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anxious

Read it or don't, I'm just putting it out there: factory-farmed meat
Here are the facts as I understand them: factory-farming results in unhealthy livestock, inhumane conditions, environmental damage, and health risks for the consumer, who ends up eating meat full of pesticide and antibiotic residues. Further, factory-farming conditions drastically lower the level of (heart-protecting) Omega-3s in our food--this includes farmed fish like Salmon. Omega-3s come ONLY from animals eating plankton, in the case of salmon, or grass, in the case of cows. Not from corn. Even if you don't care about animal rights or the environment, I would hope that you care about your own health and the health of your family. (Lower levels of Omega-3s have also been linked to depression.) And by the way, if Mad Cow Disease doesn't scare you, it should.

I haven't provided an exhaustive account here, just a few selected bits from the web, but a few minutes spent googling would net you much more info, as well as citations for scholarly articles addressing the same issues. Please see the bottom of this post for information on how to shop and eat responsibly and healthily.

Factory Farms

From the Sierra Club website:

On pollution:

"America's drinking water, rivers and lakes are at risk from giant, corporate-owned factory farms. These Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) confine thousands of animals in one facility, and produce staggering amounts of animal waste in the process (2.7 trillion pounds per year). Too often, this waste leaks into our rivers and streams, fouling our air, contaminating our drinking water and spreading disease. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hog, chicken and cattle waste has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states."

On antibiotics:

"The Sierra Club and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) have issued the first report to examine the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in brand-name poultry products. The report finds that many consumers are ingesting bacteria resistant to important human antibiotics like ciprofloxacin (Cipro), Synercid, and tetracycline.

Today, factory farms are putting the health of our familes at risk. The use of antibiotics in food animals that are not sick causes an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This means that the medicines we rely on for human health may not be as effective when you or your family get sick." (From here)



"Nitrate Pollution

Groundwater is frequently contaminated by factory farm pollution, generally in the form of nitrates. Nitrate pollution, which can cause serious human health problems, seeps out of manure lagoons and into community sources of drinking water.

* About 13% of the domestic drinking-water wells in the Midwest contain unsafe levels of nitrates.

* There are many ways that groundwater, in particular, may be contaminated with nitrates from factory farms including: lagoon seepages, lagoon spills or leaks and the misapplication of manure onto the land.

* In 2001, the EPA forced five hog factory farms to supply bottled water for local residents because activities at the farms had contaminated the local drinking-water.

* In some instances, groundwater below fields that were sprayed with liquid manure was five times greater than levels which would be safe for humans.

* Half of the lagoons tested in one study were found to be leaking large amounts of nitrogen, threatening to contaminate groundwater.

* Applying animal manure to the ground near wells doubles the likelihood that nitrate levels in the well will be unhealthy.

* High levels of nitrates in well water near animal feedlots have been linked to spontaneous abortions in humans.

* Drinking nitrate-contaminated water can cause "blue baby" syndrome in infants, leading to developmental deficiencies or death.

* One survey of drinking-water wells in North Carolina found that 10% of wells near factory farms have unsafe levels of nitrates -- the cause: leaking hog lagoons and hog wastewater sprayfields.

Health Issues

Scientific and medical researchers have conducted a handful of comprehensive studies that examine the public health impacts of animal factories. These studies have collectively concluded that residents living near animal factories show symptoms of respiratory, physical and emotional illness at levels significantly higher than control groups.

* Residents living near large hog factories may experience higher rates of respiratory problems.

* Many people living near factory farms where hogs are raised cannot open their windows or go outside in nice weather because of the stench.

* Residents near large hog factories may experience headaches, runny noses, sore throats, excessive coughing, diarrhea, and burning eyes more often than people living elsewhere.

* People living as far as two miles away from factory farms where hogs are raised experience symptoms such as bronchitis and shortness of breath at rates similar to those of farm workers.

* Higher levels of tension, depression, anger and fatigue have been found among residents living near large swine factories.

Chemical Pollutants and Pathogens

Chemical pollutants and pathogens from animal waste pose a public health risk when leaked into surface water supplies like community rivers and streams. Fecal bacteria and pathogens from factory farms are probably responsible for several illness outbreaks in the United States.

* A single major spill from a waste lagoon on a factory farm in 1995 caused the restriction of shellfishing on 364,000 acres of wetlands.

* Chemical pollutants and pathogens from animal waste stored in lagoons at factory farms can travel through the soil and contaminate other areas.

* In three years, pollution from factory farms in ten states caused 200 fish kills, resulting in the death of 13 million fish.

* Clay liners on manure lagoons are used on factory farms to reduce seepage, but even clay-lined lagoons may leak up to several thousand gallons per acre per day.

* Applying swine-lagoon effluent to land, a common practice at factory farms, poses a risk to communities that depend upon groundwater for drinking water.

* Cattle manure runoff from a farm contaminated a drinking-water supply in Ontario, making 1,300 people sick.

* Dangerous bacteria can remain in surface waters near lagoon spills for a full two months.

* Waste from factory farms can get into surface waters and groundwater even in dry weather.

* In three years, there were 1,000 chemical spills and other pollution incidents at factory farms in ten states.

* Contamination from manure on large dairy farms is believed to have contaminated the drinking water in Milwaukee, making 400,000 people sick.

Air pollutants

Scientific studies are beginning to prove what neighbors to factory farms know well—manure lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can result in human health problems. Air pollutants like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia can cause both immediate and long-term respiratory problems.

* Waste lagoons on factory farms emit toxic chemicals into the air which can cause many health problems in humans.

* Odors from CAFO's may contain 170 separate chemical substances.

* Emissions from CAFO lagoons contain greenhouse gases, in addition to toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.

* Hydrogen sulfide, a gas emitted from animal waste lagoons, can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, many other health problems, and even death.

* Hydrogen sulfide, a gas toxic to humans, is emitted from CAFO lagoons. In one study it was found in the air, at unsafe levels, almost 5 miles from the source.

* Levels of hydrogen sulfide from the lagoon at one CAFO in Minnesota exceeded the safe level for human health 271 times in two years.

* During an eleven year period of major expansion of the hog industry in one North Carolina county, it was found that the amount of ammonia (an irritant to humans) in the rain doubled.

* CAFOs may emit pollutants that are regulated under the Clean Air Act at unsafe levels.

* Children at a day care center in Minnesota experienced diarrhea, nausea and headaches due to hydrogen sulfide poisoning caused by air emissions from a factory farm over a mile away."

From: here


Pesticides

From Sustainable Table

"Pesticides are one of the most common toxic substances found in food. They can impair the immune system and cause diseases. The primary public health concern surrounding pesticides was once the possibility of severe, immediate (acute) poisoning and the long-term potential for cancer.



Today we know that pesticides can also affect the nervous, endocrine (glands and hormones), immune and reproductive systems. They also pose increased threats to infants, young children, the unborn, and other individuals especially susceptible to health problems caused by toxic pollutants. Pesticides have been linked to Parkinson's disease, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, emotional disorders, weakened immune systems, birth defects and low sperm counts.

The vast majority of crops grown in the U.S. feed farm animals, not humans. The crops grown for farm animals contain far higher levels of pesticides than crops grown for human consumption.

Pesticide residues accumulate in the fat and tissue of animals. By eating the meat, the residues are passed on to the consumer, where they accumulate in our fat over our lifetime. Over 90% of the pesticides Americans consume are found in the fat and tissue of meat and dairy products.

Long after their use, pesticides remain in the soil and water. Despite being banned in 1972, DDT has been found in the breast milk of over 99% of all mothers in America. As the food supply becomes more consolidated and global, so does the risk of exposure to toxic pesticides that were banned the US but remain legal and are used in some countries that export food to us.

Many sustainable farms rely upon Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as an alternative to the heavy use of pesticides. IPM incorporates a variety of techniques to eliminate pests while minimizing damage to the environment. For instance, an IPM farm might grow pest-resistant crop varieties, use predatory insects to kill plant-eating pests, use mechanical pest traps, and might eliminate nesting areas by plowing under harvested crops. Chemical pesticides are used only as a last resort.

Did you know?

* According to the EPA, over 1 billion tons of pesticides are used in the U.S. every year.
* The American Association of Poison Control Centers estimates that in 2002, 69,000 children suffered from pesticide related poisoning or exposure to poisonous pesticides.
* In 1992, economists estimated that health problems caused by pesticides led U.S. health care costs to increase by $786 million each year.
* According to Cornell entomologist David Pimentel, “It has been estimated that only 0.1% of applied pesticides reach the target pests, leaving the bulk of the pesticides (99.9%) to impact the environment.”
* In 2002, fat (adipose) tissues from beef were analyzed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Over 47% were reported to have pesticide residues."



When does it pay to eat organic and when doesn't it? From Consumer Reports

Buy these items organic as often as possible: Apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries; Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy; Baby food.

Buy these items organic if price is no object: Asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas; Breads, oils, potato chips, pasta, cereals, and other packaged foods, such as canned or dried fruit and vegetables.

Want to change how you eat? Check out these websites:

Eat Wild to find farms selling grass-fed, free-pasture meats and dairy products.

Local Harvest to find farms near you that offer CSA programs (for a fee, farms deliver fresh produce to your door or a nearby drop-off location) or local food co-ops.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch to find out which fish are in danger of overfishing and which are safest to eat (low levels of mercury)...this is updated often.

USDA to find local farmers' markets.

And by all means, if you have the time and inclination, read Jane Goodall's new book, Harvest for Hope.