>>92219201a traditional family farm can be surprisingly hospitable, all things considered.
they tend to have diverse crops and food, they tend to be expansive enough for livestock, they have artfully constructed lodgings to protect against predation, they allow for socialization and reproduction, and the humans are quick to remove any bullies (who are summarily eaten)
the only issue i have with farming animals for food is how terrible some of their living conditions are, and the fact that most animals are slaughtered when they are still young.
a factory farm is flat out disgusting on every level, for the animals and for the people working there, and honestly, i really don't want my tax dollars going to subsidize such absolute hellscapes. if i have to subsidize farming, and i think most economists would agree that a bit of subsidization increases food security and efficiency, then i'd rather have farms that were better for the animals to live in.
furthermore, factory farmed meat is bland and tastes like how their feces smell. if you don't believe me, compare organic free range chicken with factory farmed chicken when they are boiled simply in salted water. the free range chicken is remarkably more flavorful and satisfying, despite being much smaller. the factory farmed chicken tastes like chicken shit and is somehow not satisfying even if you eat a lot of it.
factory farmed meat is only good for junky preparations that require tremendous loads of fat, sugar and salt to even approach being tasty.
on killing the animals young, it's hard to argue against it since killing the animals young will exponentially lower costs and the chance of disease, BUT for the sake of flavor alone, pressure cookers can actually make old animals taste better than the young, so the argument against letting food animals grow older is purely for cost and preventing disease.
