Corporate Farming:
These new types of farms are the farming of today and tomorrow for America. Rural America in the past has been a scene of rolling hills and farm houses nestled by a barn here and there. Now this treasured historic landscape of rural family farming is being condensed and threatened by Corporate/Factory Farms. These farms raise thousands of animals in one location, which leads to more likelihood of disease, infection, and mis-care.
This industrialization of agriculture is how the agribusinesses are setting the stakes for America's livestock production and consumption. The EPA has estimated there are over 20,000 corporate farms within America, which is a 30% rise since 2003. Around 54% of all livestock is confined on 5% of livestock farms - these being the corporate farms. The boom of corporate farms has forced thousands of small, independent family farms out of a livelihood and business. This is due to many factors, one being the decrease of price in the sale of animals. Around 50 of the largest corporate farms control over hall of all hog production for example.
A typical corporate farm consists of numerous large metal constructions where animals are housed, often too many animals for comfortable living in the space. These farms also have storage lagoons for sewage beside or below the animal storage buildings (these are not barns, but storage buildings). This waste is stored in these pits until it can be sprayed as fertilizer onto the crops that these corporate farms grow along with their animal business. This tactic of storage leads to problems and risks of water contamination. These farms have a documented 1.4 billion tons per year of sewage, which is over one-hundred and thirty times the amount of national human sewage. These farms take the picturesque idea of farms and turns it into a storage business.
Aside from being an eye sore, these corporate farms release organic dust, mold, bacterial toxins, plus toxic gasses such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. These two gasses are respiratory hazards which is a problem for those working on the factory farm and the nearby neighbors of the farms. Studies have documented induced respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma in 25% of all factory farm workers. Some employees have actually died from suffocation after going into the underground pits that are used to store manure until it is needed for fertilization. These farms have turned farming into a life threatening occupation.
This industrialization of agriculture is how the agribusinesses are setting the stakes for America's livestock production and consumption. The EPA has estimated there are over 20,000 corporate farms within America, which is a 30% rise since 2003. Around 54% of all livestock is confined on 5% of livestock farms - these being the corporate farms. The boom of corporate farms has forced thousands of small, independent family farms out of a livelihood and business. This is due to many factors, one being the decrease of price in the sale of animals. Around 50 of the largest corporate farms control over hall of all hog production for example.
A typical corporate farm consists of numerous large metal constructions where animals are housed, often too many animals for comfortable living in the space. These farms also have storage lagoons for sewage beside or below the animal storage buildings (these are not barns, but storage buildings). This waste is stored in these pits until it can be sprayed as fertilizer onto the crops that these corporate farms grow along with their animal business. This tactic of storage leads to problems and risks of water contamination. These farms have a documented 1.4 billion tons per year of sewage, which is over one-hundred and thirty times the amount of national human sewage. These farms take the picturesque idea of farms and turns it into a storage business.
Aside from being an eye sore, these corporate farms release organic dust, mold, bacterial toxins, plus toxic gasses such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. These two gasses are respiratory hazards which is a problem for those working on the factory farm and the nearby neighbors of the farms. Studies have documented induced respiratory problems like bronchitis and asthma in 25% of all factory farm workers. Some employees have actually died from suffocation after going into the underground pits that are used to store manure until it is needed for fertilization. These farms have turned farming into a life threatening occupation.
Sources:
http://www.preservationnation.org/forum/library/public-articles/factory-farms.html
http://www.preservationnation.org/forum/library/public-articles/factory-farms.html
