Quote:
Originally Posted by Kodos
From videos that I've seen over the years, none of the factory-farmed animals are treated well. Smaller farmers may treat their animals more humanely, but the bulk of the meat in our food supply comes from some variety of factory farm.
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Speaking only from my experience in the dairy industry, I’d say that so-called factory farms tend to do a better job in terms of animal comfort. Dairy cattle that aren’t comfortable don’t produce milk. Some of my biggest frustrations before I quit were my inability to afford changes that would have benefited cow comfort and being able to staff 24 hours per day so that cow that decides to have a calf at 2:00 AM when it’s -30F are properly cared for. Larger farms are almost entirely built in the last 20-25 years when we’ve learned so much about how to keep cows comfortable. Larger dairy farms can afford this. Smaller ones are often utilizing facilities from the 1950s that just aren’t cow friendly.
I can’t speak for chicken as I know little about it. I have heard stories about free range chicken farms that open up a door to allow the chickens outside but most would rather just stay inside.