Factory Farming in the Developing World

I recently wrote a research paper for my composition class on the presence of factory farming in the developing world. I used an article by Danielle Nierenberg of the World Watch Institute for this paper called "Factory Farming in the Developing World: In some critical views, this is not progress at all." This is Nierenberg's account of her time in the Philippines spent investigating animal farming.

Most of us vegans know the problems associated with animal farming in the US—from Farm Sanctuary to PETA, we have plenty of sources keeping us up to date on what’s going in the horrific world of factory farming. However, few of us (and few people in general, for that matter) are aware of animal farming practices in less developed countries. This is something I had thought mildly about before, mostly taking the position that less developed countries just didn’t have the same food options that we have in the US, so I would never judge them for the way they ate. But at some point I wondered, just how do developing countries farm their animals? I had assumed that their practices were strictly small farms closer to the seemingly unattainable farming ideals of the US. However, Nierenberg's article turned that idea on its head, showing how factory farming has taken over developing countries such as the Philippines nearly to the extent that it rules American animal farming. The article was shocking, to say the least. 


Currently, the Philippines has three domestic corporations who produce animal foods, and several US corporations manufacture and/or sell animal foods in the Philippines. These corporations include Tyson Foods and Purina Mills, two western supergiants of factory farming. Both the US and Filipino corporations have bought out numerous small farms in the Philippines, destroying not only the lives of these farmers, but also destroying the traditional farming methods that have been passed down for so many generations. In addition, while producing cheaper meats, factory farming reduces food security for rural villagers because so many of them relied on the local meat of other family farmers in the community, farmers that are now out of business.


The environmental effects of factory farming are as apparent to Filipino villagers as they are to those living near Smithfield's pig shit lagoons, if not more so. One major river in the Philippines has become so polluted that nearby villagers refer to it as the River Stink. In another village, factory farm waste was piled into a huge hill that at one point collapsed, killing over 200 villagers.


If that's not enough, the increase in animal food consumption in the Philippines has led to higher rates of obesity and the appearance of more fast food establishments. In the developing world, eating a lot of meat is equated with status and wealth because of our ridiculously high meat consumption in the developed world. But there is nothing high-class or glamorous about factory farming, as the Filipinos are finding out.


So if you're one of those people who is genuinely concerned with what happens to others in the developing world, if those commercials about starving children in South America, Africa, or Asia make you cry, consider reducing your meat consumption. Contributing to the factory farming industry is allowing money to be taken out of the pockets of families in the developing world and food away from children. 


Source used: 
Nierenberg, Danielle. "Factory Farming in the Developing World." World Watch 16.3 (2003): 10-19. 360 Link. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.