Annotated Bibliography

Communications 1190

Annotated Bibliography

5 November 2018

Research Proposal

This semester I have been researching and writing about factory farming. I have made many attention-grabbing discoveries along the way leading me from one question to the next. Factory farming has erupted in the United States becoming a major source of income. Large amounts of animal production are necessary for the United States, but over time has become more of a threat than a necessity. Animals on factory farms endure harsh living conditions as well as physical abuse, disease, starvation, freezing to death, and being given high doses of antibiotics. Besides the appalling treatment of animals, the ways of factory farming also cause harm to humans. Due to antibiotics being given unnecessarily, in most cases, to animals it has caused bacteria to form a resistance to these overused antibiotics, so new strains of bacteria evolve. Diseases sprouting in farms are no longer treatable which are then transferred to humans sparking bacterial illnesses such as typhoid fever, E.coli, and salmonella through consumption of meat.

Besides the fact that a majority of the population of the United States is affected by factory farming, the place that we call home is also hurting from this industry. The environment is suffering from animal waste being dumped into lagoons outside of these farms. The chemicals from animal waste such as ammonia and methane are being emitted into the air harming human health and the ozone. Watersheds are also affected because the runoff water can have traces of animal feces and urine. Factory Farming is one big vicious cycle that needs to be put to an end. Something needs to be done, so I propose all Ag-Gag laws be banned. It starts with exposure to the goings on of these factory farms. Because of these laws, farms are protected and therefore allowed to continue practicing unethical ways of farming. If there are laws being made to make any recordings of things happening at farms illegal, it clearly shows they have something to hide. Farms should be run by people who genuinely care for animal and human well-being. In fact, there should be laws protecting farm animals, not protecting the legalization of animal abuse, which is basically what Ag-Gag laws do.

Annotated Bibliography

"Antibiotics." ​Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection​, Gale, 2015. ​Opposing Viewpoints in Context,​ http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999039/OVIC?u=lom_macombcc&sid=O VIC&xid=d2a1058f. Accessed 7 Oct. 2018.

In the early twenty century antibiotics were used to locate and eliminate harmful disease-causing bacteria. Penicillin was the biggest invention in the field of antibiotics because of its ability to treat and prevent many illnesses. Today antibiotics are commonly used to reduce the risk of infection. In the 1960’s antibiotics were found to create bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and could be even more dangerous than the original bacteria. Doctors started treating patients who had a common cold with antibiotics, but the cold doesn't come from bacteria it comes from viruses. Due to doctors prescribing so many antibiotics a resistance to the disease-causing bacteria was created. Antibiotics are not only affecting the people that take them, but also farm animals. These farm animals are not sick, they are being given antibiotics to yield a larger amount of meat for a greater profit. Because livestock is being fed antibiotics, a resistance to E.coli and salmonella were created, common bacteria among farm animals. Living in such crowded places, bacteria can spread quickly among livestock. People who do not cook their meat all the way through face the risk of contracting these bacteria. Hoping to prevent this, seven types of antibiotics have been legally banned to use on farm animals, any use of antibiotics must be accompanied by a veterinarian's prescription. Using antibiotics correctly is very important; people should be sure to follow the doctor's orders on how to properly take and handle antibiotics.

The article “Antibiotics” provided by Opposing Viewpoints in Context is written to provide information about the overall history and uses of antibiotics. This article is mainly fact-based and shows a lot of medical statistics. This article comes from the Macomb Community College website, making this source a trustworthy and credible one.

I can use this article to support my argument because it shows the harmful effect of overusing antibiotics on humans and farm animals. It supports my argument by explaining that these animals are not sick but are still being given antibiotics, leading to my argument that farmers abuse their animals for their benefit.

Australia, Animals. “Undercover Factory Farm Investigator Shares His Story.” Undercover Factory Farm Investigator Shares His Story | Animals Australia​, 2 July 2012, www.animalsaustralia.org/media/opinion.php?op=273.

Cody Carlson is a whistleblower who reveals his personal experience working on a dairy farm in Willet, NY. Being a vegan wasn’t enough for Carlson so he decided to become an undercover investigator. Carlson goes into detail about his every move he made to become an employee on the Willet Dairy farm. Working on the farm he discovered many gruesome things happening to dairy farm animals. Carlson depicts that “5,000 cows spent​ ​every day crowded in barren, manure-filled concrete barns. They were kept perpetually pregnant through artificial insemination, and routinely pumped full of antibiotics and hormones like rBST. Further, the cows were rife with swollen joint infections where their legs rubbed against the concrete, and suffered from heavy, inflamed udders” (Carlson). He also experienced reckless coworkers abusing animals for no reason, Carlson learned that his supervisor “Phil had worked at the dairy for 20 years and was a reservoir of sadistic anecdotes. When curious cows approached us, he often attacked them mercilessly and for no reason at all, using whatever tool happened to be in his hand” (Carlson). Finally, Carlson explains his getting out of the factory farming lifestyle. Because of him, the factory farming industry was on the lookout for undercover investigators and Carlson, they had released Carlson’s description and name ending his undercover career. Carlson’s main goal was to expose factory farms and he was successful. “They took up our cause, telling millions of Americans about agribusiness’s dirty war on the truth, until all four bills ultimately stalled at the end of the legislative session. This year, seven states have re-introduced ag-gag bills. With consumers increasingly choosing cruelty-free alternatives and major reforms looming for the egg and pork sector, it seems like the ag-gag laws are animal agribusiness’s last hope to stem the tides of change. It’s just one part of an ongoing struggle to decide how much the public should know about where our food comes from, and what we should do about it” (Carlson).

Carl Carlson establishes strong credibility in his article about his experience undercover investigations. He was a student at Brooklyn Law School and was an investigator for Mercy for Animals, which is a very well-known organization and has many undercover investigators working for them.

I can use this article as my primary resource in my final research paper. First-hand experiences provide a lot of important information I can use to back my argument. Carlson provides a detailed schedule of his daily routine working on a factory farm, I can use that to further expose what he has experienced and show how stressful it is for the workers and what they experience day to day.

"Factory Farming." ​Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection​, Gale, 2018. ​Opposing Viewpoints in Context,​ http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999252/OVIC?u=lom_macombcc&sid=OVI C&xid=c623b46f. Accessed 30 Sept. 2018.

The definition of factory farming is a “large-scale, industrialized, profit-oriented agricultural operations that maintain on-site animal populations for the purposes of ​meat​, dairy, and egg production” (Factory Farming). Factory farmers face scrutiny for taking advantage of their animals for profit, harming the environment, and human health. In the first half of the twentieth-century small family owned farms were made to become the main source of meat production in the United States. This was due to the government who favored large agricultural companies who wanted to mass produce meat at a low cost. Despite high profit, Americans are not in favor of factory farming. Some of the United States such as “Arizona, ​California​, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington—have passed laws banning the kinds of extreme animal confinement associated with the practice” (Factory Farming). Restaurants and food retailers are abandoning meat products coming from farms using controversial practices of livestock. Although factory farming may be on the decline in the United States, it is on the rise in European countries. Even though factory farming is looked down upon there are some benefits to it, such as “it reduces food costs, giving lower-income individuals and families easier access to nutritious staples. Factory farming is also a key driver of agricultural innovation, and it has resulted in the development of new technologies that reduce water use, improve soil health, and reduce or repurpose agricultural waste” (Factory Farming).

This article titled serves as an overall explanation of what factory farming is and who it affects. I find the purpose of this article to inform the general population about what is happening on these industrialized farms. Many Americans are in the dark about the living conditions and treatment of livestock.

I can use this article to show examples of the harm that is being done to farm animals and the effect they have on the environment, which I plan to research further in my final argumentative essay.

Hands, Phil. “Hands Cartoon: Factory Dairy Farms.” ​Madison.com​, 3 Mar. 2010, madison.com/wsj/hands-cartoon-factory-dairy-farms/image_084ef926-2687-11df-acd 8-001cc4c002e0.html.

This source is a political cartoon depicting what factory farming looks like today. There is a businessman dressed in a suit and an employee talking to the businessman saying “Sir, our neighbors are complaining that our manure lagoons are polluting their water.” In response to the employee, the businessman says “let them drink milk!” There is a window and outside the window, you can see a factory with tall smokestacks with dark grey smoke coming out and cows being conveyed into the factory.

Phil Hands, the illustrator of “Hands on Wisconsin: Let them drink milk,” has the businessman in a dark blue suit smoking a cigar because it makes him look tough and intimidating, but also wealthy because cigars and suits can be expensive, showing that these factory owners are profiting well from their job. The smoke is dark because it highlights the fact that it is going into the air and being breathed in by humans. The cows are on a conveyor belt being hauled into the factory. Hands did this because it makes it seem like these cows are car parts on an assembly line. The comparison of a dairy farm resembling a car manufacturing company is disgusting to imagine. The employee also is designated to say “Sir, our neighbors are complaining that our manure lagoons are polluting their water” to show that the farming companies are aware that animal waste is going into people’s water supply. But the businessman's response of “Let them drink milk” shows that even though it is dangerous and harmful to humans, they don't care and encourage consumers to drink their milk coming from these unhealthy cows.

This political cartoon perfectly represents what I am writing about. I can use this cartoon to show readers that farming companies are lackadaisical to human and animal well-being. They are aware of the pollution being emitted into the air and water. Even the title of the cartoon can be used because it alludes to the famous quote “let them eat cake” meaning if there is no water for humans to drink they should just drink milk showing how much farm company owners disregard consumers health that buys their products.

"Whistleblowers." ​Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection​, Gale, 2015. ​Opposing Viewpoints in Context​, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999156/OVIC?u=lom_macombcc&sid=O VIC&xid=5730e515. Accessed 8 Oct. 2018.

Whistleblowers are people who won't stand for unethical actions taking place within the government or businesses. They will investigate practices or may go undercover and work within these companies as employees, “​other whistleblowers are insiders who work for a government agency or a corporation and have access to its secrets. They may be horrified by what they see and feel compelled to speak out to a journalist, an investigative agency, or even Congress​” (Whistleblowers). Some more examples of what kind of people participate in whistleblowing are journalists, authors, and organization activists.

The purpose of the article “Whistleblowers” provided by Opposing Viewpoints in Context is to inform people who whistleblowers are and what they do. Big cases being brought to a halt by whistleblowers are given here to show examples of what exactly it means to be a whistleblower. Some examples are The Pentagon Papers, Watergate scandal, Investigation of 9/11 attacks, and WikiLeaks. These case investigations are full of credible statistics and information.

I can use this article in my argumentative essay because it defines what a whistleblower is. That is important in the world of factory farming because without them Americans would have no knowledge about the goings on behind closed doors of factory farming.