factory farm

noun

Updated on: 19 Mar 2018

Definition of factory farm

: a large industrialized farm; especially : a farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost

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factory farming

noun

Recent Examples of factory farm from the Web

People were concerned the dairy would hurt the already nitrate-laden groundwater area, affect the Columbia River, spew methane into the atmosphere and signal a change in Oregon's agriculture landscape toward large-scale factory farms.

— molly harbarger, OregonLive.com, "Oregon mega-dairy sued by state for release of wastewater, by contractors for unpaid bills," 8 Mar. 2018
The candies are appropriate — the Charmant was home to the Joseph B. Funke premier chocolate factory farm 1898 to 1933.

— brian e. clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "8 hotels for a Valentine's Day getaway in Wisconsin," 2 Feb. 2018
Under pressure against these practices, the seafood industry has begun to shift toward aquaculture: fish factory farms.

— matthew prescott, Fortune, "Commentary: That Shark Drag Video Is Horrifying. But It Happens Every Day.," 19 Jan. 2018
Over the last decade or more, the academies of Premier League teams have morphed into factory farms, designed either to generate talent or create revenue.

— rory smith, New York Times, "At Global Clubs, Local Players Serve as Connective Tissue," 6 Feb. 2018
In 2013, 155 billion pounds of fish were factory farmed; that’s the equivalent of almost 350,000 Statues of Liberty. Picture massive tanks full of animals packed tightly next to one another, barely able to move and producing huge amounts of waste.

— matthew prescott, Fortune, "Commentary: That Shark Drag Video Is Horrifying. But It Happens Every Day.," 19 Jan. 2018
But the backlash to these Teenage Mutant Ninja Chickens® wasn't far behind, as consumers became more dubious (for both health and ethical reasons) of factory farms.

— julia black, Bon Appetit, "Are We Facing the Great Chicken Wing Crisis of 2017?," 7 Sep. 2017
Baur cofounded Farm Sanctuary in 1986, after doing independent undercover work to expose animal abuses in the factory farm industry.

— cole kazdin, Los Angeles Magazine, "At This Vegan Thanksgiving Feast Turkeys Aren’t Eaten, They’re the Guests of Honor," 27 Oct. 2017
Dead zones, where no aquatic life survives, are created by agricultural runoff from Midwestern factory farms, which is dumped into the Gulf by the Mississippi River.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "Readers write: Letters to the editor, August 13, 2017," 13 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'factory farm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.