According to an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals poll, 94% of Americans agree that animals raised for food deserve to live free from abuse and cruelty. Yet the majority of the nearly 10 billion land-based animals, plus countless more aquatic animals, farmed for food each year in the United States live in unacceptable conditions that do not align with consumers’ stated values (ASPCA, 2021). The social problem that is being solved through this petition is factory farming. A factory farm is an industrial facility that raises large numbers of farm animals such as pigs, chickens or cows in intensive confinement where their movements are extremely inhibited. According to the Farm Sanctuary,  “Nearly 10 billion animals are killed for human consumption each year in the United States. 99% are raised on factory farms, which maximize agribusiness profits at the expense of the animals, the environment, social justice, and public health” (Farm Sanctuary, 2021). The scale of these factory farms cause tremendous harm to animals as well as the environment in which we live. A statement written by the Environmental Protection Agency states , “The annual production of manure produced by animal confinement facilities exceeds that produced by humans by at least three times. Unlike most human sewage, the majority of IFAP is spread on the ground untreated. Manure in such large quantities carries excess nutrients and farm chemicals that find their way into waterways, lakes, groundwater, soils and airways. Excess and inappropriate land application of untreated animal waste on cropland contributes to excessive nutrient loading and, ultimately, eutrophication of surface waters” (EPA, 2020). This demonstrates the negative impact that factory farms have on the environment and proves why they need to come to an end. The current model of industrial animal agriculture that dominates our food system is unacceptable. Factory farms provide inhumane treatment and intense animal confinement, while ignoring the cruelty. As a result, billions of animals are living miserable lives, along with the detrimental environmental toll factory farming is having on the planet. From releasing more greenhouse gas emissions, to polluting nearby waterways, factory farming is destroying the planet and wasting precious resources.The Farm System Reform Act which was first introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna in the House of Representatives and Sen. Cory Booker in the Senate. This legislation would help create a good system that is better for animals, farmers, communities, and the environment. According to the article, “The Farm System Reform Act would prohibit the construction of new large CAFOs and the expansion of those currently operating, and require all large CAFOs to cease operating as large CAFOs by 2040. It also establishes a voluntary debt forgiveness and transition assistance program that provides CAFO owners with grants to pay off their operation’s debts and transition to raising pasture-based livestock, growing specialty crops, or organic commodity production” (AWI, 2021). Overall, this Act would be very beneficial to the farming community and our environment. Therefore, the United States Congress should pass the Farm System Reform Act in order to prohibit the construction of new large CAFOs and the expansion of those currently operating, limit farm animal cruelties, and hold factory farms responsible for their environmental impacts by 2040.

Please consider taking the time to research and sign this petition in order to better our world and make a change.

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