Factory Farming Should Be Banned

"Factory Farming can either be OK"My opponent has already clearly expressed his opinion that factory farming can be "OK", please keep that in mind. factory farming - the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses [1]"Animals are sexually abused by workers, and beaten."You have provided no source for this statement so I cannot properly refute it but I can say with relative certainty that animals are no "sexually" abused like you have stated. Please provide documentation for this claim and I will refute it but I refuse to refute absurd claims made without proper proof to backing it up. "What looks like a fully grown chicken is actually screaming for help as a chick."Clarify please. What do you mean? And how does it pertain to the banning of factory farming. Much of my opponents "points" so far have been a strange and disturbing rant about the alleged evils of factory farming with no sourcing of any kind. The Benefits of Factory FarmingMore ProductiveFactory farming is vastly more efficient than cageless farming or traditional farming methods. Take for example the egg industry. Chickens are one of the animals commonly factory farmed usually for their eggs. If the egg industry were to switch back over to conventional methods the cost would increase by 40%. [2] This cost is of course monetary however it also costs the farmer in other areas such as land and production. If the egg industry were to switch over it would cost farmersan additional 580,000 acres of cropland to be allotted to egg production. That is 580,000 acres of land that can no longer by used to farm other products which in turn would drive the price of related goods up. So factory farming in the long run is much more efficient for the agricultural business. It saves land and capital while providing labor.Cheap FoodNon-factory farmed foods are usually placed in the "organic" sections of grocery or stores such as Fresh Market where "green" foods sold. People who shop at organic grocery stores pay 20% more than people who shop for conventional foods.[3] This number is in line with my previous statistic that said that food production in the dairy market would jump 40% if switched off of factory farming. The average consumer unit spends $6,372 a year on food. [4] If this cost is increased by say 30% (an average of the two numbers concerning the high prices of non factory farm goods) the average price of food annually for the average consumer unit will be $8283. This will put a hefty dent in the pockets of many Americans who rely on cheap food. The average price of a gallon of milk in August 2011 was $3.39 increased by the average 30% used before raises the price to $4.40 a gallon. These are ridiculously high prices and would lead to an economic down turn.EconomicsFactory farms are usually large operations that employ 700,000 annually. [6] These jobs are usually pulled from local farming communities and supply a consistent source of jobs in comparison to the seasonal job swing of ma and pop farms. Also since factory farming is so heavily based upon technology such as machinery [7] jobs in the farm equipment and manufacturing business have subsequently gone up. This job creation plus the money put back into the pocket of average Americans is good for economics and far outweighs the benefits of traditional farming strategies. Crop YieldSince the 1950's crop yields around the world have exploded mainly due to the increased spread of technology and use of factory farming techniques. Cereal production more than doubled between the years 1961–1985 [8]. More than doubled! In the face of a growing world population I can hardly say that the ethical treatment of animals outweighs the fate of humanity and global populations. This increase in food production has also driven down the food prices in the US while providing food for less developed nations.Humanity > LivestockThe benefits that factory farming have offered to humanity is much greater than the negatives of factory farming. Increased food production, a better economy, cheap food are things that are more important than the shortcomings of factory farming. The life of a cow is not equal to that of a human ... the life of countless cows is not equal to one human life. in 2005 factory farming accounted for 40% of global meat production [1] meaning that factory farming, in the meat department alone, affects 2.8 billion people worldwide. This being said it is fair to say that the risks to livestock far far outweigh the benefits to affected humans.ConclusionFactory farming is good for food production and is more efficient for farmers which leads to a boost in the economy of places utilizing factory farming while providing consumers with cheap food. These benefits make factory farming worthwhile and the practice should not be banned. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] http://cornellsun.com...[3] http://eartheasy.com...[4] http://www.creditloan.com...[5] http://www.thepeoplehistory.com...[6] www.foodispower.org/factory_farm_workers.htm[7] http://en.wikipedia.org...[8] http://en.wikipedia.org...