page_title: Environmental impact of pig farming
hierarchical_section_title: Environmental impact of pig farming
caption_attribution_description: One measure used to reduce odor associated with animal waste lagoons is to pump the affluent directly under the water.
context_page_description: The environmental impact of pig farming refers to the threats posed to the natural environment by large-scale intensive pig farming. Industrial pig farming, a subset of concentrated animal feeding operations, poses numerous threats to the environment. CAFOs house thousands of swine and other farm animals in confined areas, where feces and waste often spread to surrounding neighborhoods, polluting air and water with toxic waste particles. Waste from these farms have the potential to carry pathogens, bacteria, and heavy metals that can be toxic when ingested. Pig waste also contributes to groundwater pollution in the forms of groundwater seepage and waste spray, which is essentially the usage of a sprinkler to spray vats of pig waste into neighboring areas. The contents in the spray and waste drift have been shown to cause mucosal irritation, respiratory ailment, increased stress, decreased quality of life, and higher blood pressure. This improper way to get rid of waste is an attempt for CAFOs to be cost efficient.
context_section_description: The environmental impact of pig farming refers to the threats posed to the natural environment by large-scale intensive pig farming. Industrial pig farming, a subset of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), poses numerous threats to the environment. CAFOs house thousands of swine and other farm animals in confined areas, where feces and waste often spread to surrounding neighborhoods, polluting air and water with toxic waste particles. Waste from these farms have the potential to carry pathogens, bacteria (often antibiotic resistant), and heavy metals that can be toxic when ingested. Pig waste also contributes to groundwater pollution in the forms of groundwater seepage and waste spray, which is essentially the usage of a sprinkler to spray vats of pig waste into neighboring areas. The contents in the spray and waste drift have been shown to cause mucosal irritation, respiratory ailment, increased stress, decreased quality of life, and higher blood pressure. This improper way to get rid of waste is an attempt for CAFOs to be cost efficient. This presents an environmental injustice problem, since the communities do not receive any benefit from the operations, and instead, suffer negative externalities, such as pollution and health problems. The Agriculture and Consumer Health Department has stated explicitly that the "main direct environmental impact of pig production is related to the manure produced.
caption: Farms often pump their animal waste directly into a large lagoon, which has environmental consequences.
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