Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Douglas R. Tompkins -- Introduction / Daniel Imhoff -- Part I. The pathological mindset of the CAFO. Introduction : From agrarianism to industrialism ; Farm factories : the end of animal husbandry / Bernard E. Rollin ; Fear factories : the case for compassionate conservatism for animals / Matthew Scully ; Cold evil : the ideologies of industrialism / Andrew Kimbrell ; Renewing husbandry : the mechanization of agriculture is fast coming to an end / Wendell Berry ; Man, the paragon of animals? : Questioning our assumptions about evolution / Christopher Manes -- Part II. Myths of the CAFO. Myth : industrial food is cheap ; Myth : industrial food is efficient ; Myth : industrial food is healthy ; Myth : CAFOs are farms, not factories ; Myth : CAFOs are good for rural communities ; Myth : industrial food benefits the environment and wildlife ; Myth : industrial food can feed the world ; Myth : CAFO manure is a benign resource -- Part III. Inside the CAFO. Introduction : what the industry doesn't want us to know ; Power steer : on the trail of industrial beef / Michael Pollan ; Boss hog : the rapid rise of industrial swine / Jeff Tietz ; Watching the chickens pass by : the grueling monotony of the disassembly line / Steve Striffler ; The milk of human unkindness : industrialization and the supercow / Anne Mendelson ; Floating hog farms : industrial aquaculture is spoiling the aquatic commons? / Ken Stier, Emmett Hopkins -- Part IV. The loss of diversity. Introduction : extinction is forever ; Old MacDonald had diversity : the role of traditional breeds in a dynamic agricultural future / Donald E. Bixby ; Squeezed to the last drop : the loss of family farms / Tim Philpott ; Assault on nature : CAFOs and biodiversity loss / George Wuerthner ; Narrowing of poultry breeds ; Traditional versus industrial beef and dairy cattle ; Traditional swine and lean hogs ; Demise of the family farmer ; Loss of industrial farms -- Part V. Hidden costs of CAFOs. Introduction : economists have forgotten how to add ; From farms to factories : pillaging the commons / Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ; Bad meat : deregulation makes eating a high-risk behavior / Eric Schlosser ; CAFOs are in everyone's backyard : industrial agriculture, democracy and the future / Kendall Thu ; Paying the polluters : animal factories feast on taxpayer subsidies / Martha Noble ; Diet for a hot planet : livestock and climate change / Anna Lappé -- Part VI. A rough and rocky horror show. Introduction : a small sample of CAFO production around the world -- Part VII. Technological takeover. Introduction : from farms to high-tech ; Antibiotic drug abuse : CAFOs are squandering vital human medicines / Leo Horrigan, Jay Graham, Shawn McKenzie ; Franken food : livestock cloning and the quest for industrial perfection / Rebecca Spector ; Nuclear meat : using radiation and chemicals to make food "safe" / Wenonah Hauter -- Part VIII. Putting the CAFO out to pasture. Introduction : toward a humane, equitable, and sustainable food system ; Toward sustainability : moving from energy dependence to energy exchange / Fred Kirschenmann ; The good farmer : an agrarian approach to animal agriculture / Peter Kaminsky ; Changing the law : the road to reform / Paige Tomaselli, Meredith Niles ; A chef speaks out : making the case for taste / Dan Barber ; Dismantlement : a movement to topple industrial animal agriculture / Eric Marcus ; Healing : restoring health, wealth, and respect to food and farming / Joel Salatin ; Vote with your fork : it's time for citizens to take back the food system / Daniel Imhoff -- Know where your food comes from -- What you can do -- A glossary of CAFO terms and euphemisms.