Industrialization revolutionized the American economy. Mass production allows in-demand products to be easily available for purchase. But at what point does this system cross the line? It's one thing to mass produce electronic products and clothing, for example, but applying mass production to the meat industry is completely different. To generate maximum profit, livestock are systematically killed on a large scale on an assembly line. These animals are treated as nothing more than objects that can be processed, packaged and sold to the consumer. In order for this activity to be carried out efficiently both in terms of time and costs, the welfare of the livestock is placed as one of the last priorities. Factory farming has gotten out of hand, and America is doing an inadequate job of managing and enforcing the legal guidelines that explain what is allowed to take place in these institutions. There needs to be serious reforms at the national level regarding the care and management of animals, as well as the monitoring of practices taking place in the agricultural sector. Factory farms are centers of under-the-radar animal cruelty. New York Times columnist Mark Bittman claims that new workers at the E6 Cattle Company in Texas were videotaped using hammers and picks to crush cows' skulls instead of properly euthanizing them (Bittman). Unfortunately, it is doubtful that this is a rare example of unnecessary torture in the meat industry. In order for these events to occur without a supervisor noticing, there must be a lack of employee training or supervision. Note that the above incident was recorded, so it is possible that the farm owner in question was unaware of his new employees' behavior until he viewed the videotapes. S...... half of the paper ......tion for their well-being before using them for consumption. Even if animals will eventually be killed anyway, most people would agree that we should let these animals experience a cruelty-free life and as painless a death as possible. No one wants to know that animals have to suffer in order to enjoy a meal, but with stricter government regulations on factory farming techniques, a compromise can be reached so that animals do not have to be subjected to mistreatment throughout their lives. Works Cited Bittman , Segno. "Who protects animals?" Opinionator. New York Times Company. April 26, 2011. Network. February 23, 2012. Ernst, Stephanie. “Animal Use and Abuse Statistics.” News on Change.org. 5 October 2008. Web. 26 February 2012. Lin, Doris. “Proposals to ban undercover factory farming videos.” Animal rights. About.com March 23, 2011. Web. 2012.