E-I-E-I-OW! How Factory Farming Hurts More Than Just The Animals

Day two of Frostburg State University’s 10th Annual Appalachian Festival contained a symposium titled “Appalachian Resilience.” The symposium contained various speakers presenting on topics that ranged from agriculture to energy in the Appalachia area. At 4pm festival goers can be found sitting beneath a canopy on FSU’s Upper Quad waiting for Skott Brill to begin his lecture titled “Old MacDonald Had a Factory Farm, E-I-E-I-OMG! The Story Behind the Food We Eat.”

Skott Brill, with the support of his wife and daughter front row, explains issues behind factory farming. (Photo by Megan Alvarez)

Brill informed the audience at the beginning of his lecture that he hopes his discussion will be a “consciousness raising talk,” in terms of not only making people aware of the terrible conditions in which factory farm animals are kept, but also of the health hazards these operations pose to people. For people who do not know, factory farms raise large amounts of animals for the purpose of meat, but do so in very inhumane conditions because their focus is on efficiency and profit, not animal welfare. 

In attempts to make the topic relatable to his audience, Brill states that most fast food chains, and large meat companies like Tyson and Perdue, get their chicken supply from factory farms, which leads into the discussion of the life of a chicken on a factory farm. For chicks born on these factory farms, one of two things can happen. For males, death is certain. Female chicks, on the other hand, are taken to a large shed and placed in a battery cage with many other hens, which only allows for each hen to live in a space so small that is is equivalent to the size of a standard sheet of paper. The chickens then have the tips of their beaks seared off to prevent them from pecking at the other chickens.

The discussion of animal welfare continued for some time, but took a turn when Brill began discussing the health issues these establishments are creating. Factory farms contain what is referred to as a “manure lagoon,” which can lead to a runoff of manure into surrounding water sources. If the concern of manure runoff wasn't enough, the overwhelming demand for clean water is further brought into account when Brill began listing many numbers and percentages that eventually led to the astounding statistic that it takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1lb of California feed lot beef.

Cheryl DeBerry, who owns a local farm with her husband, took the liberty to say “we try not to be the bad guys,” which is why she and her husband choose to grow organically and raise their animals cage free. Cheryl is not the only person who believes in making a change to stop factory farms, audience member Bob Jones added that “you have to get out and fight if you want to turn things around.” It is Brill’s belief that “more people are being enlightened,” just as Cheryl and Bob have been, when it comes to the many issues factory farms contain.

To conclude his “consciousness raising talk,” Brill told the audience of a few local farms in Appalachia, such as Savage River Farm, Backbone Food Farm, and Cedar Rock Farm, that grow organically and raise their animals cage free. It is Brill’s hope that people will turn to these farms for their food supply now that more people are “becoming aware of the consequences,” of getting their meat from factory farms.