Reddit post drives me bonkers

[wildr0se2]

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/s/qXmMopMl6u

So I’m reading r/IAmA and there’s one post where someone is explaining how they’re a factory farmer and in the comments they are trying to say they aren’t as horrible as the documentaries make most factory farms out to be and they talk about how they run the farm, post links to some pictures, and how they want to educate people more about the topic. I’m curious as to what folks think, because I feel like factory farms are bad regardless and I wonder if the user is trying to justify their line of work by portraying their farm as “not like the others”. Idk. I could be jumping to conclusions. Also, while yes the documentaries are graphic, I don’t think they are false. But idk, posts like these make my brain hurt. I’m still researching.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Didn't click on the link as I'm at work and I'm busy and probably shouldn't be even on the forum right now but I suggest you engage with the thread putting forward your point of view but don't get too obsessed with it or spend too much time on it, and move on quickly

 

[Lou]

I feel like factory farms are bad regardless

yes. and you know what, I feel like dairy farming is bad, regardless. and also animal agriculture is bad (period).

Granted some types of animal agriculture is better than others. Dairy CAFOs pretty much are at the "bad" end of the spectrum.

an operator of a 700 unit CAFO does not get a pass from me. Although according to his post and his pictures his farm is cleaner looking and better than I would have expected, it's still an CAFO and shares many of the characteristics that make CAFOs, dairy farming, and animal agriculture bad.

the posters main issue is that the his milk is safe. Not even sure that is true but for me that is beside the point. My concern is for the cow's safety. And of course all animal agriculture is not good for the animals.

This next thing is besides the point and I probably shouldn't even bring it up but since I said "animal agriculture is bad" I feel like I should in honesty bring up the exception that I recognize: Subsistence farming. in those cases I don't see it being bad. Although I recognize that in my case it is somewhat based by fiction like Little House on the Prairie. In the 21st century maybe you would need more than 2 cows - maybe 10 or even 40. but not 700.

In Cowspiracy they had that one likable dairy farmer. He knew all his cows and named them all. I think he had about 40.

 

[Graeme M]

That's quite an old post and it wouldn't surprise me to find conditions are changing since then. Smaller operators are being replaced by larger operations owned by corporations, where more animals are housed. I'm sure there are still many similar farms, though.

I guess my main complaint is simply the moral one veganism is founded on - it's essentially wrong to treat animals as chattel property and mere units of production, when we don't need to. Of course if we must, then such farms might be acceptable simply to meet the scale of demand nowadays. At the end of the day, the food system is driven by people and they demand cheap, tasty food regardless of source or healthiness.

Within vegan ethics, it doesn't matter how clean or efficient or healthy those cows are. We object to the system because the cattle are not free and we use them unfairly. It is pretty much that simple (though largely, meaningless to most people).