The New York Times recently published an article on the Meat Animal Research Center (MARC), located in Clay, Nebraska. Many of the concerns brought up in this article are hot-button topics and raise questions about animal ethics and what our society supports in promoting meat animal industries. The general idea promoted by the author is that we've gone too far in attempting to be more efficient and cost-effective in raising animals, and we should think about what this entails. I agree.
The procedures that are promoted at MARC are those promoted by "Big Ag", supporting the kind of low-dollar meats you find at Winco, Costco, Safeway, and even alternative groceries such as Market of Choice and Whole Foods. The alternative is to get to know your farmer... these are typically farms that are too small to vend at the big stores. If you want to know where your food comes from and how it is treated, you should be able to just call or email the farm that produces your food and ask them what their methods are, what their breeds are, and where they source their feed. This is the only real choice you can make to support a truly sustainable modern agriculture.