Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Case Study

CAFOs: an abbreviation seen in many agricultural debates, stands for concentrated (confined) animal feeding operations. A concentrated animal feeding operation is defined as a factory farm that raises large amounts of animals in containment, and all must meet requirements and be registered. Classifying as a registered CAFO requires that the operation meet certain requirements, such as a number of confined animals, for example, at least 2,500 swine, 1,000 head of cattle, 125,000 chickens or 10,000 sheep or lambs (Edelson, Mat). With these large amounts of animals confined in an area, it has caused for great amounts of controversy and large involvement from the government. With being registered, the operations are required to follow different
The need of greater supply led to the development of factory farms and more importantly concentrated animal feeding operations. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) hold hundreds upon thousands of animals in a contained area. The amount of animals held in an area depends on the species, for instance, a registered dairy cow CAFO has at least 700 head whereas with swine the headcount is at least 2500 (“Animal Feeding Operations”). In each of the operations, only one species is held meaning that each operation has their own focus. For example, there are poultry CAFOs, dairy cow CAFOs, and beef cattle CAFOs. With these large amounts of animals confined in one area, this has led to multiple types of controversy such as animal welfare and pollution. Though there are these many controversies, many farmers, as well as other United States citizens, fight for the need of the use of CAFOs.
Main Pro CAFOs Argument: Supply and Demand
“...[red meat consumption] 218 pounds per capita in 2004, up from 190 pounds in 1980...” (Weeks)
With the growth of red meats as an export, an exponential growth has been seen in the consumption of red meats alone in the United States. In over ten years, the average consumption of red meats and poultry for the average American raised to 222.2 pounds (“US”). This increase led to a large demand that needed to be met. To fill this demand,
Placed in these different locations presents different problems, many complain about the smell alone disrupting living, along with emissions from the CAFOs being potential dangers to one’s health. Shown in assessments of air quality, in different communities around CAFOs, there are concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia that exceeded different agencies recommendations (Donham). With these different substances in the air, they present as prone causes to different health issues. These conditions present an unhealthy living area, and those with their homes already near the operations may suffer from different air-borne