Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
that educated consumers want to buy locally, and to know the source of their food and
the practices of the raiser.
Small Farms vs. Factory Farms
The twenty-first-century consumer must determine the more humane, healthy, and en-
vironmentally friendly way to raise poultry. Is the bird produced by the modern confine-
ment cage method in gargantuan facilities the better choice, or is the traditional free-
range bird best? Each year, more and more corporate money is spent trying to convince
the public that raising poultry on smaller farms, out in the open on green grass or in
untidy barns, where they're exposed to wild animals, dirt, disease, and pests, is not as
humane or healthy as raising birds in a plastic bubble of confinement.
While it may be argued that poultry are more comfortable in a climate-controlled fa-
cility, a number of factors must be considered before advocating for such a method, es-
pecially the pollution potential of factory farms.
Resources.
The corporate way of doing things involves a great amount of electricity.
Fans and heaters required to maintain ideal conditions are a large natural-resources
drain.
Disease.
Having so many birds in one space produces massive amounts of manure
concentrated in a small area. With flocks sharing a space with vast quantities of manure,
concern arises over the incidence of disease.
Preventatives.
To keep illness at bay, vaccinations and/or use of antibiotics must be
constant to keep the population healthy. Anytime you cram such a large number of liv-
ing creatures into a small area, precautions must be used to combat or confine disease.
Biosecurity issues.
A superbug intentionally or accidentally introduced into a cli-
mate- and condition-controlled facility raising only genetically similar birds could
severely diminish or destroy the food supply. A diverse and genetically rich population
is essential to maintaining a healthy, vital planet.
Many backyard raisers are afraid that the eggs and chickens produced in enormous
facilities by genetically identical birds kept in such close proximity leave no room for
