“Factory farming will kill us all,” by John Lewis-Stempel, written for “UnHerd,” dives right into the COVID-19 spread between humans and animals. Mink farms in Denmark discovered many animals carrying the disease, which transmitted it back to the human workers. While I do not wish to speak on the topic of a foreign farming industry I know nothing about, I do want to address his other points regarding factory farming, which is a term made up by animal rights extremists who wanted to make large farming and ranching businesses sound evil. Concentrated Animal Farming Operations in the United States are biosecure facilities that offer a more efficient way to raise animals for large-scale food production, but it is understandable that the industry raises some eyebrows. I want to dive into his article and break down his distaste for animal agriculture.
He starts his article off by saying, “We elevate ourselves over animals, consider them as Other, when biologically the species barrier between us is thin. Even non-existent.”
Without bringing religion into this argument, regarding the god-given purpose of animals, it’s frustrating to think that Lewis-Stempel thinks we elevate ourselves over animals. This ideology is dangerous because scientifically, we are more cognitive beings. While this ability isn’t something to take advantage of and cause animals unnecessary pain and suffering, it is a fact that as humans, we have an advantage mentally( although, this can be argued for some people if I am being brash). While physiologically we may be similar to certain species, that doesn’t hold up his argument well enough.
He continues this argument with “As soon as the Enlightenment philosopher declared that animals were automata and only humans conscious and deserving compassion, the creatures of the Earth were done for.
If animals are “flesh robots”, ethically they can be as badly treated as you like. Add the generalized disconnect from nature concomitant with the Industrial Revolution, and the table appetites of late capitalism (more meat, please!) you end up with the factory farming of Peppa, Ermintrude, and the Little Red Hen, plus the remainder of Old Macdonald’s old-style farmyard. All of them reduced to “units” or “produce” rather than sentient beings.”
Whew. There’s A LOT to unpack here. His close-minded views of how humans treat animals are concerning and makes me think he hasn’t ever spoken to a farmer or rancher. Ranching or farming is a business. So, while we may refer to them as a commodity, we aren’t treating them as indispensable items. Large operations have the ability to individualize the care each animal receives, down to minute data, utilizing experts and caretakers who are highly educated on the care they need.
While this isn’t a romantic view that a smaller farmer who sells their products to local markets has, it’s a reality in order to feed people across the globe efficiently. It’s possible that large operations and small farmers are able to exist in the same industry with success and serve people in great ways. I like to refer to animals in large operations like people living in cities. It is entirely different from rural-living communities, but it serves a necessary purpose and one isn’t eviler than another, it is simply a difference in lifestyle. The sensationalized language Lewis uses in his article is meant to draw emotion and distaste for an industry he otherwise knows nothing of. Pieces written in this fashion should be red flags and scrutinized before believing. Let’s continue on, shall we?
“The welfare arguments against factory farming from PETA and vegans are familiar, and need no rehearsing. When, though, will humans finally learn that factory farming will kill them?
By definition, a factory farm entails intensive rearing, with the livestock in close proximity, beak to beak, snout to snout. The old rule of farming — the one I was taught by my grandfather — is that “a sheep’s worst enemy is another sheep”. Put another way, any disease or sickness with animals close-packed “whips through the lot like wildfire”, in his words.”
First, let’s address that vegans aren’t experts by definition. They have simply made a decision, while personal in nature and they have most likely never been exposed to a variety of farming and ranching practices to understand the entire animal agriculture industry. Additionally, referencing PETA, a controversial organization that has been proven to be dangerous to animal welfare, and violent towards humans isn’t a strong argument to hold against large farming operations.
Then, let’s discuss the close proximity of animals in these operations. Yes, realistically, anyone close to another has the potential to spread disease, hence social distancing. However, when we use dairy calves as an example- where they are separated into individual calf hutches after being weaned- people still seem to think this is cruel. Except, it’s for the specific benefit of protecting their immune system and keeping them from spreading diseases. Other farming operations take very careful precautions with their young animals, and many are quarantined when entering a facility to ensure they are healthy and won’t spread diseases. This is why our food security is a huge deal, and there are processes in place by our government to ensure exports and imports are handled properly to defend from a detrimental outbreak of disease- like FMD- which was granted funding in the 2018 farm bill. If you visit a land grant university and tour an animal unit, you’ll see the kind of biosecurity measures they take to protect from the spreading of disease.
Jumping to antibiotics in animals, he says “Worldwide it is estimated that 73% of all antibiotics are used in farm animals. (In the UK the figure is about 30%.) According to leading authorities such as the European Medicines Agency and the WHO, the overuse of antibiotics in farming contributes to higher levels of antibiotic resistance in some human infections.”
Antibiotic resistance is a real concern. I won’t deny that we are constantly working to improve our antibiotic use in food animals. In fact, veterinarians in California are the only way ranchers and farmers can get antibiotics anymore. We must have an established, documented relationship with our veterinarian to use antibiotics in our animals. Additionally, the cost of medicine isn’t a small concern. It is a large cost to producers, and overly using them isn’t a smart business practice. Even more, genetics are improving to breed stronger animals that are healthier and need fewer treatments. However, when an animal is sick, suffering isn’t part of an animal welfare plan, so treating the animal is very humane. Antibiotics are not inherently evil. Demanding antibiotic-free animals, but complaining about genetic similarities about the animals- which means more animals are healthier, demonstrates that Lewis isn’t wanting compromise or improvement, he is just wanting to end animal agriculture.
Finally, Lewis states, “So we are not going to give up meat as a species, but as a matter of growing urgency we need to de-intensify and deindustrialize the livestock industry. It is not just humans who need to socially distance; we need to give the animals some space, and outdoors. The consequences if we don’t act soon could be truly catastrophic.”
Except, there isn’t enough land for animal agriculture in the sense he is demanding it. All those industry parks, housing developments, and urban sprawl mean it’s necessary to have more condensed animal operations. The ability to efficiently grow an animal in a large operation means that it can be processed and used for humans faster, which means it’s just as environmentally friendly and reduces costs to consumers, who already don’t want to spend a lot on their food. The article’s points just seem to feed into our fear-mongering tactics that have played out since the beginning of COVID-19.
While this article may largely be speaking to the European industry, it’s important to address these concerns here as well, because things that happen in one place, tend to spread into other countries, and advocating the truth is a way to help prevent misinformation about animal agriculture and large farms. Don’t let fear keep you from actually learning the truth about the industry that feeds you.
