The amount of animal waste produced by livestock and poultry in factory farms is almost 13 times more than that produced by the entire US population. Where does all of this waste end up?
Published: 10/08/18, Last updated: 2/28/24
In the US, the amount of waste produced by livestock in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also known as factory farms, is tremendous. Livestock manure, unlike human waste, is not treated before it is disposed of. The untreated manure emits airborne chemicals and fumes, and when runoff occurs, dangerous pollutants enter our waterways. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate CAFO waste, but has yielded to pressure from the meat industry and largely shifted its regulating responsibility to the states.
In 2012, livestock and poultry on the largest concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) produced 369 million tons of manure: this was almost 13 times more waste than that of the entire US population of 312 million. 5
Untreated waste at CAFOs also pollutes the air with odors and creates health problems, markedly decreasing the quality of life of workers, people nearby and neighboring communities and property values. Two significant pollutants are potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, along with ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other noisome chemicals. CAFOs release large amounts of particulates; in especially dry regions where manure turns easily into dust, the particulate matter is rapidly dispersed. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly three quarters of the country’s ammonia pollution comes from livestock facilities, and studies have found high levels of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant genes in air samples downwind of feedlots.
Under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Clean Air Act (CAA), the EPA has the authority to regulate pollution from CAFOs. In practice, the process has been slow and complicated, chiefly due to constant pressure from the livestock industry, which fights stronger laws and the implementation of existing regulations at every turn. 10 The NPDES permit limits what can be discharged, sets an acceptable level for pollutants (e.g., set the permitted level for bacteria) and specifies monitoring and reporting requirements. 16 Participating CAFOs paid a civil penalty of up to $100,000, and the EPA agreed not to sue participants for past violations of the Clean Air Act, CERCLA or EPCRA. Data from the study was released in 2011, but the EPA continued to point to its ongoing interpretation of the data before it could develop air quality regulations. Despite the ongoing analysis, in 2009, the EPA also released a rule exempting CAFOs from the emissions reporting requirements of CERCLA and EPCRA. 23
It is worth noting that states with the most CAFOs, including Iowa, North Carolina and California, have particularly lax laws, regulation and enforcement on water and air quality, while states trying to attract CAFO development often do so by making these standards more lenient, including by exempting animal feeding operations from pollution rules that govern industries, such as municipal waste management, solid waste disposal and manufacturing.
Lawsuits against large CAFO owners are on the rise. For example, a ruling on April 26, 2018 found that Murphy Brown/Smithfield will have to pay $50 million in damages to the families living near the CAFO who suffered from the odor, flies, buzzards and other issues caused by the hog operation. This was the first of 26 nuisance cases local residents have brought against the company, and while the damages have since been reduced to $225,000 per person (due to a recently passed North Carolina law that caps such penalties paid by agricultural entities), it remains an important precedent and signals that quality of life violation lawsuits might proliferate in the future.
There is growing investment in technological “solutions” to mitigate some of the problems of livestock waste. To address dangerous bacteria, researchers have discovered cattle feed additives, as well as compounds that can be added directly to manure to dramatically decrease E. coli O157:H7. 32
Policymakers, instead of using taxpayer dollars to prop up factory farms, should be implementing and enforcing environmental and public health regulations for them, and supporting sustainable, pasture-based alternatives.
Previous page photo by Budimir Jevtic/Adobe Stock.
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