Factory Farming and the Welfare of Animals
PHI 103 Informal Logic

Factory Farming and the Welfare of Animals
Even though higher yields are met for demand and human consumption, factory farming is cruel to animals due to the fact animals are often subject to harsh living conditions, more susceptible to diseases and injuries and are treated inhumanely during the slaughtering process. Unfortunately, with an increase in human population worldwide, the strain on farmers to meet the demand increases as well. This in turn causes more animals to be subject to this cruelty.
In the U.S., the concept of factory farms primarily involving animals such as pigs, cattle and chicken began in the 1920’s as a way to increase efficiencies by capturing
D’Silva reports, “BST can and often does cause significant tender and long lasting swellings on the injection site. It doubles the length of the period of catabolic stress experienced by lactating cows after calving. It will result in mastitis cases which would not otherwise have occurred “, (1998). Evidence that BST contributes to increased mastitis cases, a painful inflammation of the udder, shows how unnecessary suffering caused by the hormone treatment adds to the poor health conditions dairy cows endure. Because of this, antibiotics have to also be used to treat the infected cattle and the duration can be long lasting. Other notable side effects experienced by dairy cattle due to the use BST are lameness, metabolic diseases, infertility, shortened lifespan and high mortality rates.
Another concern when understanding the cruelty that animals are subjected to on factory farms is due to the inhumane treatment chickens, pigs and cows endure while in confinements, transportation to slaughter houses and the actual slaughtering process. Due to living conditions discussed previously, chickens and pigs specifically must suffer through industry practices that reduce the risk of the animals injuring each other. Most chickens, due to overcrowding, are put through a process where their beaks are cut off during when they are a couple of days old. D’Silva explains, “ since the tip of the beak is well supplied with blood vessels and nerve endings, cutting it off with a hot