SHOCK FILM BACKS CALL TO END FACTORY FARMING

Published 09/02/2010

The film Food Inc. highlights the many negative impacts of intensive farming including the effects on human health, poor animal welfare, environmental pollution and loss of livelihood for small-scale farmers.

Farming is a proven contributor to climate change, with the world's livestock responsible for a massive 18% of greenhouse gas emissions*, while billions of animals suffer in intensive farming systems around the world.

Intensive animal production has boosted production yields but these developments come at a severe price - these systems include production methods that cause significant and widespread animal suffering, such as the selection of animals for rapid growth, leading to lameness and other physiological disorders, and the use of cages and crates which severely restrict animals' instinctive behaviours.

Joel Salatin, the chemical-free farmer featured in Food Inc, remarks: "When you view life from that kind of mechanistic, arrogant, disrespectful standpoint, you very soon begin to view all of life from a very disrespectful, arrogant, manipulative standpoint. And the fact is we aren't machines."

The hard hitting US film shows this disturbing reality of factory farming and urges the public to take action. Compassion in World Farming believes that even with a growing global population set to reach 9 billion people by 2050, we can feed the world using humane and sustainable farming systems.

Our Director of Public Affairs, Joyce D'Silva says: "Food Inc. supports Compassion in World Farming's argument that factory farming, with its focus solely on productivity, is inherently destructive. Our research shows that we can feed the world using humane and sustainable farming systems. This is good news for all who identify with the philosophy that factory farming is not only bad for animals, but also for people and the planet."

Eating the Planet? , produced by the Institute of Social Ecology in Austria and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany (for Compassion and Friends of the Earth), outlines the ultimate win-win scenario: feeding the world's 2050 population without intensive agriculture is not only good for animal welfare but also "provides environmental benefits such as promoting biodiversity and reducing environmental pollution."

Stella McCartney, Director Robert Kenner and Producer Eric Schlosser hosted the U.K. premiere of FOOD, INC. on Monday 8 February in support of Meat Free Monday.

* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 2006 Livestock's Long Shadow