The Basics

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are the backbone of the animal agriculture industry. The demand for meat is constantly increasing, and to meet those demands animal farming has become industrialized to make the production of meat as efficient as possible. Unfortunately, the price of that efficiency is pretty hefty.

CAFOs are animal factories where livestock are densely packed and then fed enriched foods to make them grow as fast as possible. Remember how the witch from Hansel and Gretel gave the children a feast of sweets to quickly fatten them up for her dinner? It’s like that.

Since the animals are kept so close together, sometimes without much fresh air, they need to be regularly given antibiotics. The living conditions in CAFOs are dangerous for animals and humans because diseases can spread very easily. The antibiotics are administered to help prevent that from happening.

Poop. Yes, Poop.

Thousands of animals confined into small spaces means one thing for sure: lots, and lots, of poop. Where does it all go, you ask? Lagoons. This industry-coined term is used to refer to the vast lakes of urine and feces made by the livestock masses. The slurry is stored in open-pit lagoons until it is used as spray on other farmland as fertilizer.

This poop-lake is dangerous for a few reasons. The waste from CAFOs is particularly dense in harmful contaminants, nutrients, naturally excreted hormones, veterinary pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and pathogens. Leaks in linings, over-flow from rainstorms, or even run-off just from the fields that have been sprayed introduce these contaminants to the environment, and that’s when surface and ground waters get contaminated.

Water aside, these hundreds of millions of tons of manure emit greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as methane and nitrous oxide; two gases with extremely high heat-trapping capabilities.

Wait

You want to know even more? Awesome! You’ll love this.