Factories of Destruction: How Factory Farming is Killing Animals, People, and the Planet

By Madeline Russell / Fall 2019

A social system consists of multiple institutions, individuals, and groups that together create a whole and affect parts of human life. Institutions, found in social systems, are much more specific and govern individuals’ behaviors, thoughts, and access to common resources through dominant ideologies. The food system includes the practices and infrastructures that are used to feed a society, including the consumption, distribution, processing, and production of food.

The United States food system has been ranked poorly in the 2017 Food Sustainability Index compared to other prosperous nations due to unsustainable farming practices, large amounts of food waste, and rising obesity across the country (Koehring). Factory farming, an institution within this social system, is a practice that maximizes profits while minimizing costs by raising large numbers of livestock in extremely restrained environments.

This institution has a multitude of problems, but by far the most heinous issue is that it is a point of convergence for so much unnecessary violence that affects already vulnerable communities, destroys the environment, and is encouraged by our capitalist economy because it maximizes profit. Because factory farms are solely focused on saving money and time, it is no surprise they don’t treat animals properly; one author even stated that the animal’s death isn’t what is brutal, but it's their entire life on the farm (Todhutner). First, the livestock are born into confinement, something that is not natural or normal for them. Pigs will have their tails cut off, teeth clipped, if male, they will be castrated, all without any type of pain relief (Todhunter). Females are artificially inseminated over and over again as long as it remains fertile, so as to produce offspring or milk more quickly than the natural process and immediately separated from their baby; males will be fattened as much as possible in order to get as much meat as possible. Pigs are killed and hung in front of other pigs, causing extreme mental distress.

While it might seem obvious that factory farming hurts livestock and other animals, what isn’t so obvious is its negative effect on humans. For one, those who work in factory farms are constantly exposed to traumatizing events, which affect their mental health and well-being. One study found that factory farm and slaughterhouse workers are more susceptible to Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress, a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that has symptoms such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, panic attacks, paranoia, and dissociation because of the act of killing animals (Dorovskikh). Furthermore, these workers are paid very low wages, work long hours, and have a lot of physically demanding tasks. The average factory farm worker makes only about $23,000 a year, while still working more than ten hours a day (Spangher). In order to avoid getting punished for slowing down, workers often defecate in their pants as well as suffer a repetitive motion injury rate that is thirty times the national average (Spangher). Furthermore, a large percentage of factory farm workers are from outside of the United States and are undocumented, and as a result are often harassed and abused by their superiors. Superiors are able to get longer, more strenuous workdays out of their employees by threatening deportation and using language that is unfamiliar to the workers.

These poor, immigrant factory farm workers not only face subordination at work, but also in every aspect of society; there is constant structural discrimination that the working-class faces, such as adequate health care and education (Spangher). This is similar to how already vulnerable populations are more likely to eat factory farmed products due to the cheap cost. As factories try to minimize costs, there are many practices that led to cheap and unhealthy products. For example, livestock are fed antibiotics, GMOs, hormones, and other food to fatten them up as cost efficiently as possible (“Why are Factory Farmed Products So Cheap?”). When people consume this meat, it leads to antibiotic resistance, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and malaise (“Factory Farming...”). As a result, these already poorer communities have higher risks of certain diseases from eating poor quality meat.

The environment is also violently impacted by factory farming, as this institution makes up nearly 37% of global methane emissions and the leading cause of deforestation (Greentumble). Additionally, this process releases other harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, including hydrogen sulfide and ammonia – most of which immediately impact human health. Factory farming is also a very water intensive process, as feeding the livestock, watering their crops, and cleaning the filth of the farms takes a lot of water. In fact, industrial agriculture, including factory farming, consumes more than 70% of the fresh and clean water; in the US, this statistic is even higher (“How Does Factory Farming Affect the Environment?”). Furthermore, one result of factory farming includes water pollution that is toxic and lethal for human or animal consumption. Factory farming is also to blame for increased deforestation worldwide and fossil fuels. By eliminating factory farms, we would be able to save a great deal of water and land from being wasted on unethical, violent practices.

There are many obstacles that prevent people from addressing the issues of factory farming. One of the largest is our capitalist economy that also prioritizes money over humans and the planet. Capitalism prevents people from buying cafe free or more ‘ethical’ meat because it’s usually much more expensive and unaffordable. Another reason why it is financially easier to consume these products is because the U.S. government subsidizes meat and dairy. It also prevents companies from shutting down factory farms: they are making so much money, why would they want to stop? Another obstacle is that people don’t really see the connection between killing an animal and being able to eat meat. One study found that when meat eaters were asked if they were willing to kill an animal to eat meat, 85% of them said no (Dorovskikh). The public is not educated on the realities of factory farming which makes it much easier for the average person to consume these products. If they had proper education, maybe they would change their eating and consumption habits.

Luckily, there are things we can do to push past these obstacles and fix the problems that factory farming has caused. Arguably the most effective tool would be education; educating people on the importance of food and nutrition, where our food comes from, and the reality of factory farms could go further than we imagine. The food pyramid, which most of us were taught in elementary school, has been found to be not only misinformed, but also harmful and can actually contribute to an unhealthy diet (Brusie). It encourages an excess consumption of carbohydrates, animal products, and even fats, oils, and sweets, but ignores the importance of consuming whole grains and what portion sizes should be. In fact, the food pyramid was only created by the government as a means to increase the consumption of meat and dairy – products they heavily subsidize. In 1977, many doctors recommended that all Americans should reduce their far, saturated fat, and cholesterol consumption, meaning to cut down on animal products. As a result, meat and dairy consumption began to fall. A few years later, in 1980, the USDA ignored these recommendations and issued the USDA Food Pyramid, which encouraged 2-3 servings of both diary and meat a day (Zak). Animal product consumption rose and thus did the factory farming industry.

If we were to implement a new nutrition system in schools that taught the realities of food and interdependence, not influenced by what the government subsidizes, people could begin to make more informed decisions on what food they would consume. Interdependence, the fact that the natural environment, the economy, and society are mutually dependent on one another, is often forgotten in contemporary society; instead, society is taught to prioritize the economy and the concept of making money. We don’t usually realize that by making money and only caring about this, we are ruining our society, our planet, and our lives. If people were educated on the impact of their food choices, they could make more informed choices and maybe decide to not buy factory farmed products, if they have the means to do so.

Paul McCartney once said, “if slaughterhouses had glass walls, we would all be vegetarians” (Shephard). Being more realistic about factory farming could also help overcome these obstacles. Many people don’t realize the horrors that go on in these industries; most of this industry’s success is dependent on society’s ignorance. Motivated by this, Animal Equality pioneered the first virtual reality project, iAnimal, that immerses viewers into what really happens inside factory farms (“A Virtual Reality Experience...”). By doing this, they are shining a light on the abused animals that are raised and killed for food because society demands it. Virtual realities and documentaries, like iAnimal, that expose society to the violent realities of our food system help change people’s minds about their consumption. Another solution to push past these obstacles includes making healthy foods more accessible, especially to low-income communities. One way of doing this is by decreasing the costs of pasture raised meat; that way, people who usually can’t afford these products can consume healthier, more ethical products that have a better impact on our planet. Furthermore, if we had more organizations like the Global Action Research Center’s (ARC) Ocean View Growing Grounds (OVGG), we could help communities grow their own nutritious foods and become more self-sufficient. The OVGG operate in Southeast San Diego, a community that is particularly stricken by poverty and disinvestment, teaching the local communities how to grow and sustain their own food (“Leadership Academy for Social Change”). Organizations like this give people an alternative to shopping for produce, and allows them to save money, become more self-sufficient, and have more access to fresh, healthy foods.

While the issues caused by factory farms seem very daunting, they are fixable and reversible if we act soon. Because this institution prioritizes profits over humans, animals, and the environment, there has been some serious repercussions that harm everyone and everything in society including the consumers, the workers, the environment, and the animals. It has been difficult to tackle not only factory farming but also its repercussions due to our capitalist economy that encourages it and our unknowing society. Education could help solve these issues, as it would weaponize our society with proper knowledge on the hidden realities of factory farming and its products. I believe we can make a difference and change the world; we just need more people to believe.

Works Cited

Brusie, Chaunie. “How Did The Government Get The Food Pyramid So Terribly Wrong?” HealthyWay​, 1 May 2018, .

“How Does Factory Farming Affect the Environment?” ​Sustainability Energy LLC​.

Koehring, Martin. “Why The US Food System Ranks Poorly In The 2017 Food Sustainability Index.” ​HuffPost,​ HuffPost, 13 Dec. 2017​.

“Leadership Academy for Social Change.” ​The Global ARC​, 2016.

Schlosser, Eric. “Why It's Immigrants Who Pack Your Meat.” ​The Atlantic,​ Atlantic Media Company, 16 Aug. 2019.

Shephard, Toni. “IAnimal: Virtual Immersion Into the Reality of Factory Farming.” Huffpost,​ Verizon Media, 3 July 2017.

Spangher, Lucas. “The Overlooked Plight of Factory Farm Workers.” ​HuffPost,​ HuffPost, 18 Oct. 2014​.

Todhunter, Colin. “Violence on the Factory Farm: How Not to Feed the World.” CounterPunch.org,​ 9 Mar. 2016​.

“A Virtual Reality Experience into the Lives of Farmed Animals.” ​IAnimal​, Animal Equality.

“Why Are Factory Farmed Products So Cheap?” ​ASPCA,​ www.aspca.org/news/why-are-factory-farmed-products-so-cheap​.

Zak. “USDA Food Pyramid History.” ​Healthy Eating Politics​, Healthy Eating Politics, 8 Mar. 2009.