Hot Dogs are From Hell

Do you know how the food you eat is produced? The answer may surprise you.

Many advertisements depict food as coming from small family farms. They picture cows grazing in pastures, chickens hopping around the yard, and farmers planting small acreages of crops such as corn, wheat, potatoes, soybeans and barley.

But is this the type of environment in which our cows are raised, corn is grown, eggs are hatched, etc.?

No. The reality is quite different. Most of the food in supermarkets comes from large industrial operations, or “factory farms.” This food is produced in a manner drastically different from the past, when most food was produced by small family-owned farms. Since most of our food now comes from these factory farms, it begs the question: Is the food they produce healthy?

Large-Scale Agriculture

A factory farm produces huge volumes of food by industrial type operations. These food factories typically cover as many as several thousand acres. If it has livestock, it generally has several thousand animals confined in the same area. Because factory farms are so large, they achieve “economies of scale,” producing much more food at cheaper prices than smaller farms.

These farms are owned by giant corporations and operate purely on the profit motive, maximizing profits for their shareholders. Unlike small family farms, they usually do not have close connections to the communities in which they operate. Much of their produce is often sold hundreds and even thousands of miles away.

In developed nations, factory farms have expanded rapidly since their origins in the early 20th Century. So much so that in the U.S. only 3% of farms now generate an astonishing 62% of that nation’s agricultural output! In fact, they have so consolidated the agricultural sector that only five food retailers (Kroger, Albertson’s, Wal-Mart, Safeway and Ahold USA) account for a whopping 42% of all retail food sales in the U.S. And because they are able to produce food cheaper, factory farms are forcing smaller farms out of business (according to Natural Agricultural Statistics Service, 330 farmers leave their land every week). Typically, they control all aspects of production, including animal rearing, feeding, slaughtering, packaging and distribution—a process known as “vertical integration.”

Indeed, factory farms have become so powerful that many are questioning whether they are beneficial to our society and environment. Because they wield such tremendous power, they have become a highly controversial topic.

A Good Thing?

Those supporting factory farming point out that it provides multiple benefits:

*Cheap food production: Due to the use of technology and “economies of scale,” they produce food at less cost than smaller farms, thus enabling customers to save money on food purchases.
*Efficiency: The ability to efficiently produce and distribute huge quantities of food to feed large cities.
*Employment: Factory farms provide employment to nearby communities.
*Capital: Supporters argue that factory farms do invest in the communities in which they operate.

On the other hand, opponents of factory farming point out:

*Animal cruelty: Typically large numbers of animals are kept in close confinement, having little room to maneuver. This overcrowding frequently causes stress, frustration, boredom and joint pains. Other examples of cruelty include drugging and mutilating animals (for example, chickens’ beaks are sliced off and cows’ tails are amputated).

*Diseases: Raising large numbers of animals in cramped conditions leads to disease. Therefore, the animals are fed antibiotics in order to ward off diseases.

Also, animals are injected with hormones to speed their growth and some are even given feed containing animal byproducts.

This has led to humans acquiring antibiotic resistant bacteria, and diseases such as mad cow disease.

*Pollution: Factory farms produce large quantities of waste that is difficult to dispose of. This waste emits greenhouse gases, and leaks into lakes, rivers and ground water, putting entire communities at risk.

*Monoculture: Factory farming typically devastates the ecosystem in an area by wiping out large tracts of land to produce one crop.

*Inferior food: Food produced by factory farming has lower nutritional value than food produced by organic farming.

Organic food contains a higher level of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients.

What is the Alternative?

An alternative to factory farming that has been touted is “sustainable farming.” With this type of farming, farms are smaller, crops are often grown organically (i.e., without chemical fertilizers), routine crop rotation is practiced, and the produce is sold in the local communities. Animals are pasture-raised, well-treated and live in conditions that are suited to their normal behaviors.

Supporters of sustainable farming claim it is more harmonious with the environment, and the food produced is healthier and more nutritious.

Sustainable farming is the way to produce food that is most nutritious for others while simultaneously keeping the environment healthy. It shows love and kindness to human and animal alike. It is not the “profit at all cost” approach.

Man’s greed in placing the profit motive above all else has resulted in environmental damage, in sickness and disease, and in the production of inferior food that weakens rather than strengthens the body.

What can you do to help?
* Never buy factory farmed products
* Avoid meat in restaurants, unless you know it's organic meat
* Buy organic meat, organic milk/cheese/yogurt and cage-free organic eggs
* Become a vegetarian or vegan - it's easy and provides enough protein
* Spread the word about factory farming
* Sign a petition against factory farm systems
* Write to your State representatives and Senators

(from an article here)