1.

Danny Roop BAE 491: Writing Assignment 1 December 2011 The topic that I chose to research is the industrialization of farming in the United States. Specifically, I am going to focus my answers around the raising of livestock in very high density which has become common in the U.S. and is known as factory farming or Condensed Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). Furthermore, I will address issues related to what I believe to be a higher than necessary (or healthy) consumption rate of meat in the U.S. These two issues are undoubtedly related however I believe that the second is a direct consequence of the first. The practice of factory farming has several ethical dilemmas associated with it that are beginning to be discussed more and more in the U.S. as they start to affect more aspects of our society. Among these ethical dilemmas are the effects that factory farming has on environmental health, human health, economic consolidation and animal cruelty. Each of these issues is associated with problems that have potentially damaging consequences to either the land or people of the U.S. For instance, the practice of factory farming is believed among many scientists to be one of the causes of rising antibiotic resistances in humans (Bester, 2010) (Love, 2011). Because CAFOs keep animals in such high concentrations, the incidence of disease among the populations is quite high. To combat this animal producers have historically used antibiotics. However, this can select for microbes that are resistant to the antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant microbes can then be transmitted to humans via consumption of meat, close contact with animals or through the environment (Schneider, 2009). For these reasons some developed countries have imposed bans on the use of important human antibiotics in animal populations (Love, 2011) (Couric, 2010).

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The most common method of dealing with the issues associated with factory farming has been a widespread attempt to regulate the industry. Moves have been made in Ohio, California, Michigan, and Florida among other states to limit the numbers and concentrations of animals at factory farms (Eckholm, 2010). Other federal projects have been enacted to mitigate pollution caused by factory farming. The USDAs National Program 214: Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts aims to develop sustainable practices in the farming industry (National Program 214: Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts, 2010). I dont believe that closer regulation of the farming industry is necessarily the best

way to proceed in surmounting the issues that we face. This route alone seems reactionary and ineffective to me. Instead, what I and others have proposed is the education of our society about the problems associated with CAFOs and the promotion of small and local businesses as a viable alternative. 3. If this solution were to be enacted on a nationwide scale the primary costs would be associated with public education about environmental and human health benefits of eating meat that has been sustainably grown and processed. Due to the higher cost of locally or sustainably grown meat this type of approach will most likely affect a decrease in the demand for meat. I believe that this price discrepancy will be one of the greatest hurdles. The low price of meat that can be achieved through the use of CAFOs was a main contribution to the rise and success of factory farming across the nation. The higher cost of healthy alternatives to meat that has been grown via factory farming methods will change the demand for meat. However, this will be accompanied by a relocation of jobs and wealth away from large farming centers and back to small and rural communities as they will be producing more livestock to meet the new demand. The total number of jobs may decline due to a shrinking of the market as a whole but it should distribute jobs in the meat industry more evenly across the country. 4. The environmental impact of promoting local and sustainable livestock production will be drastic. As is noted by the IPCC A shift from meat towards plant production for human food purposes, where feasible, could increase energy efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC, 2001). The environmental effects of the overproduction of meat in developed countries has been reported in many forms over the last ten years (Beyond Factory Farming: Sustainable Solutions for Animals, People and the Planet, 2009) (Erb, 2009) (Gold, 2004). These effects can be broadly categorized into two categories: those related to the production of animal feed crops and those related directly to emissions from CAFOs. A few of the effects included in the production of animal feed crops are deforestation to make space for feed crops, pollution of soil and water by fertilizers and pesticides, and loss of biodiversity due to large scale monoculture practices. These can be quite significant when the amount of feed necessary for our current level of meat consumption

is taken into account. It is estimated that nearly 70% of all cereal harvest in developed countries is used as livestock feed (Lundqvist, 2008). As for environmental effects directly caused by CAFOs, they are mainly due to the large amounts of manure produced at the facilities. Storing large quantities of manure has the potential to pollute air, water and soil through emissions of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous (Hribar, 2010). 5. If these changes were enacted the most profound changes in our society would be in the form of improved public health. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) studied over half a million people across Europe between 1995 and 2000 in an effort to better understand the role of nutrition in causing cancer. Their results showed that consumption of meat products contributed significantly to the incidence of colon and gastric cancers (Norat, 2005) . Other intensive epidemiological studies have reported the same interaction between the consumption of animal products and the incidence of cancer. Perhaps most notable among these is the China Study which was led and later published by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. Though the publications that came from this study are much criticized it served to draw very interesting ties between meat consumption and cancer. Additionally, meat consumption, especially the consumption of red meat has been less controversially linked to heart disease (Schmid, 2010) (Kontogianni, 2007)

Works Cited
Bester, L. A. (2010). Antibiotic Resistance Via the Food Chain: Fact or Fiction? South African Journal of Science , 13-17. (2009). Beyond Factory Farming: Sustainable Solutions for Animals, People and the Planet. Compassion in World Farming. Couric, K. (2010). Denmark's Case for Antibiotic-Free Animals. CBS. Eckholm, E. (2010, August 11). Farmers Lean to Truce on Animals Close Quarters. The New York Times . Erb, K.-H. e. (2009). Eating the Planet: Feeding and fuelling the world sustainably, fairly and humanely a scoping study. Vienna: IFF Institute of Social Ecology . Gold, M. (2004). The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat. Petersfield, Hampshire: Compassion in World Farming Trust. Hribar, C. (2010). Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Their Impact on Communities. Bowling Green, Ohio: National Association of Local Boards of Health. IPCC. (2001). Climate Change 2001: Mitigation of climate: Technical Summary. IPCC, Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Kontogianni, M. D. (2007). Relationship between meat intake and the development of acute coronary syndromes. European journal of clinical nutrition , 62 (2), 171-177. Love, D. C. (2011). [Commentary on] Dose Imprecision and Resistance: Free-Choice Medicated Feeds in Industrial Food Animal Production in the United States. Environmental Health Perspectives , 279-283. Lundqvist, J. C. (2008). Saving Water: From Field to Fork Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain. SIWI Policy Brief. SIWI. National Program 214: Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts. (2010, October 13). Retrieved November 29, 2011, from USDA Agricultural Research Service: http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs/programs.htm?np_code=214 Norat, T. e. (2005). Meat, fish, and colorectal cancer risk: the European Prospective Investigation into cancer and nutrition. Journal of the National Cancer Institute , 97 (12), 906916. Schmid, A. (2010). The Role of Meat Fat in the Human Diet, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Food Science and Nutrition , 50 (1), 50-66. Schneider, K. &. (2009). Non-therapeutic Use of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture, Corresponding Resistance Rates, and What Can be Done About It. Center for Global Development .