There's a lot of misinformation around that's designed to support the case for factory farming. We've create a simple guide to 'winning the debate' against factory farming.

Please take a look below and arm yourself with the RAW facts. If you think there are more points to add, please let us know.

p.s. We've never heard a good argument in favour of factory farming.  If you think you have, let us know and we'll look into it.

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Factory farming doesn't exist!

What exactly is 'factory farming'?

Factory farming prioritises maximum production above all else. Animals are treated as commodities and are often raised in intense confinement. Factory farming is highly dependent on large quantities of limited resources such as grain-based feed, water, energy and medication. This type of food production is inherently unsustainable because of the negative impacts on animals, people and the planet. Find out more about the impacts of factory farming.

I've never seen a factory farm. Do they actually exist?

Unfortunately factory farms do exist, and they are more common than you might think. The last 60 years has seen many farm animals disappear from the land to be caged, crammed or confined on factory farms. Two thirds of farm animals worldwide are now factory farmed¹ and this figure rises to at least 80% in Europe². And the numbers are on the rise. Find out more about the impacts of factory farming.

Industrial factory farming systems are increasing at twice the rate of traditional mixed farms and six times the rate of traditional grazing systems.

UNFAO, 2006³

1. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow
2. CIWF estimate based on EUROSTAT and FAOSTAT data
3. UNFAO, 2006, Protecting Animal Genetic Diversity for Food and Agriculture

Many farms put animals indoors but they aren't all factory farms.

That's true. But factory farms confine animals even when they don't need protection. It is sometimes necessary to move farm animals indoors, for example during periods of bad weather. Factory farmed animals are not brought inside for welfare reasons; they are treated as commodities with hundreds or thousands of animals being confined in cramped conditions to help maximise production.

Fine, it exists. But it's not that bad for animals!

It doesn't matter how you treat farm animals, they are going to die anyway.

But while they are alive we should treat them well. Like humans, farm animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pleasure, pain, stress, frustration and fear. We will die one day as well, but this is not a reason to mistreat humans. Find out more about how factory farming leads to animal cruelty.

The conditions that humans find painful are also painful to animals. Most features of the physiology and anatomy of pain reception, transmission and processing are the same in all vertebrates.

Webster, 1995, in CIWF, 2006¹

1. CIWF, 2006, Stop, Look, Listen. Recognising the Sentience of Farm Animals

Animals in intensive farms don't know a better life. What they don't know they don't miss.

Regardless of their living conditions, farm animals still have natural instincts and basic needs which are often not met. On a bare floor, for example, chickens still peck at the ground or try to take a dust bath, and pigs still try to forage and build a nest. Sows can't even turn round to look after their young or to scratch themselves; many hens can't stretch their wings fully and many animals don't get sufficient food. In such stressful, barren conditions, factory farmed animals often exhibit distress, aggression and abnormal behaviours. The factory farming solution is to routinely mutilate the animals, trimming beaks, clipping teeth or docking tails (all without anaesthetic), which reduces the harm animals can inflict on each other but fails to tackle the root of the problem. Even if the animals don't know a better life, they are still sentient beings, capable of feeling pleasure, pain, stress, frustration and fear, and have natural instincts that need to be considered. Find out more about how factory farming leads to animal cruelty.

Tests have shown that piglets given peat and straw are more active (frisking, scraping the ground, scampering and rolling) and less aggressive to each other than piglets in barren pens.

Beattie, Walker and Sneddon, 1995 in CIWF, 2006¹

1. CIWF, 2006, Stop, Look, Listen. Recognising the Sentience of Farm Animals

Fine, it exists. But it's not that bad for people!

There would be even greater hunger in the world without factory farming.

You might think that we need lots of 'cheap' factory farmed meat to feed the world, but this isn't the case. Keeping animals confined in factory farms rather than allowing them to graze and forage on the land means they need to be fed large quantities of grain. Around a third of our global crop land is used to grow crops to feed animals¹. We're literally taking high-quality, nutrient-rich foods that people could eat and feeding them to our farm animals. And it's not as if meat and dairy creates more calories for people - the animals use up a lot of energy from the feed. If more plant crops were eaten directly by people, rather than feeding them to our farm animals, many more people could be fed. The price of grain is also being pushed up by the demand from factory farms, threatening to push up the price of food 'further beyond the limits of affordability for the world's poorest people'². Find out more about how factory farming can lead to food inequality.

In terms of food value, for every 100 food calories of edible crops fed to livestock, we get back just 30 calories in the form of meat and milk; a 70% loss.

SIWI, 2008³

1. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow
2. Oxfam, 2009, Changing Food Consumption in the UK to Benefit People and Planet
3. SIWI, 2008, Saving Water: From Field to Fork

Food waste is a bigger problem than factory farming when it comes to feeding the world.

It's true that food waste is a big problem; around a third of food produced for human consumption globally is lost or wasted¹. But feeding the growing global population is a huge challenge and we can't rely on tackling this problem alone. You could argue that factory farming is a waste of food - we currently give a third of the world's cereal harvest to our livestock² and the animals use up much of the energy from the feed. If more plant crops were eaten directly by people, rather than feeding them to our farm animals, many more people could be fed.

1. UNFAO, 2011, Global Food Losses and Food Waste
2. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow

We've been told to eat less red and processed meat, so eating chicken or fish is better, even if its factory farmed.

Choosing to eat factory farmed chicken or fish is not the healthiest option. Researchers at London Metropolitan University have found that factory farmed chicken can contain nearly 40% more fat than protein. In contrast, organic free-range chicken can contain more protein than fat and have 25% less fat than factory farmed chickens¹. Good extensive farming methods can also reduce infectious disease at the same time as improving animal welfare. When animals are forced to live in the cramped and crowded conditions of a factory farm, the risk of diseases being transmitted between animals and mutating into more dangerous strains is higher². Enjoying smaller amounts of higher welfare meat is a healthier option.

Fish is also often seen as a healthy food, but this isn't always the case, especially for farmed fish which can carry high levels of pollutants, such as pesticides, posing a cancer risk to people. One paper found that getting the recommended intake of omega-3 oils from just farmed or wild salmon would have an unacceptably high cancer risk³. Find out more about the health threats of factory farming.

In the EU, an average of 5.6% of all raw broiler meat samples were reported to be infected with Salmonella and in some instances the levels of Salmonella positive samples were as high as 67%.

EFSA, 2007⁴

1. Wang et al., 2009, Modern Organic and Broiler Chickens Sold for Human Consumption Provide More Energy From Fat Than Protein
2. Pew Commission, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
3. Foran et al., 2005, Quantitative Analysis of the Benefits and Risks of Consuming Farmed and Wild Salmon
4. EFSA, 2007, EFSA-ECDC Annual Report on Animal Infections Transmissible to Humans

Organic or free-range has no real health benefits.

There are actually differences between higher welfare and factory farmed meat and dairy. Researchers at London Metropolitan University have found that organic free-range chickens contain 25% less fat than factory farmed chickens¹ and pasture-reared beef and lamb contain higher levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for brain and heart health, compared with meat from intensively-reared animals². Good extensive farming methods can also reduce infectious disease at the same time as improving animal welfare. When animals are forced to live in cramped and crowded conditions the risk of diseases being transmitted between animals and mutating into more dangerous strains is higher³. Find out more about the health threats of factory farming.

A large-scale survey in the UK found that battery-cage farms are six times more likely than non-cage farms to be infected with the strain of salmonella most commonly associated with food poisoning.

Snow et al., 2010⁴

1. Wang et al., 2009, Modern Organic and Broiler Chickens Sold for Human Consumption Provide More Energy From Fat Than Protein
2. McAfee et al., 2011, Red Meat From Animals Offered a Grass Diet Increases Plasma and Platelet n-3 PUFA in Healthy Consumers
3. Pew Commission, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
4. Snow et al., 2010, Investigation of risk factors for Salmonella on commercial egg-laying farms in Great Britain, 2004-2005

Factory farming is a more hygienic way of farming that helps stop diseases spreading.

It may seem that factory farms, with their highly controlled environments, would be excellent at keeping animals free from disease but this isn't always the case. The cramped, stressful conditions can weaken the animals' immune systems and may increase the chances of diseases spreading. To prop up their health, the animals often receive large quantities of antibiotics - around half of all antibiotics produced are administered to farm animals¹. Every time antibiotics are given to a farm animal it gives bacteria a chance to develop resistance to that antibiotic. These bacteria can spread to humans through eating contaminated meat, from farm workers, and even through the air, soil and water around the farms and where the manure is used. For example, it's estimated that there are around 3 million cases of food-borne illnesses caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter each year in the EU² and the bacteria responsible are rapidly becoming resistant to antibiotics. It's much harder to find a quick, effective cure when a person becomes ill with an antibiotic resistant infection. We shouldn't be keeping animals in conditions where the routine use of antibiotics is needed to keep them healthy. Less intensive farming systems have been shown to have lower levels of antibiotic use and more healthy animals³. Find out more about how factory farming can spread disease.

Nearly 80% of the total antibiotics distributed in 2009 in the US were for farm animals.

USFDA, 2009^4,5

1. WHO, 2011, Urgent action necessary to safeguard drug treatments
2. Alliance to Save our Antibiotics, 2011, Case Study of a Health Crisis
3. Alliance to Save our Antibiotics, 2011, Case Study of a Health Crisis
4. USFDA, 2009, Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals
5. USFDA, 2009. Sales of Antibacterial Drugs in Kilograms

Pandemic disease outbreaks don't have anything to do with factory farms.

It hasn't yet been possible to conclusively trace a human pandemic disease outbreak back to factory farming, but there are many clues that point to its involvement. In 2009, for example, a strain of swine flu that originated in pigs became a global pandemic that left at least 18,000 people dead¹. The strain responsible for the pandemic emerged from the mixing of several virus strains that had been circulating in pigs for many years and was facilitated by the movement of live pigs over long distances between Europe/Asia and North America². Factory farms provide the ideal conditions for viruses to spread and mutate between large numbers of animals that are crammed together and have immune systems that are weakened by stress. Although the pigs are kept inside, viruses can spread to humans by the farm workers, through the air, soil and water surrounding the farm or where the vast quantities of manure are spread and when the animals are transported. Find out more about the disease risks of factory farming.

1. WHO, 2010, Questions and Answers on Post-Pandemic
2. Smith et al., 2009, Origins and Evolutionary Genomics of the 2009 Swine-origin H1N1 Influenza A Epidemic

Factory farming boosts our economies and provides much-needed employment.

Factory farming is actually harming local economies and reducing the number of jobs available. As traditional mixed and pasture-based livestock farms are increasingly being replaced by highly mechanised factory farms, the number of people needed to look after the animals is dropping considerably. Where a farm worker may have looked after a hundred animals in a traditional farm, they are now looking after thousands in a factory farm. Communities that once relied on more traditional farming methods are now finding that factory farms provide far fewer jobs and have a tendency to concentrate profits in the hands of large corporations rather than local economies¹. Find out more about how factory farming can damage livelihoods.

Employment in the EU agriculture sector fell by 25% between 2000 and 2009.

Eurostat, 2010²

1. Pew Commission, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
2. Eurostat, 2010, Agriculture in the EU27

There are no factory farms where I live, so I don't need to worry about it.

Even if you don't live near a factory farm, it's hard to avoid its impacts. As a significant amount of cropland is used to grow animal feed; we may all be affected by the upwards pressure on food prices; we'll all be affected by the significant contribution that factory farming will likely have to climate change; anyone whose life depends on treatment with antibiotics could be affected if their continued use in factory farms accelerates the rate of antibiotic resistant infections; and we could all be at risk of any pandemics that could develop in the cramped and crowded conditions of factory farms that provide an ideal breeding ground for the spread and mutation of diseases¹.

Industrial factory farming systems are increasing at twice the rate of traditional mixed farms and six times the rate of traditional grazing systems.

(UNFAO, 2006²).

1. Pew Commission, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
2. UNFAO, 2006, Protecting Animal Genetic Diversity for Food and Agriculture

A farmer with a small herd of animals in South America won't be affected by factory farming.

Even small-scale farmers in rural areas can be affected by factory farming. The huge quantities of grain needed to feed factory farmed animals result in small-scale farmers being displaced to make way for grain crops. There has been a vast expansion of soya production in South America, for example, which has often occurred at the expense of traditional farmers who have had their land, and therefore their livelihoods, taken away from them. Farmers that are able to keep their land can still be affected by factory farming as the 'cheap' meat can undercut their prices and therefore profits. Find out more about how factory farming can damage livelihoods.

The rapid conversion of land for soya production in South America has resulted in an area the size of California dedicated to just this crop). 70% of the world's soya crop is destined for farm animals.

Friends of the Earth, 2008¹ / CIWF calculation, 2012²

1. Friends of the Earth, 2008, What's Feeding Our Food? The Environmental and Social Impacts of the Livestock Sector
2. CIWF calculation, 2012

Fine, it exists. But it's not that bad for the planet!

Factory farming doesn't contribute to climate change.

Factory farming is actually a significant contributor to climate change. 18% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry¹. The animals' digestive processes and manure produce methane and nitrous oxide, which are more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. To grow the animal feed crops, vast areas of often-pristine forests are being cleared, unlocking carbon dioxide stored in the vegetation and soil. Fossil fuels are also required to produce and fertilise these feed crops, and nitrous oxide is emitted by the fertiliser. As the dominant form of animal production, factory farming makes a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. Find out more about how factory farming can lead to climate change.

Deforestation caused by livestock farming is responsible for 6% of all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

UNFAO, 2006²

1. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow
2. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow

Other factors, such as transport, produce more greenhouse gas emissions than livestock farming.

Livestock farming actually produces a massive amount of greenhouse gas emissions. You might think that all the cars, trucks, trains, buses and planes in the world would create more greenhouse gases than livestock farming, but surprisingly livestock farming produces 18% of all man-made greenhouse gases¹ while the transport sector only produces 13%². As the dominant form of animal production, factory farming makes a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and it must be reduced rapidly. Find out more about how factory farming can lead to climate change.

Livestock farming produces 9% of all man-made carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of methane emissions and 65% of nitrous oxide emissions. Methane and nitrous oxides are far more potent as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.

UNFAO, 2006³

1. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow
2. IPCC, 2007, Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report
3. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow

Concentrating meat and dairy production by putting more animals in less space is a better use of limited land.

You might think that concentrating many animals in a confined factory farm would be an efficient use of space, but a lot of space is needed to grow the crops to feed them. Feeding animals on grain takes up vast amounts of prime agricultural land. We get less food from the land when we feed crops to animals, who use up energy to live. For every 100 food calories of edible crops fed to livestock, we get back just 30 calories in the form of meat and milk. That's a 70% loss¹. A more efficient use of our limited land is to grow crops to feed us directly and to take animals out of factory farms and set them to graze and forage on land where we can't grow crops, such as marginal land that has thin soils, steep slopes or less favourable weather. Find out more about how factory farming can waste resources.

One-third of the world's entire cropland is currently used for growing animal feed

UNFAO, 2006²

1. SIWI, 2008, Saving Water: From Field to Fork
2. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow

Surely factory farming uses water more efficiently.

You might think that factory farms would use water more efficiently, but they can have a much greater impact on our water resources. Traditional cattle, sheep or goat farms for example, can benefit from the rain watering pasture land. But when a factory farm feeds animals on grain, large amounts of water from reserves in rivers, reservoirs or aquifers are often used to irrigate the crops. Grain-based feeds use 43 times more irrigation water than pasture and forage feeds¹. And factory farms that concentrate so many animals in one space can put a greater strain on the local water resources than extensive farms with fewer animals. Find out more about how factory farming can waste resources.

Worldwide, approximately one quarter of all freshwater use is for the production of meat and dairy products.

Gerbens-Leenes et al, 2011²

1. Gerbens-Leenes et al., 2011, A Comparative Study on the Water Footprint of Poultry, Pork and Beef in Different Countries and Production Systems
2. Gerbens-Leenes et al., 2011, A Comparative Study on the Water Footprint of Poultry, Pork and Beef in Different Countries and Production Systems

There will be more deforestation if livestock is kept on pasture land instead of confined in factory farms.

You'd think that raising animals on pasture land would take up a lot of space. But when hundreds or thousands of animals are confined in a factory farm a lot of land is still needed to grow the crops to feed them. In South America, for example, the boom in soya production, mainly for animal feed, is resulting in the deforestation of ancient forests¹. Putting animals on pasture can make use of marginal land where crops can't be grown. This may take up more space, but it is land which we can't use for anything else and is usually already being used for grazing. Grazing lands can also have benefits for biodiversity and can store carbon, the reverse of cutting down forests to feed factory farmed animals.

70% of the world's soya crop is destined for farm animals.

CIWF calculation²

1. Friends of the Earth, 2010, Feeding Animals Home-grown Instead of Imported Feed Could Save Rainforest and Wildlife
2. CIWF calculation, 2012

How can my shopping choices affect the wildlife in a Brazilian forest?

It's not obvious, but buying factory farmed meat or dairy products can have serious impacts on people, habitats and wildlife on the other side of the world. The huge quantity of grain needed to feed factory farmed animals is resulting in the expansion of monoculture croplands. In South America, for example, a massive increase in the production of soya for animal feed is resulting in the devastation of valuable habitats, such as the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savannah in Brazil, where many unique and rare species live¹. Your shopping choices send vital signals to supermarkets which are fed through to farmers. Every purchase of factory farmed products drives production that can harm habitats and wildlife on the other side of the world. But when you buy free range products - it drives demand for better farming. Find out more about how factory farming can threaten biodiversity.

70% of the world's soya crop is destined for farm animals.

CIWF calculation²

1. Friends of the Earth, 2010, Feeding Animals Home-grown Instead of Imported Feed Could Save Rainforest and Wildlife
2. CIWF calculation, 2012

Factory farming is more efficient because it can contain the waste.

Not exactly - factory farms often struggle to deal with the massive quantities of waste produced by so many animals in one space. Factory farms often produce vast quantities of manure slurry, which generally has to be stored in giant lagoons. Spillages from these lagoons are not uncommon and can lead to serious pollution problems for rivers and oceans, and the wildlife that inhabit them. Animal waste has been described as 'a leading factor in the pollution of land and water resources' and yet 'only a fraction' is collected as manure and re-used as fertiliser¹. And it's not just pollution - animal waste also produces greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change too. New technologies are being developed to capture methane from these manure pits, but this is expected to only be economical for the largest factory farms and the slurry still needs to be disposed of². More traditional, small-scale farms produce much smaller volumes of manure that can be recycled as a natural source of fertiliser for nearby crops. Find out more about how factory farming can lead to pollution.

In the South China Sea in 1998, waste from pigs 'undoubtedly caused part of' a massive algal bloom that killed over 8 in 10 fish in a 100km² area.

UNFAO, 2010³

1. UNFAO, 2010, Livestock in a Changing Landscape: Drivers, Consequences and Responses
2. USDA, 2001, Climate Change Policy and the Adoption of Methane Digesters on Livestock Operations
3. UNFAO, 2010, Livestock in a Changing Landscape: Drivers, Consequences and Responses

We need factory farming, regardless of the impact!

With an expanding global population and limited resources we need more efficient ways of producing food, like factory farming.

Factory farming produces large quantities of what seems like cheap meat, but is actually an inefficient way of feeding people. Planet Earth recently heralded its seven billionth baby. By 2050, there will be nine billion people or more to feed. But nearly one billion people are currently hungry¹. Factory farming is not the answer to feeding the world; in fact the grain feeding of confined animals uses more food than it produces²; several kilograms of feed crops are needed for every kilogram of meat³. A much more sustainable, common-sense approach is for a higher proportion of plant crops to be eaten directly by people and for animals to be put back on the land. Find out more about how factory farming can waste resources.

In terms of food value, for every 100 food calories of edible crops fed to livestock, we get back just 30 calories in the form of meat and milk; a 70% loss.

SIWI, 2008⁴

1. UNFAO, 2010, The State of Food Insecurity in the World
2. UNFAO, 2010, World Livestock 2011: Livestock in Food Security
3. UNEP, 2011, World Food Supply
4. SIWI, 2008, Saving Water: From Field to Fork

Factory farming is essential for keeping food prices down.

Factory farmed meat and dairy may appear 'cheap' but the true costs are often far higher. By moving animals indoors and feeding them on grain, it can actually serve to increase the demand, and therefore the price for the crop. This may help to push up the price of food 'further beyond the limits of affordability for the world's poorest people'¹. Enjoying smaller amounts of higher welfare meat is more affordable and should be more effective at keeping overall food prices down, as well as being healthier for the consumer and planet.

1. Oxfam, Changing Food Consumption in the UK to Benefit People and Planet

Ending factory farming would destroy the livelihoods of farmers.

The expansion of factory farming has actually been destroying the livelihoods of farmers. As traditional mixed and pasture-based livestock farms are increasingly being replaced by highly mechanised factory farms, the number of people needed to look after the animals is dropping considerably. Where a farm worker may have looked after a hundred animals in a traditional farm, they are now looking after thousands in a factory farm. Communities that once relied on more traditional farming methods are now finding that factory farms provide far fewer jobs and have a tendency to concentrate profits in the hands of large corporations rather than local economies. Find out more about how factory farming can damage livelihoods.

Employment in the EU agriculture sector fell by 25% between 2000 and 2009.

Eurostat, 2010¹

1. Eurostat, 2010, Agriculture in the EU27

There's no alternative to factory farming!

If not factory farming, then what?

Ending factory farming would free up resources to produce more food for the world's growing population. The UN estimates that food supplies need to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed our growing global population¹. In order to meet this demand, we must move to safer, fairer and greener farming systems, and enjoy smaller amounts of higher welfare meat and dairy products. This would free up valuable resources in order to grow the plant crops required to feed the world's growing population. Currently the demand for feed essentially means that we are putting humans in competition with farm animals; we're literally taking high-quality, nutrient-rich foods that people could eat and feeding them to our farm animals. If we continue to expand factory farming to try and feed everyone on a high-meat diet, our food systems will fail more than they are now.

Producing 1kg of beef requires 15 times as much land as producing 1kg of cereals, and 70 times as much land as 1kg of vegetables.

Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel, 2005²

1. UNFAO, 2011, How to Feed the World in 2050
2. Gerbens-Leenes and Nonhebel, 2005, Food and Land Use. The Influence of Consumption Patterns on the Use of Agricultural Resources

Without factory farming, how will we produce enough protein for everyone?

Ending factory farming will not result in a protein shortage. Most developed nations eat more than enough protein anyway. In the UK, for example, the average amount of protein eaten per day is 78g, but the recommended amount is only 50g¹. The best sources of protein are plant based. Meat based protein comes with huge quantities of saturated fats, whereas beans and pulses can hold more protein per 100g and hold far less or no saturated fats. We need to enjoy lower quantities of higher-welfare meat and dairy products. As well as benefiting the animals and the planet, this will benefit us too. The large amount of meat currently being eaten in developed countries is contributing to a rise in issues such as obesity, heart disease, cancer and strokes. Find out more about how factory farming can affect our health.

If the UK population switched to lower meat diets, 31,000 early deaths from heart disease, 9,000 from cancer and 5,000 from strokes could be saved every year.

Friends of the Earth, 2010²

1. Friends of the Earth, 2010, Healthy Planet Eating
2. Friends of the Earth, 2010, Healthy Planet Eating

Factory farming is here to stay - we can't go back to the dark ages.

Ending factory farming won't take us back to the dark ages; it will allow us to move to a safer, fairer and greener food system that can feed the world without damaging the planet's ability to provide us with food in the future. If we continue to expand factory farming to feed everyone on a high-meat diet, our food systems will fail. We need to free up valuable resources in order to grow the plant crops required to feed the world's growing population. Currently the high demand for animal feed essentially means that we are putting humans in competition with farm animals; we're literally taking high-quality, nutrient-rich foods that people could eat and feeding them to our farm animals.

The UN estimates that food supplies need to increase by 70% by 2050.

UNFAO, 2011¹

1. UNFAO, 2011, How to Feed the World in 2050

Laboratory-grown meat is going to end the farming of animals anyway.

Scientists are already working on producing laboratory-grown meat. But it's a long way off from hitting our plates. There's a target to produce the world's first lab-grown burger in 2012, but the Economist reports¹ that it will have cost around a quarter of a million euros to produce. It will take many more years to develop the technology further and get it to market with a realistic price tag. There are no guarantees that the idea will be successful or that it will be accepted by the public. It's already being called the 'Frankenburger', with concerns being voiced about the production of unnatural food.

In a Guardian poll, 68% of people said they would eat lab-grown meat while 32% said no - science is taking a step too far.

The Guardian, 2012²

1. The Economist, 2012, Muscle Grown in Factories Could Soon be Appearing in a Supermarket Near You
2. The Guardian, 2012, Would You Eat Lab-grown Meat?

Farming practices can't be improved as supermarkets are always undercutting farmers.

Supermarkets will sell higher welfare meat and dairy if customers demand it. When the priority of their customers is to buy the cheapest meat and dairy products possible, supermarkets will want to source cheap products. But when customers voice their concerns about where their food comes from and demand higher welfare standards, supermarkets are forced to listen. They're in the business of selling the products that customers want to buy. Find out more about taking action to end factory farming.

In 2008, Sainsbury's won a Compassion in World Farming 'Good Egg Award' for committing to only use free-range eggs in their own brand products.

CIWF, 2012¹

1. CIWF, 2012, Sectors: Retailers - Sainsbury's

Fine, there's an alternative. But what can I do?

I can't afford higher welfare meat, eggs and dairy - they're just too expensive.

The price paid for factory farmed meat and dairy products doesn't account for the true costs paid by us, by the planet and by the farm animals. Enjoying lower quantities of higher-welfare meat and dairy products is better for our health, better for the planet and better for the farm animals that provided the products - it means that you are voting for a food and farming revolution. Find out more about taking action to end factory farming.

A 2010 Dutch study concluded that the 'true cost' including the greenhouse gas emissions, animal welfare impacts, biodiversity impacts and animal disease of conventionally produced pork was at least €1.12 per kg greater than the true cost of organic pork, and probably more.

Institute of Environmental Studies VU University, 2010¹

1. Institute of Environmental Studies VU University, 2010, The True Price of Meat

I don't know which products are factory farmed and which aren't.

That's no surprise; food labelling is not as simple as it should be. There isn't one label that certifies whether a product comes from a factory farm, but there are labels that certify higher-welfare standards. Organic or free-range are two of the most common ones to look out for. Put simply, free range means that animals have had access to the outdoors for at least part of their life, while organic also means that no man-made chemicals were used to grow the animals' feed and the animal welfare standards are generally higher. There are a number of guides out there that explain meat and dairy labelling. If you know of any good ones for your country, please let us know!

£600m worth of certified organic dairy products and fresh meat was sold in UK supermarkets in 2011.

Soil Association, 2012¹

1. Soil Association, 2012, Organic Market Report 2012

I'd rather not think about factory farmed animals.

We agree - it's disturbing to think about the appalling conditions that factory farmed animals are kept in. But if everyone avoided thinking about the impacts of factory farming, this outdated food production method would continue to expand and cause even more harm to us, our planet and farm animals. In recognising that factory farming is wrong and enjoying smaller quantities of higher-welfare meat and dairy, you are voting for a food and farming revolution. Find out more about taking action to end factory farming.

Industrial factory farming systems are increasing at twice the rate of traditional mixed farms and six times the rate of traditional grazing systems

UNFAO, 2006¹

1. UNFAO, 2006, Protecting Animal Genetic Diversity for Food and Agriculture

One person's choice at the supermarket won't have an impact on any of this.

Each food and drink choice that we make can add up to a food and farming revolution. It's often said that supermarkets and big agricultural companies have all the power, but they only produce and sell the products that we buy. Every time we choose to buy higher-welfare meat and dairy, it's a vote for a better way of farming. And it's not just how we spend our money at the till. Check out our RAW action page to see what else we can all do to help kickstart a food and farming revolution. Find out more about taking action to end factory farming.

In 2008 Unilever made the decision to change to free-range eggs in their UK Hellman's mayonnaise 'as a result of listening to... consumers and hearing what was important to them'. This resulted in over 200,000 chickens being taken out of factory farms to go free-range. Following this Unilever has rolled out cage-free Hellman's throughout Western Europe and are doing the same in the US and Canada.

Unilever, 2010¹ / CIWF, 2008²

1. Unilever, 2010, Good Eggs for Hellmann's
2. CIWF, 2008, Good Egg Awards

The problems are so big that we're never going to solve them.

It may seem like a daunting task to end factory farming, when two thirds of farm animals worldwide are now factory farmed¹. But that shouldn't stop us! Amazing things have been achieved in the past that at the time must have felt like almost impossible tasks; ending slavery, women gaining the vote, ending apartheid. We know it's the right thing to do, we know that there are solutions out there, and we know that if we continue to expand factory farming to feed everyone on a high-meat diet, our food systems will fail. Find out more about taking action to end factory farming.

1. UNFAO, 2006, Livestock's Long Shadow