Industrial Farm Animal Production: A Comprehensive Moral Critique

Abstract

Over the past century, animal agriculture in the United States has transformed from a system of small, family farms to a largely industrialized model-often known as 'industrial farm animal production' (IFAP). This model has successfully produced a large supply of cheap meat, eggs and dairy products, but at significant costs to animal welfare, the environment, the risk of zoonotic disease, the economic and social health of rural communities, and overall food abundance. Over the past 40 years, numerous critiques of IFAP have been published, for both academic and non-academic audiences, mostly focusing on our obligations to animals.Here we offer a comprehensive critique of IFAP, focusing not only on our obligations to animals, but also important environmental, social, economic, and public health concerns. Our cumulative argument proceeds in five steps: (1) we briefly review the structure and key characteristics of IFAP; (2) we review the adverse effects of IFAP; (3) we review the historical development and positive rationale for IFAP; (4) we summarize previous moral critiques of IFAP, as well as defenses of it; and (5) we offer a moral critique of IFAP based on the common morality, and in particular on a principle of nonmaleficence, which we take to be the least controversial argument.

De-mystifying family farming: Features, diversity and trends across the globe

“…Finding successors has become difficult (Fennell, 1981;Mishra et al, 2004;Wheeler et al, 2012;White, 2012). Farms have become more specialised (Bernard de Raymond, 2013), mechanised (Woodhouse, 2010), and intensive (Rossi and Garner, 2014), while the food supply chain has become more globalised (McMichael, 2009). Some authors associate these trends with environmental damage (Rossi and Garner, 2014), lack of cohesion between nature and society (Slobbe et al, 2011), disappearing rural communities (van der Ploeg, 2008), landlessness among rural populations (Woodhouse, 2010;Deininger and Byerlee, 2012) and loss of food sovereignty (Patel, 2009).…”

“…Some authors associate these trends with environmental damage (Rossi and Garner, 2014), lack of cohesion between nature and society (Slobbe et al, 2011), disappearing rural communities (van der Ploeg, 2008), landlessness among rural populations (Woodhouse, 2010;Deininger and Byerlee, 2012) and loss of food sovereignty (Patel, 2009). Some even link problems of obesity to large, intensive animal farms (Rossi and Garner, 2014).…”

“…Small farms are perceived to be diversified and to contribute more to environmental sustainability, preservation of traditional values, and economic resilience than large farms (van der Ploeg, 2013;Swaminathan, 2014). Negative perceptions of the loss of control over globalised food supply chains and threats to rural livelihoods in developed countries are directly associated with larger, more specialised and industrialized farms and the proclaimed disappearance of the family farm (Snyder, 2012;GRACE, 2014;Rossi and Garner, 2014). In developing countries, food security and poverty alleviation are said to depend on productivity of the diverse crops produced on family farms where the majority of the population resides Swaminathan, 2014).…”

Innflutt fersk matvæli og sýkingaráhætta fyrir menn

“…Aðstaeður á verksmiðjubúum eru ákjósanlegar fyrir útbreiðslu sýkla og getur verið erfitt að koma í veg fyrir þá þróun. 1 Verksmiðjubúskap fylgir einnig verulega aukin mengun umhverfis og til að auka framleiðslugetu og koma í veg fyrir afföll vegna smitsjúkdóma er sýklalyfjum gjarnan baett í fóður dýranna. Þetta skapar kjöraðstaeður fyrir þróun sýklalyfjaónaemis baeði hjá bakteríum í dýrunum sjálfum og í umhverfi þeirra.…”

Animal Mistreatment in Business: Ethical Challenges and Solutions

“…Their living conditions are often filthy, unconformable and stressed. Antibiotics are frequently used in animal feed to "combat immunological stress from overcrowding and production-associated diseases...and to promote faster weight gain" (Rossi &Garner, 2014). Taking beef cattle as an example, many of them have never seen grass, because they are being fed by high-protein soybeans so that they can gain weight faster.…”