The Case Against Intensive Farming of Food Animals

The well-being of American agriculture is indeed a complex subject, fraught with interrelationships, predictions, recriminations, and at times, high emotionalism. In this paper, we will be concentrating on several aspects of the entire picture that we feel are fundamental to the issue of animal welfare in modern agriculture. First, we will take a brief look at two farm animal species maintained in very restrictive systems, that is, battery-caged laying hens and tethered and/or crated brood sows. Next, the human costs in terms of occupational diseases and consumer health hazards will be considered. Finally, some humane alternatives to the factory systems for these species will be presented