COMMUNICATION

Sample Outline Factory Farming !

Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience that factory farms are dangerous and abusive and therefore need to be banned. ! Introduction: Attention Getter/Credibility: Close your eyes and step into the world of an individual. You are born into a world where nights and days are never constant (attention getter). You are fed three to five times a day, but no one is there to nurture you. Not even the numerous others crammed into your living space. You grow frantic, scared, and sickly. Now open your eyes, to reality. Reason to Listen: What I have just described is one of America’s worst ghettos. You know this individual who is trapped in this environment. He is your breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the meat you eat. Today’s farms not only abuse their animals they also produce harmful diseases and environmental hazards that affect each and every one of us, regardless of whether you consume animal products or not. Thesis: The U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise animals in their natural environments. Preview: Today, I will explain how factory farms produce animal abuse, disease and ecological hazards. Then, I will explain why standards the U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise its animals in their natural environment. Finally, I will discuss how banning factory farms will allow us better enjoy animal meat products in a cleaner, healthier environment. !

I. What used to be Old McDonald’s farms have now become factory farms that produce animal abuse, disease and ecological hazards. A. Animals are abused on factory farms (Marquadt, 1993)

1. Broiler chickens are often debeaked, due to fear of cannibalism (Jasper, 1992). 2. Cattle are often dehorned and castrated without anesthetics. 3. Geese are often overfed with grains and steroids in order to produce larger livers

for pate (Singer, 1989). B. The unhealthy environments created by factory farms promote the spread of many

diseases that remain in the animal products we consume (Fox, 1990). 1. Every year an increasing number of children and elderly die of food poisoning

that is related to factory farm practices. 2. Meats on the market are often deformed or full of bad chemicals.

C. The mass production of animals and the resulting amount of waste creates lasting damage to our ecosystem.

1. The release of high levels of urine and fecal matter into our lakes contributes to the contamination of our waters, wells and topsoil.

2. The release of high levels of methane into the atmosphere contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. !

Transition: All these things have become a problem that seems like it may never get fixed. There is however, a way that the U.S. can begin to change things for farms. !

II. For better health standards the U.S. government should ban factory farms and require the meat industry to raise its animals in their natural environment. A. Studies show that if animals were raised in better conditions, their production would be

greater at healthier standards. B. Many countries in Europe adopted the Animal Protection Act of 1972 (Fox, 1990). 


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! Transition: It is about time that the U.S. catch on and start to ban factory farms like other countries have for years. It will not only benefit the animals, but it will benefit meat-eaters as well. !

III. If factory farms are banned, we will able to better enjoy animal meat products in a cleaner, healthier environment. A. Meat products will taste better and be more nutritious because animals will no longer be

injected with steroids and other chemicals. B. Our risk of contracting diseases from meat products will be decreased because animals

will no longer be raised in crammed, unsanitary environments. C. Contamination of our ecosystem will be decreased when the amount of animal wastes that

are released into the environment are decreased. ! Transition: As you can see, the food we eat has endured a lot from its birth to our dinner table. ! Conclusion: Restate thesis/main points: Today I have told you about the cruelty of factory farming and why the government should require the meat industry to raise animals in their natural environments. Motivate audience: Organizations such as P.E.T.A. and the Humane Society need our help to prevent cases of contamination and animal cruelty from happening. If we don’t act soon, our chances of being exposed to E. Coli or drinking from infected waters will be greatly increased. Join the many celebrities and organizations that are pressuring the federal government to do something to stop factory farming. Go to the web site I have provided to get more information and sign-up to help the cause. You do not have to be a member of the organization to save lives, you can support them by signing petitions to the federal government calling for legislative action on this issue. Support the right to a healthy life. Closure: Stop and consider the lives of the animals that provide with our everyday nutrients. If they can’t live a healthy life, how can we? !!

References ! Fox, M. (1990). Inhuman society. New York; St. Martin’s Press. ! Jasper, J. (1992). The animal rights crusade. New York: The Free Press. ! Marquardt K. (1993). Animal scam. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway. ! Singer, P. (1989). Down on the factory farm. In P. Singer and T. Regan, Animal rights and human

obligations. (2nd ed.) (pp. 159-168). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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