The days of the small farmer raising his cattle, hogs and hens on green
pastures are long gone. Today America’s farming landscape resembles a
windowless, animal gulag system filled with metal sheds, wire cages,
gestation crates and confinement systems.
Factory farms aren’t about feeding the hungry or harvesting healthy
food. They’re about maximizing profits for a handful of the world’s
largest agribusiness corporations, and the biotech and pesticide
companies that fuel their factories and feed their animals.
Today, nearly 65 billion animals worldwide, including cows, chickens and
pigs, are crammed into CAFOs and slaughtered annually. These animals
are literally imprisoned and tortured in unhealthy, unsanitary and
unconscionably cruel conditions.
Factory farms produce unhealthy animals. And unhealthy people. About 80
percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are used on factory farms,
either to prevent disease or stimulate growth. Meanwhile, about 70,000
Americans die each year from “superbugs” that have developed a
resistance to antibiotics.
from here with more facts and statistics
The big question here is who decides what food will be produced and how?
As stated above, one of the problems of living within this capitalist system is that the people don't get to choose - or rather they get to choose very little and within very limited parameters. If people are content with the food system as it is described above how is it that there are so many protests and petitions and boycotts and law suits against the big producers? When food production is controlled by huge companies vying with each other for profits whilst paying vast amounts to lobbyists with government approval - however public opinion differs - we must surely question the level of democracy within society? Socialism is about democracy and access for all, no hierarchy making decisions on our behalf and about people determining their own choices.
JS
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