If the question was not asked, then let us ask it. Is it endemic? Certainly if it is not, then there should be objective information available to show otherwise. Counter-examples always make for more convincing argument than merely attacking the material in terms of quality.
The point about kosher food production is interesting, though.
Beyond that, the point about the treatment of animals and the question of what difference does it make slips into the realm of personal principles. Obviously, if people are going to hold to the point of view that such animals are little more than industrial resources to be used up and disposed of, then the entire point of all will be lost on those people. For some people, myself included, the treatment of animals is not so much a matter that the animals are treated well for just the sake of the animals, but as a reflection upon ourselves as a society and culture, that there is still a sense of concern and humanity in our actions. Humane behavior is itself expressed by treating other creatures with respect -- inhumanity is treating other creatures without respect.
The argument about efficiency in organic farming is interesting, but assumes that efficiency is the highest goal. It assumes that organic farming has a greater impact/usage on the land verses yield, which is reasonable on the face of it, but makes one wonder about the actual figures. It might be interesting to separate the impact from the are of land usage (i.e. the impact of the pesticide/pollutant/power usage of modern farming practices verses the organic) to get some real numbers about environmental impact used by each method. The problem in such a question would be choosing the boundries of what is included in the impact (that is, for instance, if modern farming methods require more machinery/tools/maintenance/pesticides, which they may or may not, then does one factor in the impact/usage of the factories needed to produce the machinery/tools/pesticides and the tertiary impacts on energy usage and such required by those? That becomes a complex, holistic analysis of the methods, however, which is non-trivial but interesting to consider.)
Obviously, one next step in increasing the efficiency of modern farming methods, assuming that is the sole criteria, would be to cut back the benefits and time off given to the workers in the industry, and make sure they are yielding the maximum productivity for their positions of employment within the industry -- treat the workers as just another resource to be used up.
If the question was not asked, then let us ask it. Is it endemic? Certainly if it is not, then there should be objective information available to show otherwise. Counter-examples always make for more convincing argument than merely attacking the material in terms of quality.
The point about kosher food production is interesting, though.
Beyond that, the point about the treatment of animals and the question of what difference does it make slips into the realm of personal principles. Obviously, if people are going to hold to the point of view that such animals are little more than industrial resources to be used up and disposed of, then the entire point of all will be lost on those people. For some people, myself included, the treatment of animals is not so much a matter that the animals are treated well for just the sake of the animals, but as a reflection upon ourselves as a society and culture, that there is still a sense of concern and humanity in our actions. Humane behavior is itself expressed by treating other creatures with respect -- inhumanity is treating other creatures without respect.
The argument about efficiency in organic farming is interesting, but assumes that efficiency is the highest goal. It assumes that organic farming has a greater impact/usage on the land verses yield, which is reasonable on the face of it, but makes one wonder about the actual figures. It might be interesting to separate the impact from the are of land usage (i.e. the impact of the pesticide/pollutant/power usage of modern farming practices verses the organic) to get some real numbers about environmental impact used by each method. The problem in such a question would be choosing the boundries of what is included in the impact (that is, for instance, if modern farming methods require more machinery/tools/maintenance/pesticides, which they may or may not, then does one factor in the impact/usage of the factories needed to produce the machinery/tools/pesticides and the tertiary impacts on energy usage and such required by those? That becomes a complex, holistic analysis of the methods, however, which is non-trivial but interesting to consider.)
Obviously, one next step in increasing the efficiency of modern farming methods, assuming that is the sole criteria, would be to cut back the benefits and time off given to the workers in the industry, and make sure they are yielding the maximum productivity for their positions of employment within the industry -- treat the workers as just another resource to be used up.