What’s The Fix? – Vegan on Paper

Originally published on Medium.com 4 June 2020

During the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading heavily into books that talk about the animal industry. The first book in my long reading list was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, to which I’ve written a short book review on my Instagram blog page. The book that I’m currently reading, and which I’m about finish soon, is called Farmageddon by Philip Lymbery and Isabel Oakeshott. Before I go on saying anything else, the book is super informative — essentially mind blowing. Prior to reading the book, I thought that I was well-versed in the realm of animal agriculture and business only to realize that I had so much more to learn. The book is heavily extensive and provides a plethora of accounts from farmers, activists, the author’s own experiences throughout writing the book and a myriad of facts and figures that are utterly mindboggling.

Beyond the book’s dystopic title, Farmageddon provides a gloomy reality that is completely masked from the public perception. I’ve personally never visited a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) or know people who have, but there have been a few times in my life where I unmistakably passed by them — unmistakably being the keyword because CAFO’s stink. The smell that is emitted from an animal factory farm is awful and is unlike anything you’ll smell in your normal day to day live. Before I delve into why the smell is just a mosaic piece amongst other issues concerning CAFOs, I want to talk a little about these grandiose structures themselves.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), CAFOs are intensive operating facilities that house 1,000 animal units in a confined area for forty-five days of the year. It’s like a large factory, but instead of producing goods such as clothing or cars, it houses live animals for a short-while until they’re processed (agribusiness lingo for slaughtered). During that time, animals will be kept in a confined space (usually in poor conditions), until they reach a desirable weight for slaughter, die due to complications within the CAFO, or are “retired” because they’re no longer profitable to the farm. CAFO’s are huge and are much different than family farms that we grow up knowing as the source of our food. CAFOs are ultimately a large-scale business, and their profit is strictly reliant on the commodification of animals and their products such as milk and eggs.

Image for post — This is a poultry CAFO, which can also be said to be “free range” because the hens are not confined to cages.

Besides the animal-welfare concerns that shroud CAFOs, they aren’t the best to the environment either. This is where I want to start off of this article. You see, CAFO’s are bad for the environment for many reasons. These reasons stem from their excessive release of greenhouse gases in the air that cause global warming. Cows for instance, produce copious amounts of methane gas (from 70 to 120kg every year per cow) that absorbs infrared radiation and traps heat in the atmosphere. Methane is roughly 30 times more effective as a heat-trapping gas than CO2! If you thought that was bad, ruminants such as cows produce 40% Earth’s methane gas annually! Now catch this, there are around 1.5 billion cows worldwide. Let these numbers sink in for a second.

Another reason why CAFOs are bad for the environment is because they create lagoons where they dump untreated animal feces, which is later used as manure fertilizer on fields. The issue with lagoons is that they are extremely toxic. They hold feces, corpses, waste chemicals, antibiotics and a host of harmful bacteria, pests and parasites. The overflow of lagoons can spill danger, posing a risk of contaminating water supplies such as rivers and lakes and ultimately creating uninhabited bodies of water known as “dead zones”. The lack of oxygen that exists in dead zones inhibits life from flourishing and causes the associated body of water and land around it to be a health hazard.

Moreover, lagoons can pose a threat to human health as well. Over 150 pathogens have been found in lagoons that can cause diseases in humans. Some common pathogens include E. coli, Salmonella and Cryptosporidium. Antibiotics, hormones, heavy metals and other nasty chemicals that are harmful to human health can linger about in lagoons. Lagoons are also notorious at emitting methane, ammonia and hydrogen-sulfide. As mentioned previously, methane plays a critical role in trapping infrared radiation that causes higher surface temperatures. Hydrogen-sulfide is highly toxic and is recognizable by its noxious rotten-egg like smell. Ammonia is a respiratory irritant in close ranges but can travel as far as 300 miles after being volatilized. Ammonia in lagoons can lead towards the acidification and eutrophication of the ecosystem surrounding the lagoon as well. The cocktail of these gases not only makes the lagoon itself a hub of toxicity but also the environment around it too!

CAFOs also have a track record for their lack of animal welfare standards, which is also shown by their unwillingness to invite people over to their facilities. Their lack of hospitality is mirrored by their windowless walls, very restrictive entrances and gloomy architecture. As part of the process of feeding the world, most of the globe’s cheap meat comes from intensive feeding operations that are regulated by loosely phrased terminologies and are backed by technocratic lobbyists. One CAFO mirrors the reality of thousands of others that are scattered around the world, causing the same repetitive damage to the environment, and imposing poor conditions onto animals.

However, what Farmageddon touched on that I previously didn’t know about was how CAFOs and mega-farms negatively affect people’s lives that live close to them. This is something that I personally didn’t know much about because nobody really talks about it. Whilst reading the book, it seemed to me that people who lived next to these monstrosities seemed to be at a disadvantaged position. On the one hand, nobody wants to have a mega farm next to their house but also on the other hand, moving out isn’t always an option. CAFOs and mega farms produce copious amounts of different human hazards that include released toxic gases, the spillage of lagoons into aquifers and the dispersal of particulate matter and other forms of respiratory irritants in the air. It has been noted that people that do live near these industries tend to live harder lives that include health illnesses such as asthma and other conditions, reduced quality of life induced by smells, the attraction of flies and mosquitos and house pricing devaluation.

As I’ve noticed in my readings, it seems to be a lot more complicated than a matter of “suck it up and get on with it”. People that live near CAFOs and mega farms tend to have no other options other than remaining in their respective areas. Californians in Kern County for instance that live nearby their local dairy CAFO, have to live with the side effects of the plant because many of the residents are employed there. In other places like in China, pork manufacturer powerhouse Muyuan doesn’t employ people that live near their plants but rather outsources from other areas. It’s more baffling to note that their products are ‘not food for the hungry masses’, the company instead caters to ‘the high end and export market’. In one way, it would seem more sensible for the manufacturer to employ nearby residents, as a sort of compensation towards their lowered quality of life. But undoubtedly, it doesn’t always work in this manner. Companies such as Muyuan, outsource their labor, especially since it’s highly abundant in China, rather than employ the local population, as a means of derailing theft within the confines of the farm.

The case for Muyuan, which is talked about in more detail in Farmageddon, is just a miniscule reminder that CAFOs impose unfair circumstances upon people who live in their vicinity. Besides the environmental, health and social aspect of CAFOs on people’s wellbeing, they’re not the only enterprises that downplay the lives of people. Agribusiness is very large, and animal feeding operations have to get their feed from somewhere. This is where mega-farms come into play, acting as global producers of maize, grains and soya, for whom you may ask? Well, if you guessed the animals in CAFOs, then you’re absolutely right! In a Cornell study from 1997, it states that for every kilogram of high-quality animal protein (meat) that is produced, six kilograms of plant protein is fed to the animals. If we do the math on this, we realize that this is unsustainable. Crops like cereals, soya and maize play a large part in feeding animals, and in places such as Argentina that are dedicated towards soya production, 90% of the soya is directed to animals in CAFOs. The complete destruction of woodland and rainforests is a big reason for the continuation of this cycle, and tribes such as the Qom people in Argentina, have been uprooted from their homes because of soya producers. The fight for their ancestral land remains unabated by public authority or by “foreign” corporations. The Qom people are trying to derail any further attempts at plundering their lands for the sake of creating new soya farms. However, even these attempts could be crushed when regarding the increased demand for cheap meat globally — in some eventuality, the Qom people might risk losing their ancestral lands entirely.

Moving on from the Qom people, another interesting fact about the animal industry is something that a lot of people reading this might not know about. You see, when we generally think of cows, pigs or chicken, we associate them as herbivores. However, modern science has found a way to feed animals a diet that is high in protein, Omega-3’s and necessary fats, without having to invest in large farms. A substance called fishmeal, which is basically grounded up fish bones and offal leftovers, is used as an alternative for regular animal feed. Fishmeal was used as fertilizer in the UK prior to 1910. However, fishmeal today is used heavily as a substitute for plant crops because of its nutrient-dense qualities. Fishmeal is fed to farmed fish, poultry, pigs and other farmed animals. For me personally, I never knew that fishmeal was a thing until I read Farmageddon and to be frank, I found the idea a bit unappealing. I was unsure what to make of this fact, especially since it contradicts what the supposed notion of an herbivorous diet incorporates. But it has to be known that animal producers will cut through costs in order to produce more profits. In Peru for instance, a country that accounts for 18% of the world’s fishmeal production, fishmeal producers have caused a problem for the local fisheries and the country’s inhabitants. Peru is known for its Peruvian anchovy that is used as fishmeal/fish oil for farm animals. The production of fishmeal in Peru has attracted many companies that have sectioned designated areas for catching anchovies. Sometimes, overfishing can occur and a depletion of fish in the waters can cause consequence to the water’s biodiversity. Predators that rely on anchovies might begin to die out because their food source has become scarce. Additionally, problems as such have forced local fisheries to become liable to collapsing because they cannot compete with companies that outproduce them by substantial amounts. Moreover, the demand for red meat and poultry is high in Peru as well. This means that the anchovies that are being caught are not being produced as food, but rather are being produced as feed. People in Peru have not been accustomed to eating the fish that they produce most of in the world, and thus face shortages themselves when it comes to having adequate food supplies.

It’s a strange dilemma when one thinks about it. Because on the one hand, one country can produce so much food that it can eliminate any form of hunger within its communities. But yet on the other hand, the food that is being produced is transferred to animals in large animal feeding operations thousands of miles away. I think it’s astonishing when we look at the numbers closely. For example, a third of the world’s cereal harvest is fed to animals. If we fed this cereal to humans instead, it would feed around 3 billion people. Global hunger and nutrient deficiency are large problems that humans are currently tackling today. Wouldn’t it make more sense to reallocate feed as food? If the goal of food companies is to feed people, wouldn’t it be morally right to feed people without discrimination? In this article, I’ve sought out to provide some facts that have massive implications on the way people live, and on the way that food is allocated within the world. What I do want to add for my final remarks is to be conscious of the food that you eat. Even though I’m vegan, and I have specific views on animal welfare, nutrient and food allocation, I still believe that living sustainably, even as a carnist, is achievable in some form or another. By being more conscious of the environmental footprint of your food choices, we can, as collectives within a society, ascertain a new order of importance for how our food choices reflect a vast array of social and geopolitical issues. By understanding that cheap meat is derived from food wastage, which is perpetuated through animal feed, we can reach conclusions that can point out to some faults in our food systems. The way we allocate food now is based upon subsidies and limited resources. Eventually, we will run into issues of various degrees if we keep on producing food the way we do so currently. At over 9 billion people in the year 2050, we are looking at a world that will require more sustenance than ever. The strain that we are going to impose on our resources will also reflect on our ability to produce food at unprecedented rates. Currently, up to 2 billion people are suffering from water shortages, and by the year 2050, that number could rise upwards of 7 billion people. That’s the majority of the global population, and if that’s not frightening, I’m sure the social repercussions will speak volumes.

To conclude, I don’t want this article to seem gloomy or pertain notions of doomsaying, but it’s important to consider a few things. We have to know where our food comes from. Are we buying locally? Or are we buying food that comes from hundreds or thousands of miles away? Another key factor would be to invest into higher quality food items. I know that buying organic or grass-fed can be expensive for some, but this is an opportune way to reflect on your current food expenditures. How often are you eating out? How often are you buying processed food? How often do you incorporate cheap meats and animal-derived foods in your diet? Implementing more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, can go a long way towards reducing your carbon footprint and towards the betterment of your overall health. Finally, appreciate the food that you have. Since the industrial revolution, the commodification and production of food has become a cornerstone of a developed food system. We need to cherish the food that we have and live life as if tomorrow matters. The consequences in the future far outweigh the pleasures of cheap meat and processed foods today. Although there have been waves in the realm of food production such as lab-grown meat and insect protein, these developments have not yet become commercially available to the general public. Until then, we can do more. We can be mindful of our food waste, especially the food that we don’t end up eating. We can work towards buying less food, thus wasting less in total. Or, we can donate the food towards foodbanks and compost sites. There’s no point of filling up landfills with unwanted food when we can use it towards improvement of our farms and to feed the hungry. I’m sure that if everyone followed at least one of these advices, we could definitely improve the food systems that we live in and provide food to those who need it as well.

Book links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Farmageddon-True-Cost-Cheap-Meat/dp/1408846446

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eating-Animals-Jonathan-Safran-Foer/dp/014103193X

CAFOs/environmental risks/human health risk/lagoons links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_animal_feeding_operation

https://www.wiscontext.org/how-smell-cafo

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/runoff/

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/dead-zone/

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/deadzone.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/25/mega-farms-devastating-effects-go-far-beyond-the-chicken-shed

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2925014/