For thousands of years, many cultures have
relied on farming for food. The Industrial Revolution1 and technological advances
took farming
a step further, making industrial farming a big part of modern agriculture2. Industrial farming uses farming methods that produce the greatest amounts at the lowest cost.
That is to say, farmers can produce more food on smaller areas of land, and
in turn, the public can buy cheaper food. This can make a huge difference for poor people or farmers who have to work in areas that have unfriendly climates.
Industrial farming provides food for six billion people all over the world. Many techniques are
applied to produce these crops. For example, chemicals are heavily used to help plants grow and to protect them from insects. Also, genetically modified3 seeds have been created to produce more crops than normal seeds.
Besides crops, industrial farming also
involves factory farming of animals. In the 1920s, scientists discovered the benefits of vitamins, vaccines4 and antibiotics5. By giving animals vitamins, farmers can raise them indoors. Vaccines and antibiotics help to prevent the spread of diseases that occur in
crowded living conditions.
In addition, giving the animals other kinds of drugs helps them to grow bigger and faster. Factory farming allows more animals to be produced for food than free-range6 farming. From all of these methods, industrial farming has helped to feed the world's population.
數千年來，許多文化皆仰賴農牧業來提供食物。工業革命和科技發展更將農業帶往一個全新境界，並使工業化農牧成為現代農業中重要的一環。工業化農牧運用 了能以最低成本製造最多產量的農牧方法。也就是說，農夫可以在較為小塊的土地上生產出更多食物，民眾也因此可以買到更便宜的食品。此舉可大大改善窮人的生 活，或是幫助那些必須在氣候欠佳地區工作的農夫。
工業化農牧為全世界六十億人口提供了食物。而許多技術則被用來生產這些農作物。舉例來說，化學藥品被大量使用來幫助作物生長並且保護它們免於蟲害。此外，人們也研發基因改造的種子，使其能比一般種子生產更多作物。
除了農作物，工業化農牧的範圍也包含了動物的工廠化畜牧（編按：factory farming即是指在室內進行大規模的畜牧，就如同在工廠裡大量製造物品一般）。在1920年代，科學家發現了維生素、疫苗、以及抗生素的好處。藉由為 動物施打維生素，農夫便能在室內飼養牠們。疫苗和抗生素則有助於預防疾病在擁擠的居住環境下蔓延。此外，為動物投以別種藥物能幫助牠們長得更大更快。相較 於放牧，工廠化畜牧能生產更多動物以作為食物之用。藉由上述的所有方法，工業化農牧已著實幫忙餵飽全世界的人口。
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