The Issues: Community

 

Industrial farms not only produce foods that are potentially harmful to our health, but they also negatively affect local economies, community health and the surrounding environment.

sustainable TableLocal Economies
Agribusiness often claims that its presence will have a positive impact on a local economy by creating new jobs and investing in the community. Recent experience, however, has shown that when large-scale farms enter communities and replace small farmers, they can actually create a downturn in the local economy.

For example, a Michigan study demonstrated that small hog farms proportionately spend almost 50% more at local businesses than large farms do, primarily because the larger farms buy feed in bulk from sources outside of the community Since factory farms are vertically-integrated, farm materials are bought within the corporation, rather than at the local feed or hardware store. In addition, industrial farms are often too large to be locally-supplied, so they must buy feed and other materials in bulk from distant suppliers. For example, Wisconsin dairy farmers – who traditionally grew their own feed on the same land where they kept their cows - have turned to importing feed because there isn’t enough local acreage for both cows and crops.ii

Despite the fact that industrial farms invest less in local economies than small farms, they could still boost local economies by increasing property values and tax revenue. Yet numerous studies have shown that property values are often negatively affected by large-scale livestock production, mostly due to undesirable and highly unpleasant odors coming from their facilities. An Iowa study showed that property values dropped approximately ten percent when large confined animal feeding operations were opened upwind of those properties.iii One Missouri study indicated that homes and businesses located within .1 miles of an industrial farm had property values as much as a fifth lower than those 3 miles away.iv Another study of communities in Missouri demonstrated that houses located within one tenth of a mile of an industrial farm lost as much as 88 percent of their value.v

There is almost no data showing how industrial agricultural facilities affect tax revenues, but some evidence suggests that the effect is negative. One Iowa study of hog farms suggested that local and state revenues increase when herd sizes grow toward 300 sows, and then decline as the herd size approaches 3,400.vi Another report estimated that a 20,000-head cattle feedlot could have a large impact on local roads because of the constant transport of cattle in and out of the facility, and the funding required to maintain those roads would offset any increased tax revenues from the farm.vii

As recently as 2004, the U.S. agricultural industry consistently experienced record profits,viii but this agricultural boom did not create more opportunities for the average farmer or rural worker. The percentage of the rural workforce employed on farms dropped by about half in the 1980s and 1990s.ix Some of these job losses might be offset by increased opportunities in processing plants or related industries, but those new jobs are often located far away, so the workers located near the farms do not have access to them.

While many physical problems have been linked to factory farm runoff and air pollution, there is evidence that psychological and social problems can also result from living close to such facilities. xix Studies suggest that symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and mood disturbances occur in higher proportions near confined animal feeding operations.xx Several studies also suggest that the presence of industrial farms can cause an increase in disputes between neighbors and the loss of social status, mutual trust, social cohesiveness, and other measures of “social capital.”xxi A study of one Oklahoma county from 1990 to 1997—a period in which large-scale hog farming was being introduced—indicated dramatic increases in violent crime, theft, and civil court cases. Counties which did not experience such changes in agricultural practices had decreases in all of those problems during the same period.xxii

Fly infestations and light pollution are two of the many negative effects that industrial livestock facilities have on rural communities. These nuisances are not only damaging to quality of life of neighbors, but can also harm human health.

Community Health
Factory farms directly affect community health by introducing potentially hazardous substances into the air and water. Air pollutants such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and particulate matter are released in significant quantities by these large confined animal feeding operations, and all have the potential to negatively affect their surrounding communities.xii People living near hog farms, for example, often have increased respiratory problems, most likely due to the large quantities of ammonia emitted by those types of facilities.xiii One recent study indicates that children attending schools located near industrial farms may be at a higher risk for asthma.xiv

Large farms also often pollute local water sources, mainly through the release of nitrates and nitrites from chemical fertilizers.xv A study of almost 2,000 wells across the country showed that 9 percent of domestic wells and 2 percent of public-supply wells had nitrate concentrations in excess of the EPA’s maximum contaminant level.xvi Nitrate poisoning can cause dangerously low blood-oxygen levels in babies (or blue-baby syndrome), spontaneous abortions, and possibly cancer.xvii This is an especially serious problem in rural communities, because rural Americans are heavily reliant on ground-water and domestic wells.xviii

“Industrial Farming and Your Health”

The New York Times ran a front-page story in May 2003 about the health problems associated with industrial livestock farms. The following excerpt provides a few examples of the many health problems that industrial agriculture can cause:

“Paul Isbell of Houston, Miss., started experiencing seizures after a hog farm moved in down the road. Jeremiah Burns of Hubbardston, Mich., now carries a six-pound oxygen tank with him. Kevin Pearson of Meservey, Iowa, carried a towel in his car because he vomited five or six times a week on his way to work. Julie Jansen's six children suffered flulike symptoms and diarrhea when farms moved into their neighborhood in Renville, Minn. One of Ms. Jansen's daughters was found . . . to have neurological damage. She has problems with balance and has lost some feeling in her fingers.”xix

While many physical problems have been linked to factory farm runoff and air pollution, there is evidence that psychological and social problems can also result from living close to such facilities. Studies suggest that symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and mood disturbances occur in higher proportions near confined animal feeding operations.xx Several studies also suggest that the presence of industrial farms can cause an increase in disputes between neighbors and the loss of social status, mutual trust, social cohesiveness, and other measures of “social capital.”xxi A study of one Oklahoma county from 1990 to 1997—a period in which large-scale hog farming was being introduced—indicated dramatic increases in violent crime, theft, and civil court cases. Counties which did not experience such changes in agricultural practices had decreases in all of those problems during the same period.xxii

Local Environment
Industrial farms also take a toll on the environment in ways that affect the local community even when they don’t pose an immediate threat to human health. For example, the particulate matter emitted from such farms contributes greatly to haze.xxiii Foul odors—which are always a nuisance, but which may or may not be hazardous—are almost always emitted by large livestock operations. Ammonia emitted from farms can contribute to haze, loss in forest production, and a loss in biodiversity.xxiv The nitric oxides produced in large quantities by farms, especially in manure application,xxv are among the leading sources of acid rain.xxvi

Phosphorous and nitrogen pollution from fertilizers can cause fish kills, toxic algae blooms, and other significant changes in water systems.xxvii Metals such as copper, zinc, lead, chromium, arsenic and cadmium are often added to animal feed, and when they are excreted through manure they often end up on fields as part of fertilizers.xxviii They are all toxic to humans. Some of these metals, like copperixxx and cadmiumxxx, can be directly absorbed by crops, and most of them can pollute drinking water as they either seep into groundwater or exit the fields along with other harmful pollutants via water runoff.

What You Can Do
The best way to keep factory farms out of communities is by purchasing foods directly from small farmers. You can check out the Eat Well Guide to locate sources of sustainable meat and dairy in your area, and visit farmers markets, farm stands, or join a CSA group to keep small farms afloat and factory farms out.

Another way to build community around food and sustainable farming is by hosting a sustainable community event. Once you’ve found your local farmer, get your friends and neighbors together to celebrate and support local farms!

Finally, if your community is being threatened by a proposed factory farm or a factory farm that’s already in place, visit the GRACE Factory Farm Project and gather the tools you need to overcome this negative presence.

Did You Know?

  • Odor alone—even if the individual chemicals that cause it are not hazardous—can cause adverse health effects in certain situations.xxxi
  • About 1/3 of all U.S. farms are located within metropolitan areas, comprising 18% of the total U.S. farmland.xxxii
  • The rural population of the U.S. (as measured by percentage of the total population) has declined every decennial census since 1820, most markedly over the twentieth century.xxxiii The total number of people living on farms has also fallen over the twentieth century—especially after 1940—as has the percentage of the U.S. labor force working on farms.xxxiv

For More Information
Visit the GRACE Factory Farm Project to learn about what communities are doing to fight industrial farms.

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