The Consequences of Factory Farms

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In addition to health and safety concerns, factory farms are also imposing a threat to the environment. Anders Nordgren claims in his article printed by the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, “…since livestock production is an important contributing factor to climate change, we should undertake mitigation measures [… ] However, technological solutions do not seem sufficient in the livestock sector, leaving us with the option of reduced meat production and consumption.” (Nordgren, August 2012.) Harmful gases, such as methane, are being released because of irresponsible disposal of manure. These greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are also contributing to climate change and global warming. Negligent disposal of manure also causes health and social problems. Because factory farms confine a large mass of animals on a small piece of land, the management of excrement from the animals is a crucial problem. “On a factory farm with 35,000 hogs, over 4 million pounds of feces and urine are produced each week. That amounts to over 200 million pounds of waste each year – on only one farm,” (Grace Communications Foundation, 2014.) According to Wendee Nicole in a journal printed by the Environmental Health Perspective, there is an irrational difference between the treatment and disposal of human waste to animal waste. “Whereas human sewage is treated with chemical and mechanical filtration before being released into the environment, CAFOs channel waste from hog houses into pits or lagoons, where it is stored untreated until it is applied to land.” (Nicole, June 2013). When manure is cleaned from the facilities, it is usually collected, mixed with water and stored in open lagoons. When needed, it is then spre...

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...p.121-a182 [online 01 June 2013]

Nordgren, Anders. “Ethical Issues in Mitigation of Climate Change: The Option of Reduced Meat Production and Consumption” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. August 2012, Volume 25, Issue 4, pp 563-584.

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