What Is Industrialized Food Production?
Today’s farms closely resemble industrial factories, fine-tuned to meet the demand for its production “units” — animals. Sophisticated mechanization is the cornerstone of contemporary farming, including automation of feeding, watering, and climate management, along with intensive indoor confinement. Premiums are set for cost efficiencies, such as the most profitable ratio of caregivers (a typical 5,000 pig operation often has only one day-worker on the premises). Modern business concepts are applied to every phase, from the breeding station to the slaughterhouse, from butchering to packaging, and from marketing to consumer sales. To achieve this, the animals have been moved from the fields to feedlots, and now to shrinking indoor pens. Not long ago, our livestock grazed; today they struggle for enough space to turn around. Crowded conditions create stress and a prime atmosphere for disease, so preemptive antibiotic programs are essential. Genetic modification helps to meet the trends o
