As farming has become more industrialized, animals raised for food production are treated more like commodities than animals. They are handled as units of production, rather than living, breathing creatures. This mechanized approach ignores animals’ needs, which often sacrifices their health and well-being in the name of higher profits. Although there is controversy surrounding the degrees of comfort and freedom that farm animals should have, most people agree that farm animals deserve a minimum standard of cleanliness and space, and that animals should not be made to suffer needlessly. Increasingly, more and more consumers are demanding better treatment of animals.

Much of the problem of animal welfare has to do with the basic structure of industrial farms themselves. Confining animals indoors, as closely together as possible, rather than letting them roam and graze on pasture, means that they are exposed to high levels of toxins which come from so much manure decomposing in an enclosed space. To counteract the disease inherent in such conditions, animals are then given constant doses of antibiotics. Animals are exposed to pesticides and other unhealthy additives through their feed, and they are often bred and fed so as to produce unnatural amounts of eggs, milk or meat.

Although many of the techniques found on factory farms were developed to make production more profitable, other techniques were created to increase efficiency and safety. However, these practices often cause discomfort, pain, and stress to animals, while prohibiting their natural, instinctual behaviors. Though these tactics may help “mechanize” the animals by causing less interference with production, they ultimately contribute to further health problems in both animals and humans, revealing the inefficiency of industrialized farming systems.

Cows
At birth, male calves are slaughtered and sold for cheap beef, sold to be raised for veal,ⁱ or castrated before they are three months old and sent to feedlots to be fattened.ⁱⁱ Their female counterparts that are intended for the dairy industry are separated from their mothers within the first couple of days of life, moved to a rearing operation where they are fed milk replacer rather than milk, and many will eventually have their tails “docked,” or cut off.ⁱⁱⁱ Tail docking is a painful procedure presumably intended to keep the cow from developing infections caused by constant exposure to manure, yet there is evidence that this practice is simply for the convenience of the workers. As a result, cows are forced to undergo this painful process, followed by years of discomfort as they are unable to ward off the flies that infest their manure-filled surroundings.^iv

Dairy cows are bred to produce unnaturally high amounts of milk, weakening their bodies and making them vulnerable to disease.^vii Cattle in both the beef and dairy industry also show high levels of stress and lameness resulting from the rough manner in which they are handled and their extreme living conditions.^x Whether on crowded feedlots where animals are exposed to heat and sun or rain, snow and freezing temperatures, or in tightly packed and unsanitary barns, tethered by short ropes around their necks, the life of factory farm cattle is marked by physical and mental suffering.

Once beef cows have grown to an adequate size and dairy cows are no longer producing milk at an acceptable rate, farms send the cattle off to slaughter. Slaughterhouses are required to meet United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards, but they are also paid to kill animals, so the faster they kill, the more profits they earn. Because of this pressure to slaughter animals quickly, mistakes are made that result in the violation of USDA regulations and extreme mistreatment and degradation of the animals. Cattle slaughterhouses have been reported as regularly failing to completely stun animals before killing them, meaning that the cows are often conscious while they are being killed.^ix

Suckling pigs. On factory farms, piglets are confined in crates together, prohibited from running, jumping and playing according to their natural tendencies. Photo by Jason Houston.

Pigs
Factory farmed pigs are born in small crates that limit the sow’s mobility to the point where she can not turn around.^x As their mother lays immobile, unable make a nest or separate herself and her offspring from their feces, piglets are confined in the crate together, prohibited from running, jumping and playing according to their natural tendencies.^xi Once separated from their mother, pigs are confined together in concrete pens with no bedding or soil for them to root in. In such conditions, pigs become restless and often resort to biting other pigs’ tails as an expression of stress.^xii  Rather than simply giving the pigs straw to play in, many factory farm operators will cut off their pigs’ tails in response to this behavior.^xiii

By the time a pig has grown to slaughtering age, it has experienced a great deal of stress and is likely carrying pneumonia caused by extremely high levels of ammonia in their air, or afflicted with leg deformities resulting from a life lived on concrete and slatted floors.^xiv Many pigs die en route to the slaughterhouse due to illness and the stress caused by rough handling and transportation.^xv

Chickens
Chickens raised in large-scale poultry and egg farms are packed individually in cages or all together in large pens, and in either case the average bird spends its entire life in a space smaller than a piece of writing paper.^xvi Because they are unable to peck and forage for food, chickens will begin to peck at one another.^xvii In order to prevent this, their beaks are seared off, which is not only painful and stressful, but also makes it difficult for the bird to feed normally.^xviii

Chickens observed in factory farms have shown high levels of stress, which is often displayed by beating their wings against their cages to the point where they lose half of their feathers.^xix Many intensive egg operations starve their chickens for up to two weeks in order to force molting so that the birds will produce more eggs. This practice has been deemed unsuitable by recent United Egg Producers (UEP) Animal Husbandry Guidelines, and as of January 2006, feed withdrawal- induced molts are no longer permitted by the UEP.^xx

Because they aren’t bred to produce meat, and properly slaughtering them consumes time and money, hens that can no longer produce eggs at a desirable pace are sometimes left to slowly suffocate and die in dumpsters and plastic bags.^xxi

Looking Forward
Although it is clear that industrial farming often allows for animals to be mistreated without any regard for their ability to suffer, consumers have begun to demand increased standards of humane treatment of animals in the dairy and meat industries. As a result of these concerns, large food service enterprises such as McDonalds and Wendys have responded by asking for a higher standard of animal welfare in the factories that produce their meat. Beef producers for these restaurant chains have showed significant and rapid improvements in the treatment and slaughter of their cows because of consumer demand for change.^xxii

Improving animal welfare in today’s agricultural sector will depend on widespread changes in the mindsets of farm owners and workers, but many of the technical adjustments required to make animals more comfortable and content are inexpensive and simple to install.^xxiii Many practices that are considered “humane” are also economically beneficial to the farmer, as happy animals tend to be healthier and less likely to die prematurely.^xxiv

The best possible thing consumers can do to improve the standards of animal welfare in farming is to buy from local, independent farms and small-scale, sustainable family farms that permit their animals to carry out their natural behaviors, like rooting, pecking, and grazing. Meeting the farmer and visiting their farm will give you a good idea of how their animals live. By supporting sustainable farming, consumers vote with their dollars for a higher standard of treatment and quality of life for farm animals.

Did You Know?

• In the 1960s, the US Congress received more letters from citizens concerned with animal welfare issues than letters concerning civil rights and the Vietnam War combined.^xxv
• Due to genetic manipulation, 90% of broiler chickens have trouble walking.^xxvi
• Ammonia and other gases from manure irritate animals' lungs, and one study of 34,000 pigs found that 65% of the animals had "pneumonia-like lesions" in their lungs.^xxviii

What You Can Do?

• Finding humanely-raised meat, dairy and eggs can take a little research because organic standards do not adequately cover animal welfare issues. Therefore, it is important to know your farmer or local butcher, and ask them how the animals were raised and if they were slaughtered humanely. Visit the Eat Well Guide to find farms, stores, and restaurants near you.
• Search out companies and brands that follow very strict animal welfare guidelines.

Reports and Articles

• Farm Animals - A well-written booklet from the Animal Welfare Institute on the inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms.
• Livestock Handling and Transport – A detailed book explaining various aspects of the treatment of animals in conventional agriculture.

For more information:

• Animal Welfare Institute - They have humane animal husbandry standards for pigs and rabbits and are currently working on standards for other animals.
• Animal Welfare Legislation, Regulations and Guidelines – Gives legal context for these issues in the United States.
• Compassion In World Farming – Promotes the understanding of and concern for the welfare needs of farm animals, providing educational materials on humane standards and treatment.

Sources

• Wilson, Dr. Lowell L. and Darlene L. Wiggers, “Dairy Bull Calves – Where Do They Go?” Pennsylvania State University Department of Dairy and Animal Science, 1996.
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Part III: Reference of 1997 Beef Cow-Calf Production Management and Disease Control,” in Beef ’97. United States Department of Agriculture, 1998.
• Bagley, Clell, V., “Tail Docking of Dairy Cattle.” Utah State University Extension, 2002.
• Ibid
• Comis, Don, USDA Agricultural Research Service.  “Settling Doubts about Livestock Stress.”  in Agricultural Research, 2005.
• Smith, Lewis W., USDA Agricultural Research Service.  “Forum – Helping Industry Ensure Animal Well-Being.” in Agricultural Research.  March 2005. 
• Halverson, Marlene K. “Farm Animal Health and Well-Being.” Minnesota Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Animal Agriculture, 2001.
• Ibid
• Grandin, Temple, “Corporations Can be Agents of Great Improvements in Animal Welfare and Food Safety and the Need for Minimum Decent Standards.” Colorado State University, 2001.
• Morris, Michael C. “Sow stalls and farrowing crates – ethically, scientifically and economically indefensible.” Organic New Zealand 62 (Jan/Feb 2003): 38-39.
• Van Putten, G., “An ethological definition of animal welfare with special emphasis on pig behaviour.” Driebergen-Rijsenburg, The Netherlands: NAHWOA.  
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Horrigan, Leo, Lawrence, Robert S., Walker, Polly, "How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture," Johns Hopkins University 's Center for a Livable Future, 1999.
• Grandin, Temple, “Welfare of Pigs During Transport.” Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, 2002.
• Grandin, Temple, “Corporations Can be Agents of Great Improvements in Animal Welfare and Food Safety and the Need for Minimum Decent Standards.” Colorado State University, 2001.
• Folsch, Detlef W., Marlene Hofner, Marion Staack and Gerriet Trei, “Comfortable Quarters for Chickens in Research Institutions.” Witzenhausen, Germany: University of Kassel.
• United Egg Producers, “Animal Husbandry Guidelines for United Egg Producers Certified.” UEP, 2005.
• Grandin, Temple, “Corporations Can be Agents of Great Improvements in Animal Welfare and Food Safety and the Need for Minimum Decent Standards.” Colorado State University, 2001.
• United Egg Producers, "Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg Laying Flocks." UEP, 2005.
• Grandin, Temple, “Corporations Can be Agents of Great Improvements in Animal Welfare and Food Safety and the Need for Minimum Decent Standards.” Colorado State University, 2001.
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Alberta Farm Animal Care, “Improved Handling Reduces Stress Induced Death Loss.” AFAC, 2005.
• Kreger, Michael, D’Anna Jensen and Tim Allen, “Animal Welfare Act: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions Symposium Proceedings.” Working for Animals in Research, Drugs and Surgery, 1998.
• Halverson, Marlene K. “Farm Animal Health and Well-Being.” Minnesota Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Animal Agriculture, 2001.
• Horrigan, Leo, Lawrence, Robert S., Walker, Polly, "How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture," Johns Hopkins University 's Center for a Livable Future, 1999.