Many farming companies promote the fallacy of wide open pastures, with healthy and happy animals bred for our consumption in the most humane way possible. However, the reality of factory farming is much more gruesome than portrayed. Not only are these animals abused and exploited for profit, but factory farming has evolved to have disastrous effects on our health, and places an incredible strain on our nation’s natural resources. Although the malpractice of corporate farming has been brought to public knowledge in more recent events, many consumers are still unaware of the unsanitary and cruel acts performed in factory farms across the nation.

Throughout the country millions of animals are abused every year in factory farms, and currently the treatment of animals in farm production is not regulated by the USDA. Chickens used for egg production are known to be the most abused of all animals used in agriculture (Farm Sanctuary). Male chicks are killed upon hatching, female chickens are debeaked, chickens are starved in order to shock them into laying eggs, and stuffed into small cages containing multiple other chickens. Because these inhumane practices have become more widely known to the public, farming corporations have begun labeling foods as “humane” or “cage-free” in an effort to produce a more positive image for their factory farm by leading the public to believe that these barbarous acts against farm animals has been put to an end. However in truth, these labels are not regulated by any government food or drug agency and labeling eggs as “cage-free” still allows chickens to be stuffed by the hundreds into warehouses as opposed to being stuffed into a cage.

Additionally, factory farming creates great environmental damage. According to the USDA, corporate meat farming produces 61 million tons of waste each year, which is approximately 130 times the volume of human waste produced each year (Organic Consumers Association). There is so much waste being produced, that an attempt to clean up the waste is out of the question. Instead, the animals are meant to live in their waste and pumped full of antibiotics in order to fend off disease. However over 75 percent of these antibiotics are indigestible, and end up in their urine and manure which may lead to contamination in crops and ultimately may be consumed by humans (Farm Sanctuary). Furthermore, those near corporate farms have reported numerous health problems associated with living in such close proximity to animal waste. Ailments have included skin infection, nausea, respiratory and breathing problems, and even miscarriage and death (OCA).  Not only does the mistreatment and unsanitary conditions of these farms animals affect the health of the animals, but it also puts the consumer's life in danger as well.

Aside from waste management, factory farming places immense strain on our natural resources as well. Other than water used for cleaning animal cages and drinking water for the animals, the animal agriculture business uses extreme amounts of our water supply. Producing approximately one pound of beef uses 1,581 gallons of water, and the United States roughly produces about 25.8 billion pounds of beef per year. Water is finite source and has been especially troublesome in states such as California, which is prone to drought and is currently in one of the worst droughts in state history. Despite water being a precious commodity in California, in 2014 California was listed as one of the top-five beef producing states in this country (MSU). In order to conserve what limited resources we have, we must seek alternatives that do away with wasteful corporate farming corporate farming practices and encourage a more organic lifestyle.