, I'm talking about industrial factory farming, but I'm also talking about existing issues such as subhuman working conditions in the cultivation of coffee and cocoa beans, the clearing of large areas of land just because we are emptying palm oil almost everywhere, and and and... If it were up to me, the whole food industry would have to be restructured to create a change for honest and conscious food. Many people eat with an enormously unconscious way of knowing what is behind what they are allowed to hold in their hands at this moment. However, no change in the industry can take place if there aren't any solutions to the consequences. Even poor people, for example, should have access to fairly produced animal products, otherwise these and other consequences are neither reasonable, nor fair or effective and sustainable. Sources (last visited): (1) https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Massentierhaltung (28th March 2020) (2) https://greengarageblog.org/list-of-top-19-factory-farming-pros-and-cons (28th March 2020) (3) https://factoryfarmingorganic farming.wordpress.com/factory-farming-pros-and-cons/ (28th March 2020) (4) https://apecsec.org/8-pros-and-cons-of-factory-farming/ (29th March 2020) social studies (5) https://vittana.org/13-factory-farming-pros-and-cons (29th March 2020) (6) https://quillette.com/2018/10/20/why-its-time-to-end-factory-farming/ (29th March 2020) (7) https://futureofworking.com/10-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-factory-farming/ (29th March 2020) (8) https://www.ecowatch.com/factory-farms-antibiotic-resistance- 2641508323.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 (30th March 2020) (9) http://www.bu.edu/articles/2010/why-we-should-take-the-factory-out-of-farming/ (30th March 2020) (10) https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animals-and-factory- farms (30th March 2020)