The way we eat doesn't just affect our health
it affects other people's health too
hog production in north carolina
is a good example
since the mid twentieth century livestock production has shifted from
pastor based farms
to factory operations
there are hundreds to over a thousand pigs in each building
the feeders are automated
the giant fans blow the waste, gases and dust
out of the buildings
ventilation helps the pigs but it results in air pollution for their human
neighbors
many of us know more about the inhumane treatment of livestock
than about inhumane treatment of people living nearby
liquid insulted waste are flushed into open lagoons
then its sprayed out
on nearby fields
here are the three main components of a typical industrial hog operation:
the confinements
the lagoons and the spray fields
notice the house nearby in the upper right
liquid waste is supposed to stay on site but rain is a problem
North Carolina is in the path of tropical storms
in 1999 hurricane floyd affected hundreds of industrial animal
operations in eastern North Carolina
here plumes of feces and urine are streaming out of breached lagoons
and pigs are flooded out of confinement
along with the factory farms
come the slaughter houses
Smith Fields plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina
employs five thousand workers to slaughter
thirty six thousand hogs
per day
these jobs are dangerous
but workers need the money
hog, beef,
poultry, dairy and egg production are now highly industrialized
in 2010
97%
of the hogs
in the U.S. warehoused in facilities
with more than five hundred head
I study occupational and environmental health
and sometimes people call me
about problems with pollution
in 1995
I began to meet neighbors of industrial hog operations
I saw how close some neighborhoods are to hog operations like this one in the
upper right
people told me about contaminated wells
the stench from hog operations that woke them at night
and children who were mocked at school for smelling like hog waste
people also told me about the horrible odor
from dead boxes
with festering carcasses
that attracted buzzards and flies
i studied the medical literature and learned about the allergens, gases,
bacteria and viruses
released by these facilities
all of them capable of making people sick
and i talked with people like Elsie Herring
who described what it's like to live near an industrial hog operation
They're blowing animal waste on us so you really can't stay out there long enough
to do anything, you're eyes start running water, you start coughing and
gagging like you want to throw up
you know and trying to hold your breath too, at the same time trying to get to and from
your destination. They're just taking every freedom that we have away from us
and we're just supposed to become complacent and say oh this is ok this is just a
normal way of living but they're not breathing it in
I agreed with Elsie and other residents who said this was wrong
and I wanted to use my skills and resources to help document what was
happening
with other scientists from universities and government agencies
i partnered with community-based organizations
that understand hog country and are trusted by residents
in one study funded by the national institute of environmental health
sciences
we took a trailer full of air pollution monitors
to sixteen neighborhoods
where people lived within a mile and a half
of between one and sixteen
industrial hog operations.
Every week
we downloaded hourly measurements of hydrogen sulfide
a toxic gas produced by the decomposition of fecal waste
that smells like rotten eggs
we also measured concentrations of particles small enough to enter the lungs
while we measured the pollutants
groups of neighbors participated in a health study
at pre-selected times every morning and evening for two to three weeks
they sat outside on their porches for ten minutes
and rated the odor
during the past twelve hours in their diary
back inside they recorded physical symptoms
feelings of stress and anxiety
and daily activities
and they measured
their lung function and blood pressure
using these digital instruments that stored the data
What did we find?
neighbors know what hogs smell like
this graph shows average hourly odor ratings from one a.m. on the left to
midnight
on the right in yellow
see how well they tracked the hydrogen sulfide concentrations shown in red
levels of gases and particles recorded by the pollution monitors
were related to respiratory symptoms
lung function
irritation of the eyes and nose
stress and anxiety
and resident's ability to engage in daily routine activities
this figure shows that as the hog odor
during the ten minutes they spent outdoors increased from faint to moderate
to strong
participants blood pressure
measured just a little while later indoors also increased
our research is taking place in predominantly african american
communities
where people pointed out that hog factories
would never be built
in rich white communities
they said industrial hog production was another case of what's been seen
before in North Carolina
environmental racism
industrial hog production began in the 1970s
as the number of factory farms increased
and small farmers were driven out of business
the size of North Carolina's herd increase dramatically
by the late 1990s when a moratorium was put into place after a
hog operation tried to locate nearby golf courses and country clubs
there were ten million hogs in North Carolina
sadly the moratorium didn't stop the existing pollution
each of these hog operations holds a permit from the state of north carolina
that allows them to store fecal waste in open pits
and spray it out where people like Else live
eastern north carolina also has high proportions of people of color
and many of the poorest communities in the state
but dumping on communities that lack political power
doesn't just affect low-income people of color
maybe you're thinking
this doesn't affect me
but industrial livestock production affects us all
industrial producers use antibiotics to promote livestock growth
which selects for bacteria that are resistant to drugs needed to treat
human infections
unlike traditional farms were animal wastes are recycled to produce feed for
the next generation of livestock
grain is shipped from faraway to supply factory farms
this results in overloading of nitrogen and phosphorus and pollution of
rivers
coastal waters, contamination of groundwater and fish kills
air pollution from livestock production especially methane
contributes to greenhouse gases
and climate change
to make matters worse global corporations are expanding
industrial livestock production
around the world
those of us with means and opportunity can change the way we eat
we can buy local produce and meat
we can support farmers who treat their animals humanely
minimize environmental impacts
and promote local economy
but you know what
that's not gonna change the system
even if sustainably produced meat were available
most people can't afford it
we need to support local and organic farming
but we can't change industrial production
just by buying local and organic
to change the system
we need to support the communities that are directly impacted
while pushing our political leaders to promote small
and medium size farms
we need to insist
that industrial producers
pay for their damages
to human health and the environment
this starts with increasing and enforcing regulations on polluters
ending the use of antibiotics as growth promoters
and creating a fair playing field for local producers
rather than monopolies for global corporations
neighbors of north carolina hog operations are fighting back
they're protesting in small towns
and at the state capitol
we need to fight back too
luckily
there are groups like the north carolina environmental justice network
and food and water watch
working everyday to promote sustainable farming
and an end to agricultural practices that threaten us all
the more of us who join this movement
the quicker we can bring about an agriculture system
that is more socially just
and environmentally sustainable
and remember
the way we eat
doesn't just affect our health
it affects the health of other people too