When we think about farms and farm animals, we generally think of green pastures and open spaces; however, the reality has become starkly different for millions of pigs and chickens each year.

With the evolution of the factory farm, we have become distanced from our food, which has rapidly become a commodity on a production line rather than living, sentient beings.

Most of us don't see how they're farmed, or have anything to do with the animal before it makes its way to our plate.

This means all we ever know is the neatly packaged meat found on our supermarket shelves or the perfectly presented trays at the butcher, neither of which asks us to think about where it has come from.

We don't see the hens packed in cages, or the pigs in sow stalls or understand the cruel reality of the factory farm.But the truth is we have a choice.

We can choose to buy free range instead, and choose to ask questions when we walk into a restaurant or fast food establishment about where they source their animal products.

We can choose to be aware and act with compassion.

While every person's circumstances are different, and there is a cost increase when you buy free range it often isn't a large one. For example, when buying eggs at a leading supermarket you can buy free range for as little as $4.99 for a dozen, whereas cage eggs cost $3.55. According to the results of a recent poll conducted by the Southern Highland News, we're a compassionate area.

On February 26, 2014 the ACT passed legislation that banned factory farming, despite no factory farms existing in the territory. When the question was posed if you thought NSW should follow ACT's lead and make factory farming practises like cages, farrowing crates and de-beaking illegal, the overwhelming majority answered that it should.

The result of the poll showed that, 98.1 per cent of you thought factory farming should be illegal. While it is all well and good to respond to an online poll and say as much, the most important thing we can all do is start to act.

By Megan Drapalski