Main article used was:
Maclachlan, Ian R.. “Animal Agriculture”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 01 September 2016, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/animal-agriculture. Accessed 25 October 2018.
Animal agriculture is the process of breeding, raising, and slaughtering animals in farms in order to produce food and products (Maclachlan). Animals which are raised in farms can either come from subsistence farms or from factory farms. Factory farms are defined as “a large industrialized farm; especially: a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost” (Merriam-Webster). The high demand for meat and dairy products require that producers the most effective process of raising animals, even if it means being unethical.
Food supply for animals in farms:
- horses, cattle, sheep, and goats:
- obtain most of their nutrients from grazing, grass, and sun-cured hay
- animals raised in confined factories
- receive a formulated diet which is intended to maximize their meat/milk/egg producing at a low cost
- cattle rarely only eat an all-grass diet
- the feed grain the animals get include; corn, soybeans, silage, and forage crops
- sometimes grown on the farm
- all of them include some extent of a commercial food supplement or industrial by-product in order to help the animals grow
- Antimicrobials/antibiotics are sometimes included in the feed in order to prevent disease
- these can also be injected to treat a bacterial disease
Disease in animals in farms:
- “The potential for the rapid spread of animal disease was first recognized in the 19th century when the growing volumes of livestock shipped by railway and marine modes increased the likelihood of epizootic disease outbreaks (i.e. diseases spread between the same type of animal at the same time) such as aftosa (hoof and mouth disease), anthrax and brucellosis.”
Artificial growth hormones:
- Used by majority of North American beef/cattle producers
- Have been banned in the European Union
- because they are unable to confirm that there is absolutely no health risk
- however, North American regulators believe that the science shows it is safe
Cici's Capstone 