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
4 pounds 1 8 kilograms of meat per week 1 pound 0 5 kg more per week than in the 1950s However not all people agree AFOs are the best methods for raising livestock Because so many animals are housed together farmers administer antibiotics to keep diseases at bay They also feed animals hormones to speed up growth The production of cheap meat has also had some negative side effects Some people consider AFOs to be cruel to animals Beef cattle spend approximately six months grazing in pastures For the rest of their lives they are housed in feedlots where they are fed specialized diets for rapid growth Without grass cover the pens can become muddy and manure soaked during rainstorms Breeding pigs may spend years in pens called gestation crates The cages are designed to protect newborn piglets from their large mothers who may accidentally lay on them The sows cannot turn around and can take only one or two steps forward and backward Although the stress of predation and herd behavior is removed when animals are housed in AFOs crowded conditions can lead to stress for the animals causing unnatural behavior Chickens turkeys and ducks may fight or pull out their own feathers To prevent this farmers cut off parts of their beaks They may also be housed in small cages which prevent fighting but limit the birds movement Pollution Problems CAFOs produce approximately 300 million tons 272 million metric tons of manure each year That is twice the waste excreted by the entire US human population In the right amounts manure is useful for fertilizing fields However it contains several pollutants that are dangerous in high amounts 10
These pollutants include ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus If these substances run off into rivers or lakes they can cause aquatic plants to grow too quickly and then die This reduces the oxygen in the water and can kill fish and other aquatic animals Ammonia also gets into the air where it can irritate the lungs and eyes of people and animals Breeding pigs at this AFO stand in individual gestation crates The EPA estimates that there are approximately 450,000 AFOs in the United States 11
