I agree that free range farming is far superior, especially for products where they don't need to kill the animal (dairy)
economics unfortunately will generally drive towards the worst factory farming practices because they're the most competitive. paying a premium for good practices will likely remain a niche market for a long time
I beg to differ. New Zealand can grow sheep and land the best quality meat in the UK cheaper than they can grow it for domestic use - and they are subsidized!
Sheep are not factory farmed here - all sheep are free range sheep. The very idea of putting sheep inside just doesn't happen here.
You can farm productively and competitively without resorting to the factory mentality.
In the US and across Europe the farmers have bought into the'factory' mentality. They are running factories that churn out meat. and all their efforts center around keeping the factory running.
The farmers here, are farmers not factory owners. (Well, most of them are. Some have bought into the factory model and it sucks)
And that's what is needed more than anything. Farmer care about their animals. They are living, breathing animals, not supermarket products that need to be packaged.
If my country can do it, from the arse end of the world, then why can't the US and Europe do it?