soil and depositing their own waste Chicken manure is high in nitrates which helps the grass grow thick and lush Then the cows returned the following year to graze the fresh grass that grew in the fertilized soil The different plants and animals worked together Animals ate foods that people do not eat such as grass and insects The animal manure Before farming moved largely indoors most cows spent their days grazing in grass fields 6
became fertilizer which helped new grass grow This made an efficient loop with little waste left over Farm animals had space some freedom of movement and usually enough food They provided milk and eggs and eventually meat to their farmers and local people Variations on this system worked successfully for thousands of years around the world However rapid population growth in the twentieth century made it difficult for farmers to grow enough food to feed everyone New technology has helped them to raise more and larger animals on the same amount of land But not everyone agrees that these new practices are the best choice Animal Feeding Operations Farming in the United States went through major changes in the middle of the twentieth century With the development of mechanized equipment farms grew in size and began to specialize in raising one type of animal Sometimes they even specialize in animals in one phase of their life such as piglets from birth to weaning This specialization allows farmers to provide individualized housing feed and veterinary care for each stage of an animal’s life Many of these animal feeding operations AFOs have a full-time veterinarian on staff to ensure animals receive medical attention AFOs can protect animals and farmers from certain threats When animals live on a pasture they are exposed to predators and parasites Animals and the farmers caring for them can be injured during mating and as mothers protect their young AFO animals do not go out into fields to graze instead they are kept in pens or cages often indoors and fed grain primarily corn and soy The US Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines these small areas as confined spaces 7
AFOs sometimes called factory farms are an efficient way to produce a lot of meat milk and eggs without requiring a lot of land to house livestock It costs less to house and feed the animals because the farmers don’t need to buy and maintain large pastures Grain feed is also cheap because the US government offers subsidies or money grants to farmers who grow corn and soy which keeps prices low AFOs have helped make these products an affordable part of an everyday diet for many Americans AFOs with a very large number of animals are called concentrated animal feeding operations CAFOs The number of animals that makes the Case In Point The Value of Corn The US government has paid subsidies to farmers since the 1930s The goal of subsidies is to take some of the risk out of farming If weather disease or of subsidies is to take some of the risk out of farming If weather disease or insects destroy crops the farmer still gets paid If crop prices drop low the insects destroy crops the farmer still gets paid If crop prices drop low the farmer is not forced out of business In 1980 payments increased and affected farmer is not forced out of business In 1980 payments increased and affected the way farmers plant crops The government pays subsidies the way farmers plant crops The government pays subsidies for grain crops such as corn and soy but not for fruits and for grain crops such as corn and soy but not for fruits and vegetables Many more farmers started growing corn and vegetables Many more farmers started growing corn and soy As of 2014 instead of direct payments farmers soy As of 2014 instead of direct payments farmers get free crop insurance They can receive insurance get free crop insurance They can receive insurance payments to partially protect their income when payments to partially protect their income when the price of their crops or their income drops price of their crops or their income drops below a certain mark Farmers who grow fruit below a certain mark Farmers who grow fruit and vegetables receive other types of help and vegetables receive other types of help but not the same crop insurance This still but not the same crop insurance This still encourages farmers to plant corn and soy encourages farmers to plant corn and soy 8
Chickens feed at a CAFO The United States has nearly 10,000 CAFOs operation a CAFO depends on the type of animal For example a CAFO has at least 700 dairy cows 2,500 swine or 125,000 broiler chickens These animals are kept on a small area of land Because CAFOs hold so many animals they produce more than one-half of the meat Americans eat Most of the United States milk and eggs also come from CAFOs AFOs and CAFOs can produce larges quantities of food in small spaces and at low costs Thanks to the inexpensive meat produced at AFOs and CAFOs meat consumption has increased On average Americans eat almost 9
