Jarrod Mays Mays 1

Prof. Reynolds

ENG 1201-515

May 1, 2022

How Did the Evolution of “Super Farms” Effect the World?

Agriculture has been one of the earliest forms of economy and way of life. All

across the world and since the beginning of the human race, farming has been a

necessity. Many towns and cities were based off these farm communities, while the big

cities have many factories that can mass produce items that they get from the farmers.

Now, “Super Farms” are taking over the economy and these family farms. The creation

of Super Farms negatively effects the everyday lives of family farms, and the citizens

of small farm towns all across the world. How do these small family farms compete

with these “Super Farms”? With these kinds of farms battling, what happens to the

economy and these small towns full of farm families?

Before these “Super Farms” could mass produce crop and livestock, the lands

across the world were plowed by the men of the family. These families would have large

numbers of kids to be able to run the farm. The only way that family farms would start

up is if they are passed through the generations. The expenses that a first-generation

farmer has is too much. It is almost impossible for a person to start a farm without being

born into it. The farmers for centuries were able to sell their crops and livestock to their

local markets. The farmers would be able to be a big part of their community, along with

Agro-tourism, community supported agriculture programs, and farmer’s markets. 

Combined they provide economic opportunities to sustainable farmers who are

 Mays 2

connected to their local communities and have farms safe and beautiful enough to visit.

(Michele Merkel)

With the “Factory Farms” coming into play, they are destroying the small family

farms and in some cases the quality of the crop/livestock they produce. When the

livestock are being raised in these big farms, they have very limited room and their living

environment isn’t the best. While these companies can mass produce animal for

butchering, the meat quality is not going to be as good as a pasture raised animal.

(Michele Merkel) The smaller individual farms would have less effects with sickness on

their cattle. These farms that have no room for these animals to go just create a large

cesspool of urine and feces which is the perfect breeding ground for diseases. ( Louise

Gaille)

The new factory farms have benefits, such as, being able to withstand changes

within the climate and geographical features that small farms wouldn’t be able due to

the lack of money. It’s likely that land not being used to its full capability will soon be

converted into super farms to meet the world’s issue with hunger and the accessibility of

food production facilities. ( Louise Gaille)

This change from small farms to a more industrial way of farming is beneficial but

has its downfalls just like everything. If the precautionary measures are taken properly

and there is human decency for these animals, then this could prove to be quite

beneficial. But, the small farm communities will be crushed and will have to compete

with these super farms. If there is a way that keeps these farms a float and flourish
 Mays 3

alongside the super farms, world hunger would quickly come to an end and would prove

to be quite beneficial.

Farms all across the country are being put out by these giant farms. These small

family farms relied on the revenue of their yield of crops and their cattle that they have

been raising to sell at the local market so the farmer could supply their friends and

family. Alongside, the other farmers which then sell to neighboring towns that may be

struggling on that year’s yield. (Michele Merkel)

Also, factory farms do not have biodiversity that the small farms would have.

These factory farms grow crop in mass quantities over and over. That may sound great

but in doing so the soil will have depleted nutrients and the soil will not be able to have

the proper vitamins and nutrients that would grow a healthy, nutritious crop. (Michele

Merkel) When the soil nutrients are depleted, the best way to get it up is with fertilizer

and other chemicals. This raises/lowers the ph. of the soil and brings many

environmental issues. When a factory farm works with other factory farms they can

completely control the market. They are able to sell, distribute, their livestock and any

crop they would like to grow to these major retailors which in return, destroy the small

farms entirely.

The numbers that the big-name farms bring in are unreal. To the point that the

average small farmer can’t compete. By the USDA’s definition, a Concentrated Animal

Feeding Operation (CAFO) or intense feeding operation has equal to or greater than

2,500 hogs, 125,000 chickens, and 1,000 cattle. However, in Europe, the regulations

are widely different and farms that carry more than 2,000 hogs or 40,000 chickens is
 Mays 4

considered a factory farm. (Jeremy Coller) All across the world this is becoming an

issue. According to an article published by Intensive/Factory Farming, 70% of UK farm

animals and as high as 99% of US farm animals are now being raised in factory farms

or CAFOs, respectively. (Jeremy Coller) The main benefit of mass production is the

quantity of supply. In most cases, there are many negatives that arise while performing

mass production. Spreading livestock across a certain amount of land is preferred and

has proved to be more beneficial than many animals in a limited area. At the point

where livestock is super concentrated compared to the area, diseases and sicknesses

begin to thrive and can run through entire populations of animals. Additional

disadvantages include environmental damage, high levels of pollution, and increased

public health risks due to zoonotic disease and antibiotic resistance. (Jeremy Coller)

While many of people gain access to the surplus of goods, many of the small

farms and towns are struggling to stay afloat or keep their belief in what they have

known for the past few generations. Over the past decade, there has been a significant

decrease of farms. The number of farms has decreased by 6%, or 110,000 farms.

(USDANASS) Additionally, the number of acres of farmland has dropped by 30,000

acres in just 10 years. (USDANASS) However, the average acres per farm has went up.

How could that be? The main contributing factor is the small farms being pushed away.

The small farms are not supplying enough money so they resort to selling their farmland

to make more money. Many renewable energy plants are coming about. For these to

take over the fossil fuels the companies will have to acquire lots of acres of farmland.

Along with the renewable energy, other big manufactures are needing the space for

their factories. For example, in Southwest Ohio, the Amazon solar farm required over
 Mays 5

1,000 acres for its more than 600,000 panels. (Chris Welter) When one takes a ride

through the rural backroads of America, they will see how these farmers feel about

losing their land. Many signs that read “Say No to Solar Farms” sit sternly beside the

roads for miles there.

Currently, the world has been facing the issues of Covid-19. With the large

number of workers across the factory farm industry, this sickness poses a big threat.

With new research, scientists have concluded that humans can pass Covid-19 to

animals. Studies showed that infected workers at a mink farm passed SARS-CoV-2 to

the mink and then virus spread throughout the mink on the farm. This is a threat

because once the disease is introduced to a farm, the disease can spread between

multiple species on the farm, including house pets and other livestock. (CDC) While it is

a very low risk for humans to contract it through the animals, for animals with weak

immune systems (hogs, chickens, etc.) it can be detrimental to the whole population.

The amount of money that factory farms need to maintain structure and

functionality is very high. There are many expenses that aren’t expensive for small uses

but can be very expensive when added up. For example, the increased usage of

medical antibiotics and vaccines within CAFOs is increasing antibiotic resistance among

the animals, thus, making outbreaks of the disease such as H1N1, H5N1 and COVID-

19 difficult to control and practically impossible to stop. This is very similar to how

overtime certain weeds have become resistant to glyphosate, making the control of

weeds in crops difficult to prevent. Almost 70% of the nation’s antibiotic use for animals

is found on farms. In October 2015, California announced that it would become the first

state within the United States to ban routine antibiotic use in farm animals. Seemingly
 Mays 6

following California’s lead, the EU introduced legislation to revise the use of veterinary

medicines. The revisions that are being introduced will likely change how farmers give

their antibiotics in factory farms. Additionally, the introduction of fines for such practices

are very costly and meant to be a deterrent. Most recently, the US meat company,

Tyson Foods, had to pay at least $14 million in fines and settlements for their

contribution to environmental pollution between the years of 2013 -2018. (Jeremy

Coller) As you can see, there is significant risk with improper management of CAFOs

and the expenses can add up quickly. If a company continues to mismanage

operations, fines can be one of the biggest things that cause a company to go under.

Genetic modification is a big issue when people are interested in how their food

was created. The big factory farms use genetically modified crops (GMO) to enhance

their crops growing rate and/or their genetic characteristics to grow in certain conditions

and climates. Sustainable farmers, on the other hand, avoid GMO crops and instead

choose seed varieties suitable to local growing conditions. Many also use traditional

breeding practices that create hardier, drought-resistant crops. (Michele Merkel)

Genetic modification can sometimes take away the key characteristics that makeup a

certain crop. People that have allergies can be at risk to these genetically modified

foods. According to the FDA, they knew that genetic modification could increase the

concentration of certain toxins such as pesticides and heavy metals prior to

implementing their no-testing policy. They also knew that if the buyer were to consume

the food with the modifications, this could bring health risks with the toxins and cause

some cancers. (Ludlow Kingsley) Furthermore, the Canadian and European

scientists found that the FDA did not think to review a study that illustrated
 Mays 7

an increased IGF-1 in rBGH milk may be able to live through digestion and

enter the blood streams and intestines of the consumers. Study’s following

this incident discovered IGF-1 is the leading cause of prostate cancer, colon

cancer, and breast cancer. (Ludlow Kingsley)

On the other hand, factory farms do produce more goods and are more

efficient than small family farms. With the introduction of CAFOs also came

the introduction of automation. Automation reduces and individual’s workloads and

the number of employees required to operate and maintain the farms. This means

fewer people can care for larger farms and improving the efficiency, level of care to the

animals and finally, profitability. (Louise Gaille) CAFOs have created a chance for world

hunger to dwindle down to nothing. Around 80 years ago, the National Chicken Council

reported the average chicken sold to the market was 70 days old and was around 3 lbs.

While, 8 years ago, the average chicken was 47 days old and weighed over 6 lbs. If

there were no antibiotics introduced to the chickens, this would mean that more birds

can be produced in a shorter amount of time, thus feeding more people. One would

conclude that food shortage would minimize while continuing the same health benefits.

(Louise Gaille)

Also, with the use of genetic modification, farmers are capable of growing almost

any crop in their local climate. Intensive farming can happen almost any time of the

year and the production of many cycles of livestock can take place within a farm. This

allows for a larger option of food to be picked at the market during all seasons that was

unheard of using conventional farming practices. Intensive farming has also brought

about the necessity for new innovative transportation practices, processing technologies
 Mays 8

and storage capabilities. Through this innovation, foods are to be able to be preserved

for longer without spoiling, mass production increases the supply and ultimately more

food can be put in the market. All the while, the amount of food that is left over to spoil

dwindles down tremendously. (Louise Gaille) There may be a lot of downfalls to factory

farming but there is definitely benefits.

In conclusion, factory farming does have many negative characteristics over

small farm users and the ecosystem the farm is placed in. The small farms create much

better-quality crop/livestock and they handle their animals better. The factory farms are

only focused on the end goal, getting money. This is why the quality of the product

suffers significantly. The smaller farms care about their product and believe that their

product reflects them. When they are selling their product locally, farmers need to look

good for their buyers since the buyer is also someone they know well. The environment

is also hurt by the harmful herbicide/fertilizers and the constant nutrient depletion in the

soil. Small farms are the backbone of the world and these factory farms are

endangering their existence. In my personal experiences with these “factory farms” is

that my family had to stop raising livestock. The cost for raising the livestock was more

than the money my family were getting out of them. The bigger farms were able to mass

produce these animals and grow them more rapidly which allows them to be sold at a

younger age. My family raised sheep for years, but when these farms began raising

sheep the pay for wool went way down. It went down to about $10 a pound of wool.

While the big farms had so many more sheep, they were still making money because

they were able to sell their product in bulk and make more money. This caused my

family to stop raising livestock and focus on buying acreage. Here, there aren’t many
 Mays 9

factory farms so, people are able to grow crop for fuel. In the Midwest, houses are being

heated with corn. My family heats the house by burning corn. This is a very inexpensive

fuel and it burns well. Around here buyers are able to use 2 gallons of corn every 2 days

to heat their families house. This is much more cost effective than wood and natural

gases. Also, family and friends run biodiesel in almost all of the agricultural and

everyday use equipment. This biodiesel is made from soybeans. The soybeans that the

local farmers have thousands of acres on. The farmers are able to supply another fuel-

efficient source which is relatively cheap and actually helps the motor last. The

soybeans provide a natural lubricant which is able to coat the metal parts which limits

friction to almost 0%. Even though these factory farms are rising all across the world,

the small farms are still shining like a diamond in the rough. They really are the

backbone of the world and are the reason why the world has everything today.
 Mays 10

Works Cited:

Coller, Jeremy. “Intensive/Factory Farming” https://www.fairr.org/article/intensive-factory-

farming/ /Accessed 20 Mar. 2022

Coller, Jeremy. “Costs of Factory Farming” https://www.fairr.org/article/costs-of-factory-

farming/ /Accessed 27 Mar 2022

Gaille, Louise. “13 Factory Farming Pros and Cons” https://vittana.org/13-factory-

farming-pros-and-cons / Accessed 20 Mar. 2022

Merkel, Michele “How do sustainable animal farms and ranches differ from factory

farms?” https://farmvsfactory.org/index.php /Accessed 20 Mar. 2022

NCIRD “Animals and Covid-19” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-

coping/animals.html#:~:text=%E2%80%A2%20Infected%20workers%20likely

%20introduced,dogs%2C%20cats). /Accessed 27 Mar 2022

USDANASS “Farms and Land in Farms”

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/fnlo0220.pdf

/Accessed 27 Mar 2022