In a word, no, there is no truth to those claims.
What follows is from a post I made a month or two ago, it may cover some other things. Let me know if you want more information, I’ve had a long interest in animal production.
As someone who has raised a quarter millions hogs, birth to market, I can assure you that no producer can exist if they don’t provide a clean, and healthy environment for their livestock.
Animal feeds are targeted to the specific animals being fed, taking into account their sex, age, weight, and dozens of other factors. The feed formula changes often, sometimes weekly, so that the very optimum feed is fed to the animals. Everything that group of animals need is taken into account, vitamins, minerals, you name it, it’s analyzed, adjusted, and changed as conditions change.
Water is a key element for all producers, and water quality is analyzed and included as a key feed component. Backup wells and pressure systems are incorporated into every step of the building and production plan. Backup electrical generators provide electrical power for the pumps in the event of power failure, which are often top of the line variable speed drives, rivaling the sophistication of those used by municipal water systems. The backup systems insure that the animal have a continuous supply a fresh water.
In the pen or cage, the water delivery equipment used is manufactured from stainless steel and plastics to reduce the buildup of contaminants, and is scientifically placed so that all animals have easy access to what is the cheapest food ingredient, water.
I would assert that animals raised by the American farmer dine and drink a more scientifically balanced meal than 95% of Americans, and probably 99% of the world.
Air supply and airflow are engineered into the building even before the construction begins, and those engineering standards are derived from decades of research performed by universities.
The amount of room each animal has is also determined by decades of research, and I addressed some of that up thread.
To sum things up, you can relax a bit about the animal cruelty theme often touted by the Food Luddites who want us to produce our food the way we did a hundred years ago. Those environments were dirtier, the animals less cared for, and not as healthy as those produced in todays production facilities.
If all those terrible things were still practiced, the producer, if he was still in business, will unmercifully be driven out of business by the most terrible and unforgiving master one can have in business, economics.
Thank you very much for that info, it is good to hear!