CAFO Research Paper
How Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are Dangerous to People and the Environment
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) is facilities designed to raise animals such as swine, until they are the right size to be slaughtered. There are roughly 257,000 CAFO’s in the U.S. and each one slaughters approximately 27million hogs in a year. Hogs live by the thousands in warehouse like barns, in rows of pens. Workers put so many hogs in one pen that they trample each other to death. In the barns there is no sunlight, fresh air, straw, or earth for the pigs. Temperatures in the warehouses can reach up to ninety degrees and the air is polluted so much that it can become lethal to the pigs. These things are not the only inhumane things happening at CAFO’s. Along with the absurd living conditions for the pigs, what is going into the meat is also an issue. CAFO pigs are infused with a large range of antibiotics, vaccines, and they are coated with …show more content…
The area around a slaughterhouse can contain hundreds of lagoons. Each lagoon covers 120,000 square feet and can reach up to 30 feet deep. Lagoons emit hundreds of volatile gasses into the atmosphere. Lagoons also provide the perfect environment for Pfiesteria to bloom. Breathing in the air above the bloom causes severe respiratory difficulty. People who live near or work at a CAFO are most affected by the polluted air around the lagoons. Some farmers spray the feces directly into the air instead of storing it in lagoons. People who breathe in the feces infused air can suffer from bronchitis, asthma, headaches, heart palpitations, Etc. People who live near hog lagoons also suffer from illnesses such as abnormally high levels of depression, confusion, anger, and tension as a result of the fumes. People can’t even walk outside to enjoy fresh air because they will be knocked out from the
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) is facilities designed to raise animals such as swine, until they are the right size to be slaughtered. There are roughly 257,000 CAFO’s in the U.S. and each one slaughters approximately 27million hogs in a year. Hogs live by the thousands in warehouse like barns, in rows of pens. Workers put so many hogs in one pen that they trample each other to death. In the barns there is no sunlight, fresh air, straw, or earth for the pigs. Temperatures in the warehouses can reach up to ninety degrees and the air is polluted so much that it can become lethal to the pigs. These things are not the only inhumane things happening at CAFO’s. Along with the absurd living conditions for the pigs, what is going into the meat is also an issue. CAFO pigs are infused with a large range of antibiotics, vaccines, and they are coated with …show more content…
The area around a slaughterhouse can contain hundreds of lagoons. Each lagoon covers 120,000 square feet and can reach up to 30 feet deep. Lagoons emit hundreds of volatile gasses into the atmosphere. Lagoons also provide the perfect environment for Pfiesteria to bloom. Breathing in the air above the bloom causes severe respiratory difficulty. People who live near or work at a CAFO are most affected by the polluted air around the lagoons. Some farmers spray the feces directly into the air instead of storing it in lagoons. People who breathe in the feces infused air can suffer from bronchitis, asthma, headaches, heart palpitations, Etc. People who live near hog lagoons also suffer from illnesses such as abnormally high levels of depression, confusion, anger, and tension as a result of the fumes. People can’t even walk outside to enjoy fresh air because they will be knocked out from the