Although I am opposed to factory farms it does keep the meat cheaper, although we really don't need it to be cheaper here. In India and other 3rd world countries factory farms would actually get a needed source of cheap protein. In the US we can afford the higher cost of allowing the animals to be free. As for vegeterainism studies suggest one should not be a vegetarian before the age of 21, since we did evolve to eat meat and it is key to development. Kids who are vegetarians significantly before 21 have on average a 9% decrease in nueron connections, which can make a huge differnce. However after 21 the metabolism slows down and the body stops developing as much so its less important.