The Scary Truth about Factory Farming (At the Taxpayers’ Expense)
We continue to subsidize this abhorrent industry that cares about profits, not health or humanity
When I was a small girl in rural Australia, we often spent a portion of summer in a sleepy beachside town a few hours away, a laid-back place where I could swing my sandy, sunburned feet from park benches and disappear into the foamy waves until the sun slipped behind the horizon.
Then, one day, Dad decided it could be an adventure to experiment with fishing. My sister and I squealed with delight. My grandfather in North Queensland was an avid fisherman with a beautiful, shiny blue boat. But we had never tried it ourselves. At the store, Dad bought bait, a long, top-of-the-line rod, and a rinky-dink, simple flywheel for us to entertain ourselves. Early one Saturday morning, we set out, positioning ourselves at the jetty's edge. We sat for hours and hours beneath the burnishing sun. I quickly grew bored, waiting for Dad to get more movement than just a loss of bait.
Mum, a sugarcane farm girl from the tropics, finally grabbed that basic line and tossed it out just as we were ready to pack up and leave, defeated.
"Something is moving," she excitedly announced, reeling in a small white fish – right on the margin of being large enough to keep.
Now dotted with blood, the delicate creature flapped and struggled, the hook deeply embedded into his ailing body, before finally going out of breath. We hurried back to our motel. Dad cooked up that tiny snapper in the kitchenette that night, and we divided it out, which only amounted to a few slithers for each of us. I relished every bite, and then suddenly – staring at a clean plate – it hit me. We killed a living, breathing being for consumption that didn’t fill any of our bellies. I pictured the innocent creature we fooled; furiously flapping. I remembered staring into deadened eyes on ice and I burst into tears. My sister cried, too. We were inconsolable. Although I went on to eat fish and animal products again, the memory has never left me, despite steadily slipping into the "out of sight" but never quite "out of mind" category.
This is one of those chilling realities that is hard to wrap our heads around. We love our pets. We wouldn't sit by and laugh if we spotted strangers tormenting a puppy in the street. We wouldn't stand for someone slaughtering a kitten for entertainment. So why are some creatures more important to us than others?
For me, it is becoming harder and harder to ignore the connection between what I put in my mouth and the unfathomable suffering behind my animal protein consumption. Perhaps motherhood has both mellowed and invigorated my awareness. My six-month-old daughter has just started solids, just purees of fruit and vegetables, and I ponder whether she should eventually eat meat. Can I trust where it came from? What does "organic" or "free range" really mean? Furthermore, with every deep-sea diving adventure I go on, an immersion into an incredible underworld, I am reminded of these lovely little families going about their business.
Trust me, I am aware of conservation both on land and sea. Still, I lie awake at night and wonder: am I part of a bigger problem that isn’t just about public health and the environment, but about inflicting suffering? I've gone through stretches of my life not eating animals and then eating only animals, only to swing the pendulum back to the middle and then to another extreme. I'm imperfect, but I'm learning to tap into what feels right.
Whether you are vegetarian or carnivore, I think we can collectively agree that factory farming in the United States is hideous.
Animals exist in terrible conditions behind closed doors in many pockets of rural America. They're confined in crowded, dirty spaces, denied natural behaviors, and pumped with antibiotics and hormones for profit, not health. This practice also harms the environment with massive waste pollution and deforestation. The prevalence of factory farms has markedly increased over the past two decades, dramatically shifting from smaller, independent family farms to now 99% of farmed animals in the US raised on factory farms.
In 2022, the latest year for which data is available, the number of chickens, cows, pigs, and turkeys in the US food system surpassed 10 billion for the first time in census records, marking a significant increase from the 5.2 billion animals documented in 1987.
Factory farming, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), prioritizes profit by maximizing production while minimizing expenses. This exploitative industrial model sacrifices animal welfare treats animals as commodities, and disregards environmental and health concerns.
Animals endure severe abuse in factory farms, with chickens suffering the most. Over nine billion chickens are slaughtered annually in the US, subjected to rapid growth that strains their bodies and inhumane slaughter methods. Cows endure constant milking and separation from their calves, while pigs face confinement in gestation crates.
Fish also suffer in aquafarms, enduring cramped conditions, polluted water, and parasitic infestations. Factory farming contributes significantly to environmental degradation, including water and air pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Factory farming poses human health risks, including antibiotic resistance, exposure to harmful residues in meat and dairy products, and increased disease transmission. Despite being categorized as family farms, many large-scale operations contribute to significant environmental damage and animal suffering, and they are subsidized by taxpayer dollars.
How are we, as taxpayers, funding this?
Estimates indicate that over $100 billion will be allocated to insurance subsidies in the 2023 Farm Bill, with a significant portion directed toward the largest farms. For instance, a single dairy farm in the West has historically received subsidies totaling $6.6 million across all its policies. Did you know taxpayers foot the bill for direct subsidies to crops used for animal feed? On a more indirect level, factory farms also benefit from government programs that provide crop insurance, disaster relief, and research funding, even though these programs aren't specifically designed to support factory farming.
Moreover, some of the nation's largest farms also rank among its most significant polluters. Compounding the issue, when mishaps occur on factory farms — sometimes due to their operational methods — taxpayers are left to cover the costs.
Vegetarian or otherwise, you can make a difference if you want to continue meat consumption by supporting humane, sustainable, family-run farming practices and choosing compassion over convenience. This doesn't have to be all or nothing. I don’t intend to put labels on what I eat. But I intend to be much more aware. Do your research. Understand that the government and corporations do not have your best interests and health in mind. Maximizing profits is far more critical to them than your welfare or that of the animals.
PLEASE CONSIDER A PAID SUBSCRIPTION TO THIS SUBSTACK TO HELP KEEP INDEPENDENT WRITING AND JOURNALISM ALIVE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
For speaking queries please contact meta@metaspeakers.org
For ghostwriting, personalized mentoring or other writing/work-related queries please contact hollie@holliemckay.com
HOLLIE’S BOOKS (please leave a review)
** Short read of meaningful lessons gleaned from the ordinary forced to become extraordinary
Order your copy of “Afghanistan: The End of the US Footprint and the Rise of the Taliban Rule” out now.
For those interested in learning more about the aftermath of war, please pick up a copy of my book “Only Cry for the Living: Memos from Inside the ISIS Battlefield.”
If you want to support small businesses:
And also now available Down Under!