Factory farms do more harm than good for cows

Thursday, November 9, 2006 9:48 AM EST

As someone who grew up on a dairy farm, it's easy to see why many are troubled by the disappearance of family farms (“Milk price slump crushing dairy farms,” Oct. 30). As factory farms replace independent farms, both rural heritage and animal welfare suffer.
Across the country, factory farms keep millions of cows in unhygienic, barren conditions. Genetically manipulated for high production, the cows are also given antibiotics and growth hormones to produce a grossly unnatural amount of milk.

These animals suffer from a number of welfare problems, including often painful udder-related diseases and lameness.

Each one of us can help prevent this type of cruelty. For more information, visit HumaneEating.com.

Erin Williams

Washington, D.C.

Williams is outreach coordinator for the Factory Farming Campaign of The Humane Society of the United States

The Citizens' Say

There are 1 comment(s)

Jim Sanders wrote on Nov 10, 2006 10:39 PM:

" I too grew up on a dairy farm. I also think it's unfortunate that the days of small quaint dairies scattered across the landscape are over, but that’s all part of “progress”. What bothers me about Erin Williams’ editorial, along with the other animal rights propagandists, is their claims that these animals are mistreated. Anyone that knows anything about animal husbandry knows that to get the most production from an animal it must be content. Diseased, lame, mal-nourished or mistreated animals will not be contented! This applies to poultry, dairy animals, meat animals, work animals, as well as the human animal. Anybody that takes time to visit a successful farm will find clean, happy and well cared-for animals. This will be the case whether it is a small 40-cow dairy or a 4000-cow dairy, or any other successful livestock operation. You may see vast differences in operations, but remember, there’s usually more than one right way to do almost everything. Always keep in mind that a farmer abusing his animals is like a mechanic abusing his tools, or a truck driver abusing his truck, it’s not going to pay off in the end. "

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