> Then I moved to California, and one day had occasion to drive from SF to LA. North of Bakersfield I encountered the most profound stink I’ve ever smelled while driving, and eventually I saw the source: industrial operations with enormous numbers of cattle in fenced pens shoulder to shoulder so they could hardly move.

Those feedlots are all over the country, the largest being in Colorado, Texas and Kansas:

https://r-calfusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/160125-Top-...

The one you saw in Coalinga is 19th on the list.

Also in California, you can find beef and dairy cattle roaming freely among the rolling coastal hills that never end up in a a feedlot like that, but you can bet that their meat and dairy isn't cheap. Industrial meat production is a nightmare, but when push comes to shove, few seem to be OK paying $30 for a burger.