Concentrated animal feeding operation

From Freepedia

In agriculture, a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) is a farm that raises livestock and seeks to maximize production by making highly efficient use of space and other resources. Operating a CAFO is sometimes negatively referred to as factory farming.

CAFOs hold large numbers (up to hundreds of thousands) of animals, often in crowded warehouse-like spaces. These animals are typically cows, hogs or chickens. In some countries animals may be force-fed, injected with hormones, kept in cages where they cannot turn around, or strapped to the floor.

CAFOs have increased over the past two decades. For example, the number of hog farms in North Carolina has decreased dramatically, while the number of hogs raised on each farm has risen dramatically. In 1983 there were 23,000 hog farms in N.C. As of 1997 there were only 7,000. The average number of hogs per farm was 100 in 1983 and as of 1997 it was 1600. Today ten million hogs are raised and slaughtered in N.C. each year.

The large concentration of animals, animal waste and dead animals in such a small enclosed space poses many ethical and environmental problems. Some animal rights activists have charged that CAFOs are cruel to animals.

As these CAFOs become increasingly common, so does air pollution and ground water contamination. In 24 states, groundwater contamination has been linked to CAFOs. For example, the ten million hogs in North Carolina generate 19 million tons of waste per year. The U.S. federal government acknowledges the waste disposal issue and requires that animal waste be stored in lagoons. These lagoons can be up to 200 acres (0.8 km²) around and are not lined which causes them to leak thousands of gallons of waste into the ground every day. During rainstorms the lagoons often overflow leaking millions of gallons at a time into the groundwater.

References

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