The Risk to Humans and the Torture that Factory Farm Animals Endure

Factory farms, also known as feedlots house thousands of pigs, chickens, or cows, this produces staggering amounts of animal waste. The ways these waste are stored and used is threatening humans and the environment. Many of these farm animals are crowded into small areas. The farmers take the manure and urine and funnel it into massive waste lagoons. These lagoons often overflow, break, or even leak; this sends microbes, nitrate pollution, and drug-resistant bacteria into water supplies. There have been several disease outbreaks related to drinking water. This water has been traced to bacteria and viruses from waste. The lagoons at these factory farms also emit toxic gases, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methane. These farms then spray this manure on the land. Yet this is another way to bring these harmful substances into our air and water. These factory farms have escaped pollution regulations; loopholes and weak enforcement share the blame for this.

Contaminated drinking water also comes from nitrates, which often seeps from lagoons. This can increase the risk for blue baby syndrome and can cause death in infants. Spontaneous abortions have been linked to high levels of nitrates found in drinking water near hog factories.

Factory farmers often use antibiotics to promote growth in their animals, or to treat illnesses in the animals due to being confined in crowded conditions. When these antibiotics enter the food chain and the environment there is a rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This makes it harder to treat human diseases.

The damage to the environment is often sudden and catastrophic when these lagoons overflow. The overflow runs off the land and into waterways, killing massive amounts of fish. In the coastal waters of North Carolina one billion fish were killed. It was implicated that pfiesteria piscicda was the cause of these deaths. These lagoons pollute the groundwater and they also deplete it.

People who live by or work for these factory farms are at great risk for seizures, comas, and even death. Hyrogen sulfide is a gas that may be released by these lagoons that have leaks, breaks, or even overflows. Hyrogen sulfide is very dangerous even at low levels and the stench is unbearable. These gases contain harmful chemicals. Some symptoms are sore throat, headache, diarrhea, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

Livestock farms use sustainable practices; it's best when you shop for meats to check the labels for organic, free range, and antibiotic free. This indicated the meat was raised in a more sustainable manner.