Family Farming: The Way to Go

http://www.guardian.co.uk

Where does your food come from? I know that for most of my life I could not answer that question, nor did I care about where the food on my plate came from. I know most of the time my family buys Kroger brand food because it is cheaper and tastes good, but that's all I knew. I never knew what kind of farms Kroger bought their products from. Recently, I began to wonder about the food I was consuming. I wondered if the animals were treated well and if the farm really cared about me as a consumer. What I have discovered is that large factory farms care about one thing and that is money.

They definitely have no feelings for the animals! Animals in factory farms are forced to live in large numbers and small spaces. With so many animals in a small space disease can spread easily. The animals are given antibiotics daily to keep them from getting sick. They also need the antibiotics because they are growing too fast for their body to handle. As consumers of meat we are also consuming antibiotics. The problem with this is that humans can build an immunity to antibiotics. If we are immune to antibiotics, there will be nothing we can take when we are sick to make us feel better and heal. According to the Organic Consumers Association 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics are consumed by animals each year. This is compared to the 3 million pounds  that humans take to treat their diseases. The animals also are spreading diseases such as the Swine Flu and Madcow Disease. A statistics from http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/shortlist031604.cfm reads "A report by the USDA estimates that 89% of US beef patties contain traces of the deadly E. coli strain". This shocking statistic show how dangerous factory farming can be to us.

 

This video is a part of the well known film Food Inc. It is just one example of a large farm that keeps chickens in a small space. I think one of the most shocking parts of this video is how the woman says it is normal to find numerous dead chickens in the coop.

I respect this woman for being one of the only farms who agreed to show the horrific scenes, in which all factory farms share. I think more people need to see this in order for a change to happen. We need to stop supporting these large farms because they are harming animals, the earth, and human beings.

Factory farms are also hurting our earth and the resources it bares. Large farms use pesticides which are contaminating both land and water. The pesticides run into bodies of water which then mist be specially cleaned. Factory farming has also led us to over over-consume meat. There was a time when meat was only eaten on special occasions. I honestly cannot even believe that! It my house it would not be rare for us to eat meat with every meal. This is not a good thing though. I think that the fast, cheap production of meat is a big factor in the rising obesity rate in America. Many also contract heart problems or diabetes.

http://mottfamilyfarm.com/

So what can we do? STOP BUYING. We need to find farms that are in accordance with our beliefs on how animals and our earth should be treated and buy from them instead of from large farm companies. There are plenty of options to buy from. Family farms use a sufficiently smaller amount of energy in their farming. They also care about their animals. Most importantly, they care about their customers. They want us to know exactly where our food is coming from and they are proud of their farms.

An example of one of many family farms is The Mott's Family Farm located in Salesville, Ohio. The picture above was taken at the farm. Their website is full of pictures like this one. A factory farm would never show pictures from their farm. They are not proud like the Mott's are. Factory farms would rather hide their farms because they know that people would not approve of their techniques. Would you really want to buy from a farm like that?

The Mott Family farm makes sure that their animals live a happy life and are not diseased or harming the humans that consume them. They also care about our earth! They only use ONE tractor for their farming. The rest is done by draft horses. They are not afraid to show off their farm, because they are proud! Yes, it may be a little more expensive to buy from these smaller farms but it is worth it! It is definitely worth the saving the earth for future generations, saving innocent animals, and always being able to treat illness with antibiotics!

http://www.oprah.com/world/Health-Risks-That-Large-Factory-Farming-Leaves-Behind