A large-scale industrial site where many animals (generally chickens, turkeys, cattle, or pigs) are confined, fed, and treated with pharmaceuticals to maximize growth and prevent disease. The animals produce much more waste than the surrounding land can handle. These operations are associated with various environmental hazards as well as cruelty to animals (from the Sustainable Table website).
The term Factory Farm was first used by Ruth Harrison in her 1964 book “Animal Machines”—an exposé of the intensive housing of veal calves, chickens and pigs.