Why Ending Factory Farming Should Be on the Progressive Agenda

Few industries are as harmful to people, animals, or the planet as intensive animal agriculture. From polluting marginalized communities with animal waste, to abusing billions of animals, to driving our world toward record temperatures, major meat, dairy, and egg corporations put profit above all else.

THE FACTS:

• Workers on poultry slaughter lines, many of whom are women, immigrants, and people of color, are among the most exploited in the U.S. Long-lasting and permanent injuries are common.
• In many states, factory farms are disproportionately located near lower-income communities. Animal waste pollutes their air, water, and soil, and residents suffer from higher rates of disease and early mortality compared to those living elsewhere.
• Globally, the animal agriculture industry emits more greenhouse gas than the world’s planes, trains, and cars combined.
• The U.N. has warned that livestock farming is one of the “most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”
• Animal agriculture exacerbates food insecurity. We use 33 percent of the world’s cropland to grow corn, soybeans, and other crops to feed animals raised for food––instead of feeding humans directly.
• On factory farms, billions of animals—as sensitive and intelligent as dogs and cats—endure immense suffering. They are confined to tiny cages and barren, filthy warehouses until the day they are slaughtered.
• In some countries, 80% of medically important antibiotics are used in animal agriculture, leading to deadly antibiotic resistance in humans.