Nobody in the history of humankind has eaten the way we do at present. Up until the mid-19th century, the farming industry looked radically different than it does today. This especially true for animal agriculture. When we imagine the lives of farm animals, many of us might have images of cows grazing on grassy hills and chickens pecking for seeds in the yard. I know I did. Growing up, I had a grandfather who was, earlier in his life, a butcher, and if I did picture the lives of the animals that fed us, it was probably something bucolic. But those days are long over. Over 98% of American livestock is raised on massive, industrial farms. Factory farming, also known as intensive animal farming, is unrecognizable from the family-run farms that produced meat, eggs, and dairy in previous generations. To maximize production at minimal costs, factory farms must pack livestock in at unprecedentedly high densities, a feat only possible through the use of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. The resulting conditions are unconscionable. 

As Jews, we are obligated to animals. Rav Soloveitchik was notably vocal on the ethical dimensions of kashrut, which has noble and moral........

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