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An estimated 99 percent of farmed animal in the US are living on factory farms at present, according to an analysis from the Sentience Institute (SI).
Using data from the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, which was released this month, it is estimated that 70.4 percent of cows, 98.3 percent of pigs, 99.8 percent of turkeys, 98.2 percent of chickens raised for eggs, and over 99.9 percent of chickens raised for meat are raised in factory farms.
SI also claim that virtually all ‘US fish farms are suitably described as factory farms – though there is limited data on fish farm conditions and no standardized definition’.
Global research also conducted by the non-profit organization SI, suggests over 90 percent of farmed animals worldwide live on factory farms.
‘Public outrage’
“Despite public outrage at the animal welfare and environmental consequences of factory farming, it is still the predominant system of animal agriculture,” said Executive Director Kelly Witwicki in reference to a ?2017 poll? conducted by SI.
“The public has been able to push the industry to make some changes in the right direction, for instance by starting to move egg-laying hens out of cages, but we have unfortunately seen little change in the percentage of animals living in factory farms in recent years.
‘A moral catastrophe’
Witwicki added: “Between the suffering of these animals and the devastating impacts of animal farming on our climate and on the sustainability of food system, this is a moral catastrophe that we can’t afford to neglect any longer.”
