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Maisee Her

Instructor Vang

WRI 010-72

20 February 2019

Industrial Farming Matters

As industrial farming has increased among recent years, many people question where

their food comes from and how it is processed. In The Only Way to Have a Cow, an article by

Bill McKibben, an environmentalist and journalist who writes exclusively on food production,

claims that the way how meat is processed and industrial farming causes climate change.

McKibben strongly believes that going vegan is more effective than reducing the production of

gas emission and slaughtering cows in an appalling way. However, as a farmer for over 30 years,

Bill Hurst questions the way many American journalists and businessmen criticize industrial

farming and traditional farmers in his essay The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-

intellectuals. He claims that farmers must use commercial fertilizers for their crops, in order to

provide enough food for consumers when animal manure is not available. Moreover, Hurst states

that farmers have reasons for their actions. In all honesty, Hurst is correct, because farmers are

often misunderstood for their actions by critics and consumers; and the only way to provide

enough food for everyone is through industrial farming, though it may cause climate change.

When it comes to industrial farming, McKibben believes that it is unacceptable and

wrong. With the amount of methane and carbon are in the air, he questions the difference

between greenhouse gas emissions and cow manure for nurturing. McKibben writes, “Done

right, some studies suggest, this method of raising cattle could put much of the atmospheres

oversupply of greenhouse gases back in the soil inside half a century” (McKibben, p. 231).
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McKibben considers this method of letting cows graze through the grass fields and using manure

for development to be more beneficial for the environment. However, grass-fed beef will only

increase the price for consumers. Although Hurst has the same mindset as McKibben on the

usage of animal manure, Hurst argues that, “the cost of transporting the manure becomes [more]

prohibitive” (Hurst, p. 245), as the value of it increases for farmers. Nonetheless, it will become

a cause and effect problem for both farmers and consumers. When the value of manure increases

for farmers, the grass-fed beef will cost more; and consumers will buy less red meat. Therefore,

this cause and effect will complicate farmers to figure out a way to make meat production more

affordable. Thus, agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and industrial farming must be used to

provide more beef, other livestock, and food for consumers.

On the other hand, McKibben believes that it’s more efficient for people to become a

vegan or a vegetarian. His allegations are that it will make consumers healthier and becoming

vegan is more effective than decreasing the usage of gas emission. McKibben supports his claim

by quoting from Paul McCartney, “the biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyles

to help the environment would to become vegetarian” (McKibben, p. 230). He explains that

consumers must looks at the ethics of eating food processed by industrial farming because it’s

dangerous; and although buying organic food is expensive, the atmosphere is more important. In

contrast, Hurst explains that critics, like McKibben, criticize long-time farmer because they do

not use organic farming. He states, “we have to farm ‘industrially’ to feed the world, and by

using sensibly, we can accomplish the task and leave my grandchildren a prosperous and

productive farm, while protecting the land, water, and air around us” (Hurst, p. 249) He states

this because our population will only increase as the years go; thus, industrial farming will be the

main source to feed the world, without damaging the environment and atmosphere.
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In conclusion, McKibben and Hurst both have different views on industrial farming.

McKibben claims that going vegan is more effective than using gas emissions to produce new

food. Also, he strongly believes that having everything organic will decrease the world’s climate

change, though buying produce organically can be expensive. On the other hand, Hurst states

that farmers are often mistaken by critics and consumers for their actions on farming and raising

animals. In addition, he says that using animal manure will cause a raise in prices for everyone.

Under these circumstances, Hurst is veracious, because the usage of industrial farming will make

enough food for the people around the world. As there will be more advanced technology in the

future, industrial farming will only increase, and it will not be causing as much climate change as

today.
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Work Cited

Hurst, Blake. “The Omnivore's Delusion.” Edited by Amanda Radke, Beef Magazine, 16 Dec.

2011, www.beefmagazine.com/blog/omnivores-delusion.

Lusk, Jayson. “Opinion | Why Industrial Farms Are Good for the Environment.” The New York

Times, The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/opinion/sunday/why-industrial-farms-are-good-for-the-

environment.html.

McKibben, Bill. “The Only Way to Have a Cow.” Orion Magazine, Orion Magazine, 2010,

orionmagazine.org/article/the-only-way-to-have-a-cow/.