Factory Farming and the Environment

Factory Farming and the Environment – What’s It Costing Us?

 

Factory Farming and the EnvironmentFactory Farming is good, isn’t it?

It has made food more affordable. More people are eating more meat products more regularly than ever before in human history.

But what about factory farming and the environment?

To answer that question, let’s first look at the benefits of factory farming.

Benefits of Factory Farming

  • As urbanization increases across the world, we need to be able to feed large numbers of people living in cities. Factory farming prevents food shortages, and the products can be quickly distributed to consumers.
  • Factory farming produces huge volumes of food through industrial means, achieving “economies of scale,” producing much more food at cheaper prices than smaller farming.
  • Factory farming provides employment to nearby communities. Some companies also invest in the communities in which they operate.
  • Keeping livestock confined together keeps the mess contained, instead of spread out.
  • Many people are proud that only 1% of the US workforce are farmers who have to “work in the hot sun, cold wind, dirt and manure”. That “frees” the rest of the workforce up to (amongst other things) work in factories and offices, producing and selling cars and phones and “stuff”.

A spokesperson for the National Chicken Council explained poultry factory farming:

“The chicken industry has really set a model for the integration of production and processing and marketing their products that other industries are now following.  It’s all highly mechanized, so all the birds coming off those farms have to be almost exactly the same size. What the system of intensive production accomplishes is to produce a lot of food, in a small amount of land, at a very affordable price.”

And that’s absolutely true – meat and dairy would be a lot more expensive if we didn’t have factory farming.

But is that food really cheap?

What about factory farming and the environment?

And what does factory farming cost us, in terms of our health and also our money?

Let’s find out.

What Exactly is Factory Farming?

Factory Farming and the Environment - defined
CAFO by Gary Kazanyan for the NYT.

Factory Farming (also known as CAFOs – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) is a logical way of raising animals for slaughter in the shortest time for the least cost and the highest profit.

Animals only provide a profit when they are sold for meat, or when their milk or eggs are sold for dairy products. Until then, they cost the owner money. (And factory farming requires a big financial investment).

So, the quicker they can produce, the better.

Margins are low (i.e. a small profit per animal) so large volumes of animals are needed to make factory farming profitable. Large operations also give economies of scale, increasing profit.

Most factory farms are owned by giant corporations. They are businesses for profit; to maximize benefits for their shareholders. In the US, just 4 corporations control over 80 percent of the meat market.

(I have no problem with businesses making a profit. I do have an issue with the huge power of large corporations though, and the fact that their profit is derived from animal suffering and from selling us less-than-optimum food – more on that below).

What About Factory Farming and the Environment?

Factory farming and the environment - feedyard
Aerial photo of Randall County Feedyard in Amarillo, Texas by Mishka Henner. Cattle are confined in the rectangular lots, waste is contained in ‘lagoons’.

While we might appreciate being able to buy meat, poultry and dairy relatively cheaply, if we think about factory farming at all, it’s perhaps to do with concerns for animal welfare – and that is indeed a very legitimate concern.

But the environment is another concern with factory farming.

Sadly, factory farming has a massive impact.  There are many areas of concern, but here are 4 main problems with factory farming and the environment – air pollution, water pollution, water use, and nutrition.

These details are from US factory farming, but they apply equally wherever factory farming occurs, because the process is similar or the same.

Factory Farming and the Environment: Air pollution

The manure mist that permeates the homes and skin of people who live near factory farming commonly contains high levels of noxious gases such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and methane.  Tests in Renville County, Minnesota showed high levels of hydrogen sulphide (the “rotten egg” gas).  Above safe limits, this gas causes symptoms such as nausea, headaches, blackout periods and vomiting.  Although clouds of manure mist come and go with the wind, it is thought that the odour itself sinks into human tissue, clothing and furnishings and is released slowly over time.

Factory Farming creates health problems for everyone in and around them. The American Lung Association found that nearly 70 percent of swine factory farm workers experience respiratory illness or irritation; 58 percent suffer chronic bronchitis. (Why isn’t OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health) intervening?)

Factory Farming and the Environment: Waste and Water Pollution

factory farming and the environment - waste
Aerial photo of Tascosa Feedyard in Texas by Mishka Henner. Hopefully this ‘lagoon’ never leaks.

There’s this problem with waste. Take excrement for example:

  • The total US human population produces 12,000 pounds of excrement every second. Sewage systems are common.
  • US livestock produce 250,000 pounds / second. There are no sewage systems in feedlots.

That’s a lot of waste. And it has to go somewhere.

Sometimes it’s used as manure or fertilizer for crops. That sounds good, but in practice:

  • Manure is often over-applied (because there are such huge quantities) which mean it isn’t all absorbed so there’s run-off into streams and rivers.
  • Manure from factory farming is full of heavy metals fed to animals to make them grow faster. Animals don’t digest it, so it’s in their waste, and the manure isn’t treated to remove them. Many heavy metals are toxic, and remain in the environment.
  • Runoff from fields also flushes the metals, nitrogen and phosphorus from the manure into waterways. Studies confirm that these interfere with fish and wildlife reproduction, and trigger overproduction of algae blooms which can choke aquatic life and contaminate drinking water.

And about 1 billion tons of waste annually is not recycled. Where do you suppose it goes?

Factory Farming and the Environment: Water Use

Factory farming uses vast quantities of water. As a result, beef for example, has one of the highest footprints (or food-print) of all food.

Water is a precious resource which is becoming all too scarce across the world.  Why should we use 2,500 gallons (almost 10,000 litres) to raise just one pound of beef? Other food uses so much less.

  • Water needed to produce 1 pound of wheat or tomatoes: 25 gallons
  • Water needed to produce 1 pound of meat: 2,500 gallons

Factory Farming and the Environment: Nutrition

Factory farming and the environment - water use annd pollution
Aerial photo of Coronado Feeders in Texas by Mishka Henner, showing cattle in feedlots and the waste ‘lagoon’.

Because everything we eat takes resources from the planet, it makes sense for us to get optimum nutrition from everything we consume, rather than waste the resources used.

Many of the animals raised on factory farms are stressed due to their living conditions. We know how bad stress is for our own health, and the health effects it can have on us. It’s no different for animals.

Factory farm animals are fed a diet which encourages them to grow quickly but which isn’t natural for them.

Many don’t get fresh air or exercise.

Factory farming and the environment. - nutrition
How your chicken is raised

In the crowded conditions of factory farming, disease would spread rapidly, so in addition to growth enhancers animals are also fed antibiotics (which do indeed stop the spread of disease, but which contribute to the rise of “superbugs”).

Slaughterhouse work is grim work, and there’s no time for care. Animals are dirty from lying in their own excrement and the line moves so quickly that not everything is clean. There are hygiene standards of course, but the job just needs to get done ……

factory farming and the environment - debeaked and crowded
Fowl are routinely de-beaked (without anesthetic) and kept in hard, crowded cages. (Photo by HSUS).

Dirt, bacteria, lax standards (yes, I know, the factory farms will disagree with me).

The meat from factory farming that we eat is not optimum for our health. Food produced by factory farming has lower nutritional value than food produced by organic farming. Organic food also contains higher levels of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and nutrients.

A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition “found substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, vegetables and grains compared with conventionally grown produce,” The New York Times reported.

What Can We Do about Factory Farming and the Environment?

factory farming and the environmment - our health and animal welfare
Factory farming – tiny battery cages for egg-laying hens. Photo: HSUS

Factory farms exist because there is a demand for cheap meat and dairy products. By eating less factory farmed produce, we reduce our demand.

But factory farmed meat is everywhere, so it’s not obviously easy to avoid it. Here’s how – 4 ways to avoid food from factory farms.

Spread the word about factory farms and the environment – sharing buttons below and right – thank you!


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air pollution, animal welfare, environment, factory farm benefits, factory farming, Factory Farming and the Environment, factory farms, health, water pollution


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