Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

By: Cara Niemela (Hobbs)

CAFOs are industrial-sized livestock operations

CAFOs were created for the demand in cheaper

and faster food.

CAFOs have low sanitary levels due to the confined spaces and exceedingly high numbers

of animals

They can house anywhere from hundreds to millions of animals.

Did you know ?

CAFOs discharge millions of tons of contaminants from animal manure into the environment.

This manure contains pathogens, antibiotics, drug-resistant bacteria, hormones, heavy metals and other compounds that can seriously impact

human health, aquatic life, and wild life.

CAFO owners and operators resist

investing in technologies and

practices to properly treat the

wastes that are by-products of this industry

The waste is typically flushed from barns into open-air lagoons, and later sprayed on fields as

fertilizer.

Gases and odors that come from the lagoons can cause:

• Vomiting• Headaches• Depression• Shallow breathing• Coughing• Upset sleep• Upset stomach• Gastric ulcers• Stomach cancer• No appetite• Irritation of the eyes, nose and

throat

More impacts include:• Social and ethnic issues• Foreign immigrant workers• Ammonia• Acid rain• Acid mist• Greenhouse gases

Diseases are not uncommon among CAFOs and in order to prevent them the animals are pumped with

antibiotics

Not only does this create direct health problems for the animals but the people who consume their meat

are guaranteed that its full of preservatives and antibiotics

What can we do??

Fight Back!

Do it for them.

Resources:

http://michigan.sierraclub.org/issues/greatlakes/articles/cafofacts.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_Animal_Feeding_Operations

http://www.epa.gov/region7/water/cafo/index.htm

www.google.com/images