Questions tagged [commercial-farming]
Both crop raising and animal agriculture as a business, rather than for subsistence
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How have dairy farms been repurposed?
I'm looking for instances, ideally small family farms exhibited in news articles, for converting their farm into an industry not centered around animals.
It would be great if you can include ...
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Is meat and bone meal still used to feed livestock?
It looks like meat and bone meal can cause mad cow disease.
I understand that feeding it to pets like dogs and cats is not such a big problem since humans (usually) don't eat pets.
But is meat and ...
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Does eating insects save lives compared to eating plants?
I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years and became a vegan 1.5 years ago. So I really believe in not killing animals.
What "bugged" me for several years is that animals like mice and moles die ...
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How are cows harmed in dairy farming?
In what way are cows harmed by the production of cows milk? It's obvious that meat comes from an animal that had to die, but you don't need to kill a cow to get her milk.
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Why ought someone buy conventional, not organic, for fruits and vegetables on the EWG's 2018 Dirty Dozen List?
I'm asking only about fruits and vegetables on the EWG's 2018 Dirty Dozen List which advocates buying organic for these fruits and vegetables, because they are likely to contain pesticides when ...
user165
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What are the health benefits of buying organic for fruits and vegetables on the EWG's Clean 15 List?
I'm asking about fruits and vegetables in the EWG's 2018 Clean Fifteen List which suggests that buying organic for these products is unnecessary because even when conventionally grown they are ...
user165
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Are animal pollinated foods vegan friendly?
Some foods (e.g. almonds) are 100% reliant on animals (e.g. bees) for pollination.
Are foods that are pollinated by animals regarded as vegan friendly?
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How common is it for the livestock industry to supplement B12?
In debates, the contra side often claims veganism can’t be good because vegans have to supplement B12 (appeal to nature), while the pro side sometimes claims that even carnists supplement B12 ...
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How quickly could veganism realistically grow?
How quickly could veganism realistically grow if changing attitudes wasn't the limiting factor? We've already heard that the world can't go vegan overnight, but if not overnight then how long?
I'm ...
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Does buying quinoa really take food away from people in Peru and Bolivia?
A few years ago there were articles in the news that the rising popularity of quinoa was driving up prices and making it inaccessible for people in Peru and Bolivia where it had long been a ...
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Are there any dairy farms that don't kill cows or calves?
Young calves and old cows on dairy farms are typically sent to slaughter because they are no longer useful for milk production.
Are there any farms (past or present) that operate as a business and ...
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Does growing crops kill more animals than raising cows on pasture?
In 2003, Steven L. Davis published an analysis in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics which speculates:
Is it possible that some other agricultural production alternatives may ...
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Do apiculturists make more money from honey or pollination services?
Honey bees, specifically the European Honey Bee (apis mellifera), are often used in service of pollinating crops in large industrial monocultures. These bees also produce honey which is collected and ...
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Does a live animal tracking system for vegetarian products exist?
I am thinking of a label system on cheese and egg found in supermarkets whereby you can use your phone camera to scan a bar code on those products. It would take you to a live supervision camera ...
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Why don't humans use animals after they die naturally?
Humans use animals for eating, clothes, fashion, etc., all of which is obviously wrong.
Why don't they eat them after they die naturally of old age? Why don't they use their fur, or skin after they ...
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Are there any farms that sell "cruelty-free" eggs (i.e. that don't slaughter older hens)?
Eggs maybe considered vegetarian by many since most eggs are unfertilized and do not result in the death of any animals. However, egg farms are usually not cruelty-free since when hens get too old to ...
user779
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How prevalent is the use of animal matter in organic farming compared to conventional farming?
USDA regulations for organic farming permit the use of some fertilizers, include animal manure, bone meal, but restrict the use of synthetic fertilizer (which usually do not come from animal sources). ...
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Do laws about organic foods include directives about animal welfare?
Yep, simple and straightforward: do laws about organic foods include directives about animal wellbeing? For example, if a firm that sells eggs wants to sell them as organic does it have to follow any ...
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Would we be overrun by cows and pigs if we stopped slaughtering them?
I've heard often that there are no good arguments against keeping animals to produce food. (see for example this YouTube video
What about this argument:
We live in a commercial world. If we do not ...
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Are commercial figs vegan?
My parents have a fig tree and, apart from the occasional worm or bug that might reside in the fig and then be eaten by us, those figs are vegan and grown with vegan methods (we basically just water ...
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Do commercial chicken's eggs contain B12?
If chickens are fed with only treated grain, where do they obtain vitamin B12 from? Are these eggs a good source of vitamin B12?
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Why are agricultural subsidies directed primarily towards animal agriculture?
In the US, 63% of agricultural subsidies support meat and dairy production1. I've heard that other countries also direct more money towards animal agriculture than to other agricultural activities. ...
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How big would the populations of farm animals be if not artificially raised by humans?
To satisfy our palate (and dietary needs, historically) we started to use many animals, some of which we now keep in extremely high numbers (estimates of 1 billion to 1.4 billion of cattle alone). ...
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How effective is farming crops without animal derived fertilizer?
It is sometimes claimed that materials such as manure are important to attain high yields of crops. While I know that it's possible to farm using only vegan materials, e.g. 'veganic' farming, I'm ...
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How does the cost of production of soya milk compare to cow's milk?
Raising a large animal seems, at first glance, like a much less efficient way to produce some kind of 'milk' than merely growing plants and processing them with machines. Yet somehow, where I live at ...
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Which one promotes the most deforestation: raising crops or animal husbandry?
This seems like an argument that often comes up against plant-based diets: "you eat insert plant and it destroys rainforests". Are there any studies on which activity causes more harm to forests?
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What specific ethical concerns are there about the use of sheep's wool?
I am a vegan and I (believe I) understand the main philosophical arguments and stances that lead to the conclusion that we should not use non-human animals or animal products for our own ends.
...
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Which crops involve the least collateral harm when grown/harvested? [closed]
Some crops can harm animals indirectly while grown/harvested.
Researcher Brian Tomasik has tried to do some rough estimates: for example, legumes appears to inflict less accidental suffering than ...
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How can grazing land be converted to contribute to feeding a vegan world?
Currently large areas of the world are devoted to grazing.
Many of these areas have historically been deemed incapable of more profitable food production. If there was no longer a market for animal ...
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How to avoid being part of the slaughter of cockerels on the free-range egg farms?
Most of the eggs that are consumed are infertile. However would eating eggs from certain farms would increase kills of the male chickens (cockerels)? By killing, I mean brutally slaughtered by the use ...
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Does the production of down typically involve killing or hurting birds?
Down consists of bird feathers. In principle it could be sourced from feathers that birds have lost naturally, so it should not require to kill or hurt any animal. Are down feathers typically ...
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