Thursday, February 09, 2006
United Nations Report on Environmental Impact of Industrial Animal Farms
A new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations provides a robust critique of industrial animal farms from an environmental perspective. According to the FAO: “Concentrated, large-scale livestock production often creates concentrated, large-scale environmental problems. Large industrial farms bring in massive quantities of nutrients in the form of concentrate feed. And they produce far more waste than can be recycled as fertilizer and absorbed on nearby land. When intensive livestock operations are crowded together, pollution can threaten the quality of the soil, water, air, biodiversity and ultimately public health.”
The FAO report focuses on industrial animal farms in “developing” countries, where farmed animal slaughter (meat production) grew at an average 5% per year from 1980-2004 and tripled over the entire period. The FAO report states that “the rapid growth of livestock production highlights the urgent need for effective policies to regulate intensive livestock operations.” This rapid growth of concentrated animal farming and the resulting volume of animal waste are causing severe water and land pollution, according to the report.
Specifically, the FAO says that industrial pig and poultry farms in China, Thailand, and Vietnam are the leading cause of nutrient pollution in the South China Sea. The report states that “Pig production accounts for an estimated 42% of nitrogen and 90% of phosphorus flows into the South China Sea… Run-off is severely degrading seawater and sediment quality in one of the world’s most biologically diverse marine areas.” In response to such problems, the FAO suggests that developing nations use tax policies and subsidies to discourage development of industrial animal farms, particularly near urban areas.

1. “Industrial Livestock Production near Cities often Damages the Environment,” UN / FAO, 2/2/06
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000219/index.html
2. Full Report: “Pollution from Industrialized Livestock Production,” UN / FAO, 2/2/06
PDF file (3.6 MB): http://www.fao.org/ag/AGAinfo/resources/documents/pol-briefs/02/EN/AGA02_EN_08.pdf
3. “FAO Faults Meat Production in Developing Areas,” MeatNews.com, 2/6/06
http://www.meatnews.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Article&artNum=11032
from Farmed Animal Net