What's Wrong with Factory Farming?

Abstract

Factory farming continues to grow around the world as a low-cost way of producing animal products for human consumption. But many of the practices associated with intensive animal farming have been criticized by public health professionals and animal welfare advocates. The aim of this essay is to raise three independent moral concerns with factory farming, and to explain why the practices associated with factory farming flourish despite the cruelty inflicted on animals and the public health risks imposed on people. I conclude that the costs of factory farming as it is currently practiced far outweigh the benefits, and offer a few suggestions for how to improve the situation for animals and people.

Keywords: factory farming, antibiotic resistance, zoonotic disease, avian flu, swine flu

JEL Classification: P16