| Description |
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (henceforth CAFOs) are a signature feature of modern food production and consumption. This thesis will explore the various types of environmental pollution and contamination that surround CAFOs and what this means for neighboring ecosystems, human health, and the inequalities such conditions create for surrounding communities. This subject will be analyzed in the context of Brazil and will consider how consumer education can help address the environment-human health-community triad. CAFOs affect the environment in a myriad of ways. They require massive amounts of land not only on which to raise tens of thousands of animals, but also with which to produce copious quantities of feed for livestock. In the case of Brazil especially, deforestation is another major environmental concern associated with CAFOs. Such facilities produce extensive quantities of animal waste that contains a toxic slurry of growth hormones, antibiotics, harmful chemicals, animal blood and pathogens. A major concern of environmentalists, neighboring communities, and health officials is the leakage of said waste into ground or surface water. CAFOs also have an extremely high water and carbon footprint as compared to other agricultural activities, both of which pose serious concerns for climate change. These forms of pollution have serious implications for human health. Leaking of elemental pollutants into watersheds and soil, spread of pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella, as well as the development of antimicrobial resistance in humans are all concerns. The increased availability of meat, along with the decreased price tag due to externalized costs, influences the modern trend of diseases of diet. These burdens are iii disproportionately born by the poor, rural, and indigenous populations. Many of whom are experiencing threats to land, livelihood, and culture from this intensification in animal agriculture. |
