CAFOs Speech

Imagine living in a space with 100 other people constantly pressing against you. Imagine this space giving each of you only an inch or two of movement on either side. Imagine never going outdoors, confined behind metal bars as you stand in your own fecal matter, and the fecal matter of your neighbors. No one could argue against the discomfort and uncleanness of this situation. However, these are the conditions in which animals are raised for slaughter in the United States. CAFOs, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, mass produce most of the meat we eat. This method harms the animals themselves, the environment, and consumers.

Take pigs for example. Breeding hogs spend most of their life in metal confines too small to let them turn around. They simply breed, nourish piglets, and repeat. Those piglets that contract diseases are killed by slamming them against a wall, an acceptable method of "euthanizing" pigs less than 12 pounds. I wouldn't call blunt force trauma a painless way to end the lives of sick animals, but the National Pork Board apparently does. Those piglets that do survive may have it even worse though. Their curly tails are amputated. They live in pens with hundreds of other pigs, and never even see sunlight or grass. This isn't natural.

Animals in CAFOs don't even grow naturally. Because farmers want their animals to mature as fast as possible, they feed them hormones and antibiotics to promote faster growth. Chickens grow so quickly that their organs often can't keep up and they die long before taking the trip to the slaughterhouse, and this is common in every type of CAFO.

Preventative antibiotics are also regularly fed to animals living in CAFOs as such close quarters and unsanitary living conditions cause diseases to spread quicker. However, these preventative measures can hurt as much as they help as bacteria become resistant to the overused antibiotics. This resistance is detrimental to the animal, the environment, and the eventual consumer of that animal. The USDA even admits there is evidence that some of the antibiotics and even natural hormones “can persist in the environment and may affect the ecology of downstream areas and perhaps even humans.” So, potentially the methods we use to raise livestock could lead to health consequences in consumers.

Although antibiotics play a part in the effects of CAFOs on the environment, it is most affected by the waste produced from these large scale factory farms. This waste pollutes the air as airborne particles, greenhouse gases, and toxic chemicals are released from the animal excrements. The manure can be used as fertilizer for plants, but if too much is applied or if it is applied at the wrong time, runoff washes the manure off the field and it ends up polluting streams and other bodies of water. Plus, many farms simply hold their waste in man-made lagoons that often allow contaminants to seep into groundwater.

This air and water pollution caused by CAFOs can hurt humans in numerous ways. Runoff and waste lagoons contaminate water resources and can make people sick by bringing wastes and pathogens into drinking water. Air pollution often contributes to respiratory problems in farmers and those living nearby.

Yes, CAFOs are more “efficient” for raising livestock. In one CAFO more animals can be grown quicker and larger than on a farm that does not use growth hormones, a plethora of antibiotics, and stuff their animals into small and unnatural living environments, causing meat to be produced cheaper, BUT this price doesn’t really show the whole picture. Production costs are swallowed by the individual farmers working for large corporations. Any animals that don’t survive until slaughter- the responsibility of the farmer. What to do with the immense waste produced by CAFOs- decided by the farmer. The ongoing expense of operating CAFOs- dealt with by the farmer. A corporation decides how the animal will be raised. Then all the risk goes to the farmers. Not only are the animals treated unfairly, but so are the farmers! Plus, the health and environmental effects of CAFOs aren’t added into the cost.

This is why we need to start making changes to factory farming. I eat fast food almost every night, and when I don’t eat out I buy my meat from Kroger’s down the street. It’s simply easier and cheaper to buy meat that has been produced from a CAFO than to buy directly from a farmer, but the moral, environmental, and general health consequences that stem from consuming animals born and raised in these unnatural confines are huge. At least consider buying food from smaller, sustainable farms. Buying local puts more money directly into the farmer’s hand as it cuts out transportation costs and middle men. It also reduces the impact on the environment as the meat doesn’t travel across the country. The Farmer’s Market in Lexington offers locally raised organic beef that doesn’t cost anymore than the same portion from your average steakhouse. Not to mention, the animals aren’t tortured or pumped with medication and hormones. They live and grow- naturally.

Sources:

“Animal Cruelty.” closeanimalfactories.org. The Center to Explose & Close Animal Factories, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

Ebner, Paul. CAFOs: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Purdue University, 25 Oct. 2007. Web. 9 Aug. 2011.

“Factory Farming.” sustainabletable.org. Sustainable Table, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2008. DVD.

Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2007. Print.

“Animal Cruelty.” closeanimalfactories.org. The Center to Explose & Close Animal Factories, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

“Utilization of Manure and Other Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts Action Plan 2009-2013.” usda.gov. USDA. 13 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.