https://tamerlaine.org/
1. Family farms, shrinking in number, still outnumber factory or "industrial" farms by far. BUT, the total number of animals on factory farms is greater than the total on family farms. A single factory dairy farm can have anywhere from 700 to 25,000 milk cows...on ONE "farm". Dairy cattle! These cows are never on pasture. They live in giant warehouses and/or crowded feedlots. There are about 9.4 million milk cows in the USA; the majority of them are never grazing on pasture their entire lives. [NOTE: in China & a few other countries, there are factory dairy farms with up to 100,000 milk cows on each one.]
2. Hogs on factory farms live their entire lives indoors, most of them in steel bar crates, not roaming around in a big indoor arena. Sows live in gestating crates barely longer and taller than the animal...their entire lives (which usually is only a few years). [See the photo at the link above. Not counting dogs, hogs are the most intelligent of all farm animals. In general, they can do simple math better than a 3-yr-old human. Like all livestock, they are social creatures, & have emotions.]
3. Poultry on factory farms are never outdoors anymore. They're raised in crowded crates in giant sheds, several packed into each crate, & crates stacked upon each other.
4. Lab animals--- I can't even go there--- many of the experiments are cruel beyond belief, done in universities with full Government funding. Mice, cats, dogs, primates, and a few other mammals are subjected to inordinate suffering. Sentient beings treated like nonliving objects. There are a few corporations which do nothing but raise "crops" of these creatures, thousands of future victims for sale. It seems many humans pretend all animals except us are too dumb to be aware of their own suffering. I guess such thinking soothes their consciences.
In most of these factory operations, cleaning of animal wastes is done automatically, which means it's incomplete. Because of the massive numbers of animals, infected/sick ones often get overlooked and die without medical treatment.
The philosopher, Kant, once wrote (paraphrased): we can judge the character of people by their treatment of animals.
Factory farming (especially of animals) is an obscenity. It's a gross insult to civil society, sentient beings, and Nature. We are capable of far better behavior. Studies have shown that "small farms can feed the world". Google it. [You'll find arguments and studies supporting both sides of the question. The disagreement largely revolves around the definition of the term, "small farm".]
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Not only my opinion. Be Well
