How do large organizations involved in CAFOs affect local water sources and what are some regulations or alternative options we could use to limit the amount of contamination caused by CAFOs?
Background
CAFOs are confined agricultural facilities in which feed is brought to the animals, rather than providing fields or rangeland. It can be seen as a huge problem throughout communities, mainly because of the manure from the livestock contaminating water and surrounding areas. In Wisconsin, there are 327 CAFOs and according to DNR data, of those, the majority are used to make dairy products, but the state also uses CAFOs to raise hog, beef, chicken, and turkey meat.
According to the U.S. Clean Water Act, CAFOs that either discharge pollutants from point sources to national waters or use a liquid waste disposal system are required to apply for a permit through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). CAFOs are known to also significantly increase air pollution and have been linked to higher rates of asthma in neighboring communities, which has led to many people protesting for their rights to safe and consumable water.
According to the Wisconsin environmental health network, CAFOs cause diseases and infections to transmit easily; they are ideal breeding grounds for flies and mosquitoes and it has been known that all the manure build-up is difficult to contain and can run-off in storms, leak, or leach into the soil. Manure contains ammonia, nitrates, hormones, viruses, trace metals and over 150 pathogens that can impact human health. Due to this, 30% of factory farm workers have occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, or toxic dust syndrome. Although they comprise only about 5 percent of all U.S. animal operations, CAFOs are now producing more than 50 percent of our food animals.
CAFOs are confined agricultural facilities in which feed is brought to the animals, rather than providing fields or rangeland. It can be seen as a huge problem throughout communities, mainly because of the manure from the livestock contaminating water and surrounding areas. In Wisconsin, there are 327 CAFOs and according to DNR data, of those, the majority are used to make dairy products, but the state also uses CAFOs to raise hog, beef, chicken, and turkey meat.
According to the U.S. Clean Water Act, CAFOs that either discharge pollutants from point sources to national waters or use a liquid waste disposal system are required to apply for a permit through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). CAFOs are known to also significantly increase air pollution and have been linked to higher rates of asthma in neighboring communities, which has led to many people protesting for their rights to safe and consumable water.
According to the Wisconsin environmental health network, CAFOs cause diseases and infections to transmit easily; they are ideal breeding grounds for flies and mosquitoes and it has been known that all the manure build-up is difficult to contain and can run-off in storms, leak, or leach into the soil. Manure contains ammonia, nitrates, hormones, viruses, trace metals and over 150 pathogens that can impact human health. Due to this, 30% of factory farm workers have occupational asthma, chronic bronchitis, or toxic dust syndrome. Although they comprise only about 5 percent of all U.S. animal operations, CAFOs are now producing more than 50 percent of our food animals.
The Kewaunee County Case - Revealing the Impacts of CAFOs
CAFOs are causing many uproars, especially in rural communities, due to their damaging effect to the air, water, and soil in surrounding areas. One notable case regarding the use of CAFOs was the 2022 case in Kewaunee County, a rural community located on the thumb of Wisconsin, which spurred when residents in the area protested that they were fed up living with contaminated wells. According to a WUWM article, reporters had announced that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was about to allow one of Wisconsin’s largest dairy farms to get bigger. Kinnard farm is one of the largest concentrated animal feeding operations; it is home to about 8,000 cows (Bence). Not only that, this large quantity of livestock produces around 103 million gallons of manure per year (Bence). The copious amount of manure causes the contamination of groundwater, specifically affecting the private wells nearby.
One resident of Kewaunee County, Jodi Parins, testified to a DNR hearing about proposed changes to the Kinnard Farm permit. She had complaints surrounding the fact that the DNR was not actually going to cap the amount of manure they spread—just ask that Kinnard farm would monitor the pollutants. Another resident in the area, Jesse Jerabek, complained “I think permitting or allowing an expansion … without first requiring a comprehensive monitoring plan and confirming the potential impact to our drinking water is simply negligent on the part of the DNR. I would be negligent if I did not personally go on record against these modifications as currently written” (Bence).
In the end, the DNR announced that Kinnard Farms would be required to monitor the quality of the groundwater in the area and better manage the way they would be spreading manure. The Wisconsin Supreme Court also ruled that the DNR did have the authority to place permit restrictions on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (“DNR Issues Permit Modification…”) Only months after, Kinnard Farms once again struggled with environmental regulation due to their use of CAFOs. They allegedly spread manure too close to private wells, failed to complete an engineering study of two waste storage facilities, and were late to turn in their papers to the DNR regarding their manure management. In an attempt to salvage themselves, they formed a lawsuit against the DNR for blocking them from expanding. Unfortunately for Kinnard Farms, the lawsuit was turned down due to the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling. Ultimately, Kinnard Farms has had to agree to pay a $215k settlement regarding their environmental violations and are now required to make upgrades to their two waste storage facilities (Kremer).
CAFOs are causing many uproars, especially in rural communities, due to their damaging effect to the air, water, and soil in surrounding areas. One notable case regarding the use of CAFOs was the 2022 case in Kewaunee County, a rural community located on the thumb of Wisconsin, which spurred when residents in the area protested that they were fed up living with contaminated wells. According to a WUWM article, reporters had announced that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was about to allow one of Wisconsin’s largest dairy farms to get bigger. Kinnard farm is one of the largest concentrated animal feeding operations; it is home to about 8,000 cows (Bence). Not only that, this large quantity of livestock produces around 103 million gallons of manure per year (Bence). The copious amount of manure causes the contamination of groundwater, specifically affecting the private wells nearby.
One resident of Kewaunee County, Jodi Parins, testified to a DNR hearing about proposed changes to the Kinnard Farm permit. She had complaints surrounding the fact that the DNR was not actually going to cap the amount of manure they spread—just ask that Kinnard farm would monitor the pollutants. Another resident in the area, Jesse Jerabek, complained “I think permitting or allowing an expansion … without first requiring a comprehensive monitoring plan and confirming the potential impact to our drinking water is simply negligent on the part of the DNR. I would be negligent if I did not personally go on record against these modifications as currently written” (Bence).
In the end, the DNR announced that Kinnard Farms would be required to monitor the quality of the groundwater in the area and better manage the way they would be spreading manure. The Wisconsin Supreme Court also ruled that the DNR did have the authority to place permit restrictions on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (“DNR Issues Permit Modification…”) Only months after, Kinnard Farms once again struggled with environmental regulation due to their use of CAFOs. They allegedly spread manure too close to private wells, failed to complete an engineering study of two waste storage facilities, and were late to turn in their papers to the DNR regarding their manure management. In an attempt to salvage themselves, they formed a lawsuit against the DNR for blocking them from expanding. Unfortunately for Kinnard Farms, the lawsuit was turned down due to the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling. Ultimately, Kinnard Farms has had to agree to pay a $215k settlement regarding their environmental violations and are now required to make upgrades to their two waste storage facilities (Kremer).
Solutions
Communities and such have the right to stand up against CAFOs and people who have to respect the communities water not only for the health of humans but also other living species. There are multiple strong and effective ways to fight CAFOs. These include hoop barns, rotational grazing, eating less meat, informing others of the solution, banning them and many more. Rotational grazing works by rotating the fields that the livestock are on. This also helps to fertilize the crops in the field. Eating less meat can help because if you eat less meat then there will be less of a demand for meat, meaning there will be less of a demand for livestock. This in turn makes it so less animals/livestock are going towards CAFOs. With less livestock this also pushes farmers to harvest their food in different ways that don’t result in CAFOs. Less livestock also means there will be less chance of CAFOs showing up in food due to sanitation. This is because based on the articles read, many people tend to be upset about the entire situation with CAFOs, to the point that people have begun to sue. they tend to be better, not the best option, but some other way to slow down the increase of CAFOs. Not only does the alternatives decrease the amount of water pollution and such, it also helps reduce the costs of the impacts due to contamination in the water.
References
Anderson, Phil. CAFO Alternatives and Solutions. 3 Mar. 2016, https://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/03/03/106084-cafo-alternatives-and-solutions
Bence, Susan. “DNR May Allow One of Wisconsin’s Largest Dairy Farms to Get Bigger.” WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee’s NPR, 26 Jan. 2022, https://www.wuwm.com/2022-01-26/dnr-may-allow-one-of-wisconsins-largest-dairy-farms-to-get-bigger.
“CAFOS.” Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, https://www.wehnonline.org/cafos-2020. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
“DNR Issues Permit Modification For Kinnard Farms.” Wisconsin DNR, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/54496. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
Kremer, Rich. “Kinnard Farms Agrees to $215K Settlement Tied to Alleged Environmental Violations.” WPR, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.wpr.org/agriculture/farm-animals/kinnard-farms-cafo-settlement-environmental-violations-manure-department-of-justice.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma . 2006.
Schulte, Laura. “Massive Factory Farms Called CAFOs Are on the Rise as a Small Family Operations Fade. Here Is Why They’re Controversial in Wisconsin.” Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/27/cafos-rise-wisconsin-what-know-factory-farms/9704281002/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
Walsh, Owen. What Is a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation)?, 23 May 2022, https://thehumaneleague.org/article/what-is-a-cafo#:~:text=Why%20are%20CAFOs%20bad%20for%20animals%3F%201%20Overcrowding,quarters.%20...%202%20Confinement%20...%203%20Cruelty%20.
What Is a CAFO? Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/2022-10/What%20is%20a%20CAFO_0.pdf#:~:text=CAFOs%20include%20open%20feedlots%2C%20as%20well%20as%20massive%2C,sleep%2C%20and%20eat%20where%20they%20urinate%20and%20defecate.
Communities and such have the right to stand up against CAFOs and people who have to respect the communities water not only for the health of humans but also other living species. There are multiple strong and effective ways to fight CAFOs. These include hoop barns, rotational grazing, eating less meat, informing others of the solution, banning them and many more. Rotational grazing works by rotating the fields that the livestock are on. This also helps to fertilize the crops in the field. Eating less meat can help because if you eat less meat then there will be less of a demand for meat, meaning there will be less of a demand for livestock. This in turn makes it so less animals/livestock are going towards CAFOs. With less livestock this also pushes farmers to harvest their food in different ways that don’t result in CAFOs. Less livestock also means there will be less chance of CAFOs showing up in food due to sanitation. This is because based on the articles read, many people tend to be upset about the entire situation with CAFOs, to the point that people have begun to sue. they tend to be better, not the best option, but some other way to slow down the increase of CAFOs. Not only does the alternatives decrease the amount of water pollution and such, it also helps reduce the costs of the impacts due to contamination in the water.
References
Anderson, Phil. CAFO Alternatives and Solutions. 3 Mar. 2016, https://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/03/03/106084-cafo-alternatives-and-solutions
Bence, Susan. “DNR May Allow One of Wisconsin’s Largest Dairy Farms to Get Bigger.” WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee’s NPR, 26 Jan. 2022, https://www.wuwm.com/2022-01-26/dnr-may-allow-one-of-wisconsins-largest-dairy-farms-to-get-bigger.
“CAFOS.” Wisconsin Environmental Health Network, https://www.wehnonline.org/cafos-2020. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
“DNR Issues Permit Modification For Kinnard Farms.” Wisconsin DNR, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/newsroom/release/54496. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
Kremer, Rich. “Kinnard Farms Agrees to $215K Settlement Tied to Alleged Environmental Violations.” WPR, 27 Mar. 2023, https://www.wpr.org/agriculture/farm-animals/kinnard-farms-cafo-settlement-environmental-violations-manure-department-of-justice.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma . 2006.
Schulte, Laura. “Massive Factory Farms Called CAFOs Are on the Rise as a Small Family Operations Fade. Here Is Why They’re Controversial in Wisconsin.” Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2022/05/27/cafos-rise-wisconsin-what-know-factory-farms/9704281002/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.
Walsh, Owen. What Is a CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation)?, 23 May 2022, https://thehumaneleague.org/article/what-is-a-cafo#:~:text=Why%20are%20CAFOs%20bad%20for%20animals%3F%201%20Overcrowding,quarters.%20...%202%20Confinement%20...%203%20Cruelty%20.
What Is a CAFO? Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/2022-10/What%20is%20a%20CAFO_0.pdf#:~:text=CAFOs%20include%20open%20feedlots%2C%20as%20well%20as%20massive%2C,sleep%2C%20and%20eat%20where%20they%20urinate%20and%20defecate.