Case Analysis- Factory Farms
The moral problem in the case study of factory farms is that poultry suppliers such as Perdue use unconventional scientific means to increase productivity to make huge sales. The suppliers modify the genetic makeup of the chicken so that they mature faster than normal so that they can have enough stock to meet demand. The modification of the genetic makeup and the injection of chemicals to catalyze growth negatively affect the chicken and pose a health risk to the consumers. However, these supplies do not care about the negative consequences, but they only focus on making more sales (Mishler, 2020). It has been proven that food products that are genetically modified tend to have some negative health effects on consumers, but the suppliers have ignored this revelation rather due to their greediness; they are striving to make more profits from this business. Do you need urgent assignment help ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
The genetically modified chicken tends to have some health problems such as abnormal overweight and difficulties in mobility. This treatment violates animal rights and fair competition laws. Poultry suppliers have used this unconventional scientific means for many years because business regulatory and consumer protection agencies have not taken any measures to address this issue (Mishler, 2020). These funny behaviors by business organizations in the U.S. can be attributed to the capitalist system. Capitalism allows competition and lacks some regulatory measures to ensure fairness (Utm.edu, 2020). Thus, capitalism provides an environment that encourages such predatory business behaviors where business firms engage in mischievous behaviors in the quest of boosting profits.
In this discussion, I will defend the view that government should regulate the predatory behaviors of business organizations that tend to violate the conventional way of doing business. The regulatory agencies should hold firms that violate conventional principles accountable for their actions. The regulatory agencies should base their rules on the virtue ethics theory. This theory emphasizes the quest for understanding and living a life of moral character (Sakelariouv, 2015). The theory emphasizes the role of character and virtue in the moral philosophy requiring that individuals and business organizations not wait to be told or directed to do what is ethically right. Rather, individuals and business organizations should be morally responsible by doing what is morally right. Therefore, regulatory agencies should aim to enlighten business firms such as Perdue poultry suppliers to engage in morally ethical characters without being monitored (Sakelariouv, 2015). Business firms should see on their own they need to act morally. Virtue theory requires individuals and business firms to identify virtue and desirable characteristics that a morally virtuous person or entity should display.
The first reason why I support government regulation of competition and predatory behaviors by business organizations is to enhance consumers’ protection. When business firms are left to compete freely without being regulated, they devise competitive mechanisms that may harm the consumers and the entire business environment (Mishler, 2020). As much as competition is allowed, it should be regulated to ensure that firms produce high-quality products and safe for consumers. When consumers consume genetically modified products and chemically engineered products, they develop some health complications due to the chemicals contained in the products (Mishler, 2020). Therefore, the government and the regulatory agencies must approve some competition mechanisms firms use to ensure that the products produced are safe for human consumption.
The second reason why I support my thesis is to protect animal law. Animal law is a new field of law that highlights various laws that protect animals’ rights. Animal laws entail wrongful death or injury of animals, veterinary malpractices, and animal cruelty (LClark, 2020). A growing number of states in the U.S. and nations worldwide are enacting animal laws to protect animals from the mentioned acts. However, poultry suppliers such as Perdue and large farms are rearing chickens in an environment that violates animal laws. One of the common animal laws is the good housing law. The law requires that all domesticated animals be housed in decent structures that shelter the animals from the adverse environment (LClark, 2020). In Factory farms, thousands of chickens are reared in small spaces where there is no good ventilation. The congested chicken compartments have a poor environment and can lead to the spread of disease.
Moreover, such congested chicken houses are not properly cleaned, and hence, the chicken is exposed to an unclean environment which can also cause diseases (Mishler, 2020). In other words, factory farms and poultry suppliers violate the good housing law in the animal law.
Virtue theory should be emphasized more than the utilitarian theory for individuals and business firms to act morally. Virtue theory asserts that firms should find it necessary to act morally without being monitored or supervised (Sakelariouv, 2015). Under this theory, business firms should see the benefits of acting morally, not be shown the benefits of acting ethically. When firms are morally responsible, problems such as using shortcuts to make huge profits would not exist. Virtue theory could easily address the problem rather than the utilitarian theory. Utilitarian theory is all about maximizing pleasure (Utm.edu, 2020). The poultry suppliers such as Perdue and the factory farms might be using the utilitarian theory concept to act the way they do. They inject chemicals and modify the genetic makeup of the chicken breeds to speed up the maturing process to make more sales.
While the utilitarian theory seeks to maximize the benefits of the factory farm, chicken suppliers, and the consumers, the unconventional way they are breeding the chicken would harm the consumers instead of benefiting them (Utm.edu, 2020). Therefore, virtue theory surpasses utilitarian theory because virtue theory approves morally right actions. When business organizations act ethically, no one in the food chain will get harmed virtue they guide business firms to do what is ethically right, meaning that firms are not only required to follow the law but are also not required to seek loopholes in the law engage in acts that could cause harm to other parties at the expense of maximizing profits. Therefore, the moral solution to the problem lies with the virtue theory, which requires that individuals and business firms strive to be morally responsible for acting ethically, not act because it requires them to act ethically. When moral responsibility is instilled in the business organization, the regulatory agencies would have easy work since every organization would be acting within the confines of the law and acting responsibly.
References
LClark. (2020).Center for Animal Law Studies. References https://law.lclark.edu/centers/animal_law_studies/
Mishler, J. (2020). Despite Perdue’s High Welfare Standards, Some Chickens Can’t Survive 45 Days. https://sentientmedia.org/despite-perdues-high-welfare-standards-some-chickens-cant-survive-45-days/
Sakelariouv, A. (2015). Virtue Ethics and its Potential as the Leading Moral Theory. Student Pulse: Journal quest. VOL. 12 NO. 1
Utm.edu. (2020). Virtue Ethics. https://iep.utm.edu/virtue
Utm.edu. (2020). Act and Rule Utilitarianism. https://iep.utm.edu/util-a-r/
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Question 
Discrimination
In this written assignment, you will present your work on the case analysis using selected components of an argumentative essay as described in Sections 9.1 and 9.2 of With Good Reason: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Hardy, Foster, & Zúñiga y Postigo, 2015).
Case Analysis- Factory Farms
This written assignment will include a revised and polished version of your discussion work, the presentation and support of two premises, and an analysis of how your chosen ethical theory offers the best moral solution to the business problem in your case analysis.
Using the components of the argumentative essay located in Sections 9.1 and 9.2 of With Good Reason: A Guide to Critical Thinking (Hardy, Foster, & Zúñiga y Postigo (2015), your assignment should include the following: