Industrial Farmers: 21st Century Point Source Polluters
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom C/D
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Industrial Farming, Environmental Legislation, Policy Solutions
Abstract
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) or more commonly known as factory farms is a relatively new way of feeding an increasing population while agricultural land used for animal husbandry decreases. Crowding of livestock has helped make the meat and dairy industry more efficient as a result of the economies of scale realized by large livestock husbandry operations. As a result of decades of the desire for food security within the United States the livestock production industry has flourished by passing on the negative environmental externalities to third parties in the form of surface and ground water contamination in the form of excess nitrogen, pathogens, and other pollutants which can contaminate drinking water and seriously disrupt fresh water cycles and ecosystems. These pollutants, at the high levels produced by CAFOs, should be considered illegal under the Clean Water Act. In addition animal byproducts from these CAFOs emit methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia which are three of the many pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act. These pieces of environmental legislation are for the most part ignored when it comes to industrial farming. As the legislation currently stands, the decreasing, or failing to increase, standards has left many CAFOs unchecked by the EPA and other federal and state agencies. Clearly we live in a growing world with growing demands, but the key is to design a plan that doesn’t sacrifice long term environmental stability for short-term financial gain and food security.
Recommended Citation
Puz, Abraham, "Industrial Farmers: 21st Century Point Source Polluters" (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 107.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/posters/107
Poster Number
11
Additional Mentoring Department
Environmental Studies
Industrial Farmers: 21st Century Point Source Polluters
SURC Ballroom C/D
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) or more commonly known as factory farms is a relatively new way of feeding an increasing population while agricultural land used for animal husbandry decreases. Crowding of livestock has helped make the meat and dairy industry more efficient as a result of the economies of scale realized by large livestock husbandry operations. As a result of decades of the desire for food security within the United States the livestock production industry has flourished by passing on the negative environmental externalities to third parties in the form of surface and ground water contamination in the form of excess nitrogen, pathogens, and other pollutants which can contaminate drinking water and seriously disrupt fresh water cycles and ecosystems. These pollutants, at the high levels produced by CAFOs, should be considered illegal under the Clean Water Act. In addition animal byproducts from these CAFOs emit methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia which are three of the many pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act. These pieces of environmental legislation are for the most part ignored when it comes to industrial farming. As the legislation currently stands, the decreasing, or failing to increase, standards has left many CAFOs unchecked by the EPA and other federal and state agencies. Clearly we live in a growing world with growing demands, but the key is to design a plan that doesn’t sacrifice long term environmental stability for short-term financial gain and food security.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Wirth, Rex