The Story of Factory Farms - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 92

PART V
The Story of Factory Farms
Over the last two decades, small and medium-size livestock farms have given way to factory farms that con-
fine thousands of cows, hogs, and chickens in tightly packed facilities. Large numbers of livestock farmers
have been driven out of business, while a small percentage has adopted factory farming practices largely
at the behest of the largest meatpackers, pork processors, poultry companies, and dairy processors. Despite
ballooning in size, however, many livestock operations are just squeezing by, because the real price of beef
cattle, hogs, and milk has been falling for decades. The largest meat processors, which operate essentially as
monopolies with unchecked power, are the beneficiaries of the cheap grain policies that have made factory
farming profitable. Ending industrialized meat production is a critical component of reforming the food sys-
tem.