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Over the past 30 years, the production of animals such as cows, pigs, and chickens for human consumption has become increasingly concentrated on factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The people who live near factory farms have been found to be more prone to respiratory problems and other adverse health conditions.
Symptoms of Unspecified Illnesses
Recent studies have revealed that people living within several miles of a factory farm report having higher-than-average incidence of the following symptoms:
Thousands of Animals Kept in One Farm
Most of the livestock produced in the U.S. for food now comes from factory farms. According to the National Pork Producers Council, 85 percent of the 95 million pigs killed each year in the U.S. come from factory farms. An individual factory farm houses and slaughters animals numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands. It's estimated that factory farms produce about 250 million tons of manure each year.
Dangerous By-Products
Farms with that many animals in one place produce a tremendous amount of waste, odor, flies, and unwanted materials that can seep into the soil and groundwater or travel through the air. Residents of the areas surrounding such farms may be exposed to a number of potentially dangerous agents, including:
Miles from the Factory Source
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been studying factory farms and their by-products, and the CDC reported that infections compounds from livestock and poultry can migrate into the soil, air, and water near factory farms. The migration can be as far as several miles from the source.
It's a growing concern — a higher and higher concentration of animals in huge operations where the animals are living in very crowded and often disease-producing environments, releasing tons of manure and other by-products. The health problems linked to the bacterial, chemical, and viral compounds produced by factory farms are not yet fully documented, let alone understood.
Although the EPA and CDC are aware of the problems, the existence of factory farms is not expected to change — the public's appetite for meat and poultry in the U.S. and around the world continues to grow exponentially.
(Source: CDC)
Do you live near a factory farm and feel that the farm's presence has caused illness in your family? Contact an attorney who is familiar with factory farm issues today, and explore your legal options.