Well looks like I am a little late to the game here. But I think I have something to add to this discussion. I've said this elsewhere on Reddit, I believe. The truth is, the problem with American agriculture is much bigger than just increasing population and demands (which means bigger farms and corporate ownership of basically the entire meat industry). There is a disconnection people have with their food. They expect it to be cheap but at the same time, they expect it to have been raised well and carefully, especially with animals. This isn't going to happen. Even becoming a vegan or vegetarian doesn't entirely stop this, because A. Everyone else will continue eating meat, and B. Fruit & Vegetable farms are even more capable of pollution than animal farms. This includes transportation. People expect to be able to eat off-season and foreign fruits and vegetables and don't even consider how much pollution it took to ship those apples from China. Think about it: you'd rather spend your money on a boat than quality food, at least most people would. In order to make food cheap, long term care for animals and the environment is going to be ignored in favor of getting you your groceries on time. What I'm getting at here is, people don't seem to know or care where there food comes from. And, if they do, they expect the producers to solve all of the problems. I think that everyone, everywhere should grow their own food, at least some of it. Anything from a community garden to a strawberry patch to a tomato plant in the house. Just please grow something. It tastes better, and is better for you. Fortunately, even if that's not an option, there is a growing movement of responsibility in the industry. In the Dairy community where I come from, farmers have taken things into their own hands: going above and beyond what the government regulations state, inviting people on farm tours, investing in new technologies. While I admit that Dairy is very different from the meat industry, and the community I am from is made up of all smaller family farms, the same kinds of ideas are still there for all agriculture at any scale. The reason farmers are afraid of people filming stuff is because anyone can manipulate an interview or footage to make it look bad. But all these problems have the same connection: both the producers and consumers need to be more connected. There needs to be communication and dialogue. There will always be big companies with shitty practices, but if people take the time to talk to local farmers then even the big guys will be forced to change. The consumer has power. The producer wants to make an honest living. TL;DR Cut out the middle man. Farmers, start caring more. Consumers, try to understand the other side. Be willing to pay more money if it means supporting family farms over large corporations.