Mega-dairies became prevalent in multiple Asian countries in the 1970s, soon emerging all over the world as a major source of food security. It may seem like they're extremely beneficial and should prevail everywhere, but the byproducts of this should also be taken into consideration before this happens. This is good for science, but not for ethics. There is an obvious reason that we should keep mega-dairies in production - an exceptionally large milk output; however, we must first realize that we also have to deal with the negative results of these farms, including harmful waste and lack of storage, as well as economic instability.
Most farms in the United States have been consolidating themselves into extremely large farms, in order to eliminate the number of farms and increase the rate of production. This consolidation leads to lower costs and an overall economic benefit. Cows also provide a short pregnancy span, allowing for the generation of dairy in order to produce their young. There is always a rising demand for milk production. People are in constant need of dairy, as it as a primary resource of calcium mineral and nutrients. Said products can be promoted easily because of its prevalence and its low cost. Because of this, there is always an increase in the size and output of farms. In most mega-dairies, the intensive systems are able to retrieve a great amount of milk from a single cow, resulting in the decreasing need for cows and therefore less pollution.
In addition to the advantages that go hand in hand with mega-dairies, we also experience a substantial amount of disadvantages. Many farms in today's world are failing due to a lack of sufficient land and sources in order to begin and sustain a functional environment for the animals and their ability to increase production. Their waste then also becomes a problem. With no designated place for waste, it essentially just seeps into the ground, which can only lead to damage with the quality and cleanliness of our supply of water.
