Factory livestock production in Iowa has a dark side

As Iowa rushes to approve more confinement livestock operations, it is not all good news. Factory farms were unheard of when I was a farm boy growing up in Iowa. As you traveled country roads in the 1950s, most Iowa farms were a combination of grain and livestock production.

On many farmsteads, one building with attached outdoor pens housed hogs where 15-20 sows produced 200 or so pigs a year. The pigs were fattened and sold at local sale barns or hog buying stations.

Chickens had their own house where they roosted and laid eggs. Most small towns had businesses that bought eggs from the farmers, often doubling as main street grocery stores.

Some farms had dairy cows, usually five to twenty cows. Farmers sold milk to Grade B dairies in nearby towns. The calves produced by the dairy cows were sold at sale barns or fattened by the dairy farmers and sold to packing plants.

Other farms had small “beef” herds where cows each produced a calf annually. Still other farmers bought calves and specialized in feeding the animals to maturity 10-12 months later. And as you meandered those country roads, you occasionally saw sheep or flocks of turkeys.

Virtually every Iowa farm in the post-WW II era was a family operation. Life was good on those farms for the families and for the animals. The fields that surrounded the farmsteads produced the grain and hay that sustained the livestock. We didn’t think much about it then, but the animals were raised humanely. Most had shelter at night or when storms moved in and plenty of outdoor space in pens and pastures. Some of those animals had names, and tears were shed when favorite animals went to market.

Life is vastly different on Iowa farms in the 21st century. Farms are much larger and often specialize in grain production. Livestock is raised on “factory farms.” Two-thirds of all the world’s farm animals are raised on factory farms; in the United States it is 99 percent.

Many of those animals live in extreme confinement. A chicken, for example, may have a space to live in that is the size of an 8 ½ by 11-inch sheet of paper. They live their short lives in dismal conditions and are bred to gain weight so rapidly that they suffer a range of physical problems. They never see daylight nor do hogs and turkeys raised in similar circumstances. A view from the highway of confinement cattle operations tells you all you need to know about living conditions for those animals. The use of hormones and antibiotics to prevent disease and maximize growth adds to the concerns that many have with factory farms.

As a former 4H member who loved the animals we raised on our farm, the concept of eating meat from factory farms has finally become abhorrent to me. Fortunately, there are now options, businesses that ship to buyers like me beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and fish that are free of hormones and antibiotics and are caught wild or raised humanely. Moink, Crowd Cow, and Butcher Box are examples. The farmer/producers are identified and described. And local options are available in our area.

In our family, we are going one step further, and we are eliminating meat from our meals at least two days each week. Scientists estimate that shifting to a “low meat diet” can reduce our “food print” on the environment by one-third, largely by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

We will still roast a turkey on Thanksgiving and grill burgers on the Fourth of July, but we will be sure to know how that meat was produced. And we will eat cheese-filled manicotti, veggie pizza, spinach quiche, and mac and cheese as we reduce our meat consumption by one-third or more. Small steps, for sure, but it will take many small steps to save our planet.

Ralph Plagman, PhD., is a retired teacher and school administrator.