Your County Has More Animal Feeding Operations Than You Think

Today, new data from Food and Water Watch shows that from California to Maryland, animals are producing more waste than humans.

The trick of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is their inconspicuousness to the average driver. Often set back from the road, these large, rectangular structures appear to look like massive sheds. That is, until, you stop the car, roll down the windows, and take a deep breath in.

Today, Food and Water Watch released maps and a report detailing the concentration of CAFOs throughout the country. The takeaways are pretty clear: CAFOs are only becoming a more and more central component of American agriculture. Iowa animals produce 25 times as much waste as its people. California animals produce 85 billion pounds of waste per year — 1.5 times more than its sizable human population.

A presumed concentrated animal feeding operation as captured via satellite from Google Earth. According to their website, this farm houses ONE MILLION “cage-free” hens. https://www.versova.com/ovation-farms/

The top ten states with the most factory farm waste are:

1. Iowa: 109 billion pounds annually — 25x the state’s human waste

2. Texas: 102 billion pounds annually — 2.5x the state’s human waste