Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Factory farms need better regulation
Studies show that threats to the public health and environment aren't being adequately addressed.
These aren't your grandfather's hog farms. Feedlots today are mostly huge operations, packing hundreds, even thousands, of hogs, chickens or cattle into tight confinement.
But, according to a series of studies published last week, regulations haven't kept up with the changes to this industry.
There are many problems associated with large concentrated feed lots, but the most serious is the volume of manure generated by all these animals.
Animals produce a lot of waste. Some of the bigger feedlots produce as much waste as a good-sized city.
But there are no sewage processing plants at these factory farms. Instead, waste is usually dumped into lagoons -- huge, stinking pits that do a poor job of containing the many contaminants found in manure.
According to a report published in Environmental Health Perspectives, an online scientific journal, "Generally accepted livestock waste management practices do not adequately or effectively protect water resources from contamination with excessive nutrients, microbial pathogens and pharmaceuticals present in the waste."
The proximity of hogs to chickens in some big operations could also increase the risk that avian flu will be spread to humans.
The report, by an international team of scientists, included a number of recommendations, including banning the broad use of antibiotics to promote growth of animals, extensive environmental reviews for new operations and minimum distances between hog and poultry operations.
Factory farms aren't healthy for the animals raised there. The tight spaces make them breeding grounds for disease.
They aren't healthy for the humans who live nearby, who must put up with unimaginably foul odors, tainted water and the ever-present likelihood of a breach that will allow tens of thousands of gallons of highly contaminated sludge into nearby waterways.
They aren't healthy for the people who eat the meat or dairy products produced in these places because of the necessary dependence on antibiotics and other drugs.
This report should lead to changes at the state and federal levels. More regulation and stricter environmental review of these operations is the least that is called for.The Roanoke Times
