Where to start changing the indusry..Win the lottery a couple times and buy them out

Where to start on a personal level buy the meat locally from a friendly farm you can visit and have it processed into cuts of your choice at a trusted butcher
as bad as those mega farms are there a many thousands of animals in every state raised the family farm way

Then if you wish to go farther maybe you can find land a grow your own

There might be a csa in your area to you could join they typically invite and or require you to help on the farm

Julie, where are you? If you want to start to change things and you don't have the land to grow your own, start going to your local farmers market as soon as they start. Meanwhile, start reading about canning and preserving your own food. 1 person or 1 family may not be able to change the entire industry, but you can change the way you live.

Marla

Thank you both for your insights and help. I own my house but live in Carmel, IN where the town is not zoned for farming. I would like to join a co-op or perhaps look into preserving/canning so I will read about these things more. I love farmers markets and the surrounding area is filled with them.
I've also thought about starting very small and just keeping a few hens and a rooster, which I would get from an animal sanctuary. I hear that unless you have a rooster one hen will take over the leadership role. I don't think I could ever eat my animals, just use them for vegetarian purposes. Is this realistic?
Thanks again!

Before you get chickens, check your zoning. In Lafayette, you can't have chickens, not even just hens.

Have you thought about edible landscaping? I seen 1 house in Laf with peppers, zucchini and tomatoes in their flower beds. If I had not known the plants as well as I do, I never would have noticed them.

Perhaps you need to join a CSA that has work shares. That way, you can learn without actually living on the 'farm'. If you were closer, I'd say 'come on up', but I'm alittle over an hour northwest of you.

Marla

[[[....just use them for vegetarian purposes. Is this realistic?...]]]]

If you want pets and can afford to support them with no return then, sure, you can keep all the pets you want. I've got 5 dogs and I never eat them and they don't lay eggs or herd sheep. Lots of people keep pets.

Keeping chickens as pets is very realistic! They make fine pets, well some of them do, some are more standoffish with humans and some of them want to be in your lap at all times. You'll just have to play it by ear. The best chickens for eating are the young ones, after they get past a year they get so tough it isn't worth even trying to butcher and eat them - the meat in the store will taste better. Just keep in mind that every meat eating animal on the planet likes to eat chicken so you have to really protect them when you own them. They really depend on you for their safety.