So, I talked about ways to change your eating habits but I didn't really talk about why. Oh, there are soooo many reasons! Too many to get into now so here's one...environmental degradation of CAFO's.
"The whaty what of WHAT?, " you ask. Good question I say. First, let me explain CAFO or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. It means pretty much how it sounds, lots of animals in a small space pumped food in a mechanical matter. When people talk about factory farms, they are talking about CAFO's. This is where the majority of US meat comes from, not pasture farms that you think of when you hear the word farm. And by majority, I mean 99%.
So, what do all those animals tightly packed together mean for the surrounding environment? I'll let the EPA tell you:
Manure and wastewater have the potential to contribute pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, sediments, pathogens, heavy metals, hormones and ammonia, to the environment.
The environmental impacts resulting from mismanagement of wastes include, among others, excess nutrients in water (such as nitrogen and phosphorus), which can contribute to low levels of dissolved oxygen (fish kills), and decomposing organic matter that can contribute to toxic algal blooms. Contamination from runoff or lagoon leakage can degrade water resources, and can contribute to illness by exposing people to wastes and pathogens in their drinking water. Dust and odors can contribute to respiratory problems in workers and nearby residents.
Now substitute the words "have the potential to contribute" and "can contribute" to "are contributing" and you have exactly what is going on because it's easier and cheaper for business's to pay off the fines for breaking the rules then to ensure they are not polluting.
Also, by waste, they mean shit. Lots of animals means lots of animal manure and it has to go somewhere. Farms set up shit lagoons to hold the manure but these often break or overflow and, whoops, now it's in your water supply.
Maybe you're thinking, "So, ok, these farms are causing pollution but I live in a city, nowhere near one of these. This is not affecting my area." That is where I tell you that these farms are also polluting on a global scale. Yup, I'm talking about their contribution to climate change. All those animals are giving off a whole lot of methane (a gas worse than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming) causing scientists to place factory farms as the single biggest contributor to climate change. To put that in perspective a NY Times article reported that, "if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan—a Camry, say—to the ultra-efficient Prius.”
That is just a quick overview of ONE problem with factory farming. Don't worry, I'll let you in on all the other issues soon. :-)
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