Factory Farms

From Climate Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

As of 2018 the EPA counted 20,300 factory farms active across the so-called United States. The department of agriculture estimated that there were actually more than 450,000 farms, but many of them are too small to be counted under the EPA's tally.[1] From 2012 to 2018 there was a consistent increase of 96 million animals per year across factory farms.[2]

Water Pollution

Livestock and poultry create about 2.4 billion tons of manure a year.[3] Manure leads to nitrogen and phosphorus in water, which makes it harmful for people, potentially causing irritated skin and gastrointestinal and respiratory problems.[4]

Runoff

Excess manure is often times not able to be contained within the farms, which leads to runoff polluting water sources. Three quarters of factory farms discharge pollution.[5] Contamination of water from farms is not regulated under the 1972 Clean Water Act despite the large amount of contamination present in and around large factory farms. In 2022 the EPA was sued by dozens of advocacy groups over the lack of water protections.[6]

A report published by the 'Environmental Integrity Project'[7] in 2022 listed Indiana as the state with the most polluted water sources with 24,395 miles of rivers and streams listed as impaired for swimming in recreation. The second most polluted state was Oregon, with 17,619 miles of rivers and streams also classified unsafe for swimming/recreation. The third most polluted state was South Carolina, with 16,766 miles of polluted water. The pollution of these water sources is in part due to agricultural runoff.[8]

Extreme Weather

North Carolina

In 2016 Hurricane Matthew flooded at least 14 commercial-scale hog and poultry farms, and likely more smaller sized animal farms. This led to runoff and the waters were said to be tested for ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the fecal coliform present in hog waste. 1.7 million chickens. 112,000 Turkeys and 2,800 Swine were killed during Hurricane Matthew's rains.[9]

In 2018 Hurricane Florence flooded more than 100 manure lagoons on industrial hog farms in North Carolina.[10]

Regulatory Loopholes

For decades, the EPA’s lax approach to factory farms has allowed the industry to freely pollute our waterways. The Clean Water Act clearly defines CAFOs as “point sources” of pollution. This should require them to follow discharge permits restricting their discharges into rivers and streams.

But due to the EPA’s weak regulations, only a small fraction of factory farms have the required permits. In fact, the agency itself estimates there are nearly 10,000 Large CAFOs nationwide illegally discharging without a Clean Water Act permit.

Even the permits that do exist are weak and don’t adequately protect water quality. For instance, these permits only limit nutrient and pathogen pollution, commonly associated with animal manure. But factory farm waste is not just manure; it contains many other pollutants of concern, such as antibiotics, artificial growth hormones, pesticides, and heavy metals.

Moreover, EPA allows CAFOs to dump huge quantities of untreated waste onto cropland — even when no crops are growing. This risks dangerous waste seeping into the soil and running off into streams.[11]

Sources

  1. ↑ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/factory-farms-provide-abundant-food-but-environment-suffers
  2. ↑ https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=364421
  3. ↑ https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=364421
  4. ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/sanitation-wastewater/animal-feeding-operations.html
  5. ↑ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/11/20/E8-26620/revised-national-pollutant-discharge-elimination-system-permit-regulation-and-effluent-limitations
  6. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/19/epa-lawsuit-water-pollution-factory-farms
  7. ↑ https://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CWA@50-report-EMBARGOED-3.17.22.pdf
  8. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/19/epa-lawsuit-water-pollution-factory-farms
  9. ↑ https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2016/10/25/post-matthew-water-how-bad-is-it/
  10. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/19/epa-lawsuit-water-pollution-factory-farms
  11. ↑ https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/11/03/epa-lawsuit-factory-farm-water-pollution/
Retrieved from "https://climatewiki.earth/wiki/index.php?title=Factory_Farms&oldid=8129"