- Tyson foods
- Smithfield Foods
- ConAgra Foods
- Food production and packaging companies whose goods end up at virtually every grocery store or food chain
- CAFOs across America: high saturation of "factory farms" in rural parts of states with low populations
CAFOs - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
Works Cited
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/livestock/afo/
http://www.peta.org/features/smithfield/
http://www.smithfieldfoods.com/our-brands
http://www.stopfactoryfarms.org/which-companies-use-humanely-raised-meat/
http://www.conagrafoods.com/our-food/brands
http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#animal:all;location:US;year:2012
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151412/
http://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Fairfield%20IA%20-%20Economics%20of%20CAFOs.htm
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-362-W.pdf
Is this a viable option for maintaining and increasing food supply?
CAFOs are NOT a viable option for maintaining and increasing food supply, because in almost every aspect of their existence, the cons outweigh the pros, and the ends do not even begin to justify the means.
Pros and Cons:
Humans and Health
Pros
Cons
Pros and Cons:
The Environment
- People who are responsible for CAFOs are obligated under the law to inform surrounding communities of any plans.
- The availability of meat which is a result of these massive facilities allows for a more balanced diet.
- CAFOs produce excessive manure, which harbors E. coli and other harmful pathogens.
- The emissions from CAFOs negatively affect children even more than adults.
- As animals are more closely confined, antibiotics are implemented.
Pros
Cons
- Theoretically, the conservation of space allowed for by CAFOs could preserve land.
- Communities near CAFOs retain the rights to sue these large associations for pollution.
- CAFOs can produce over 1 billion tons of waste a year, and there are no waste management systems in place for livestock.
- This excessive waste often leads to runoff and leaching.
- Air quality is reduced due to the emissions from manure treatment.
Real-World Examples
Solutions Presented by CAFOs
Manure Lagoon at an Indiana CAFO
- Helps local economy by creating jobs.
- Costs:
- Wage (all farms) $13.88/hr
- Wage (dairy) $12.27/hr
- Wage (swine) $15.54/hr
- Wage (beef) $12.94/hr
- Animal/Non-family worker (dairy) 93.37
- Animal/Non-family worker (swine & beef) 1295.83
- Provides jobs for immigrants who can't afford a sub/urban lifestyle.
What are CAFOs?
- Produces a lot more food than a small-scale farmer--important for a growing global population.
CAFO stands for concentrated animal feeding operation. In these places, animals are allowed very little land with no room to graze. It is a large scale industrial agricultural facility, commonly referred to as a factory farm.