Factory Farming and the Environment

Factory Farming and the Environment

Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility

March 15, 2010

Factory Farming and the Environment

There are many ethical environmental issues in the world today that are negatively affecting the world we live in and some of these issues are becoming so profound that society cannot afford to ignore them any longer. One of the most perplexing issues is factory farming and how detrimental it is becoming to our world and the environment. Three of the most critical hazards are the increase in animal waste, minerals in the soil, and cattle methane gas. These factors are causing major pollution across the U.S and eventually the entire planet, unless changes are implemented to improve the livestock industry.

The factory farming process, which consists of cramming many animals into small spaces, produces a massive amount of animal waste (Fox, 1998, p.1). This livestock waste runs off into the soil, and sometimes into bodies of water. For example, the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem has become contaminated with fecal bacteria from agrichemical runoff produced by the high volume of livestock in the area and is affecting the livelihood of the residents (Fox, 1998, p.1). The seafood in the bay can become contaminated, as well as poisonous. In fact, in North Carolina, a potentially fatal phytoplankton was discovered in a stream that had been contaminated by hog manure (Fox, 1998, p.1). This powerful, toxic organism killed huge quantities of fish in the stream and has the capability to make humans gravely ill with very unpleasant symptoms, such as festering sores and memory loss. Many livestock systems utilize containment lagoons, which are huge pools of animal waste, but there have been many manure spills that have occurred and resulted in pollution problems (Fox, 1998, p.1). In fact, in 1996 a taxpayer-funded federal Farm Bill was passed and that allotted $20 million annually for factory farm operators. Critics saw this bull...