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Reference.org
Intensive animal farming
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<p>Intensive animal farming, industrial livestock production, and macro-farms, also known as factory farming, is a type of <a href="/facts/Intensive_agriculture/dHGtp0Im">intensive agriculture</a>, specifically an approach to mass <a href="/facts/Animal_husbandry/aJforlQp">animal husbandry</a> designed to maximize production while minimizing costs. To achieve this, <a href="/facts/Agribusiness/fMxWfwQV">agribusinesses</a> keep <a href="/facts/Livestock/Quhv6GvP">livestock</a> such as <a href="/facts/Cattle/44qV9B6S">cattle</a>, <a href="/facts/Poultry/u8hUQ64j">poultry</a>, and <a href="/facts/Fish/fln4gH9V">fish</a> at high stocking densities, <a href="/facts/Economies_of_scale/gtAYHuNT">at large scale</a>, and using modern machinery, <a href="/facts/Biotechnology/8eFnI6FB">biotechnology</a>, <a href="/facts/Pharmaceutics/ms5hhrMv">pharmaceutics</a>, and <a href="/facts/International_trade/jB2m5TGX">international trade</a>. The main products of this industry are <a href="/facts/Meat/DUHTTM1d">meat</a>, <a href="/facts/Milk/wDJBUHvy">milk</a> and <a href="/facts/Eggs_as_food/dRLxAGev">eggs</a> for human consumption. </p><p>While intensive animal farming can produce large amounts of meat at low cost with reduced human labor, it is controversial as it raises several ethical concerns, including <a href="/facts/Animal_welfare/R22EA5vT">animal welfare</a> issues (confinement, mutilations, stress-induced aggression, breeding complications), <a href="/facts/Environmental_impacts_of_animal_agriculture/quFfEtn4">harm to the environment</a> and wildlife (<a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas/HXaHqrT8">greenhouse gases</a>, <a href="/facts/Deforestation/L1TNhN9p">deforestation</a>, <a href="/facts/Eutrophication/rqXhQYyt">eutrophication</a>), public health risks (<a href="/facts/Zoonotic_diseases/uvEPgxJ4">zoonotic diseases</a>, pandemic risks, <a href="/facts/Antibiotic_resistance/jsbAywgx">antibiotic resistance</a>), and worker exploitation, particularly of undocumented workers. </p>