Fact #1: A well-fed dairy cow produces 120 pounds of manure every day, or 40,000 pounds per year per animal. Mulitple by 3200 head.Let me get this out before I write any more. I love cows! My grandparents were dairy farmers. I grew up drinking milk & eating butter. Because I love cows, I don't approve of the mis-treatment of cows (or any other animal for that fact).
Factory farm animals are abused. Period. End of story. To confine an animal in inhumane conditions is abuse.
The 3200 head of dairy cows in a factory farm setting is criminal. Abuse to the animal, the environment, the small farmer trying to make a living. All in jepardy. We all know how "big money" gets things done. Loopholes are left in bills that should be protecting everyone from business malpractice. Zoning laws are never passed to protect the citizens of a county. Corporations rule this country & if you don't think so, look around. It's not to hard to see at this moment in history. 
Fact #2: Approximately 132 to 264 gallons of ruminal gas produced by fermentation are belched each day. This is methane. A green house gas. On a small scale it isn't as big of a problem. Again multiply by 3200 head.
Fact #3: Antibiotics
Factory farms administer huge quantities of antibiotics to livestock in order to promote growth and prevent widespread disease. Scientists estimate that 25 to 75% of all antibiotics pass into manure unchanged. As a result, when waste from factory farms enters the environment, antibiotics can contaminate surface water and groundwater. This promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which makes antibiotics used for humans less effective.
Scientists have found that these antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be transported by surface water and groundwater.
Factory farms administer huge quantities of antibiotics to livestock in order to promote growth and prevent widespread disease. Scientists estimate that 25 to 75% of all antibiotics pass into manure unchanged. As a result, when waste from factory farms enters the environment, antibiotics can contaminate surface water and groundwater. This promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which makes antibiotics used for humans less effective.
Scientists have found that these antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be transported by surface water and groundwater.
Fact #4: Hormones
Factory farms regularly administer hormones to beef cattle and dairy cows in order to boost growth rates or increase milk production. When hormones are injected into an animal, some of the hormones pass into its waste, and can eventually contaminate surface and groundwater. Research demonstrates that hormone pollution can disrupt the development and reproductive systems of fish.
Factory farms regularly administer hormones to beef cattle and dairy cows in order to boost growth rates or increase milk production. When hormones are injected into an animal, some of the hormones pass into its waste, and can eventually contaminate surface and groundwater. Research demonstrates that hormone pollution can disrupt the development and reproductive systems of fish.
These are just a few facts. I'll write about more another day. I'm off to my last therapy appointment.
8 comments:
You're preaching to the choir here Barb! Give em' hell
I jsut have to ask; is the cow with the mask one of yours?? He/she is so cute
A 120 lbs. of poop X 3200 is a lot of poop. Goodness! I am so sorry you have to contend with all this.
When is all this supposed to happen? I hope you and the others have time to do something...debbie
I often tell people that our meat is actually illegal in other countries. When they ask why, I explain that in other countries - federal regulations only allows them to use no more than 4 to 6 types of antibiotics. Because of this, they are much more careful about their use and usually treat the one sick cow rather than the entire herd.
I then ask them to guess how many kinds of antibiotics we are allowed to use in our beef... Nope, not 12, not 24, not even 50. OVER SIXTY-FIVE!!! And they treat the entire herd. By the time the beef reaches our plates - it has been treated an average of 6-12 times with antibiotics.
Coorporate agriculture is really the ones responsible for MRSA and antibiotic resistant strains. Not hospitals and doctors as they would have us believe.
Oh, and because we misuse antibiotics and are partially to blame for MRSA - that is why USDA grade beef is illegal in other countries.
Yay America.
I´m happy to say that I live in a country that has the most powerful animal protection laws in the world. It´s absolutly forbidden to give hormones to our cows and pigs. Antibiotics are only allowed to use when the animal is sic, never before ilness.
Perhaps that´s why we have so few CAFO-like places here? Some farmers are ofcourse complaining but most of them think that this is right.
Keep on fighting!
Christer.
Keep up the good fight! Go to the councils and make them understand. Even the thought of that much poop should scare them. Better yet, go pump air from another factory dairy farm like the one proposed into large balloons, a lot of them, then pop them all at once in the council chamber so they can understand what will be laying all over the town all the time for aroma!
The cow isn't ours, it's the Amish neighbor's.
Debbie...that is a LOT of poop! The guy wants to get this done & in operation by 2010.
Hot Belly Mama...thanks for more statistics. It's worse than I thought.
Christer...I am half Swedish and I wish our country had rules like yours does.
Christy...that would be great! They all know what manure smells like though, just maybe not to what extent.
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