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Fact Sheet: The Environmental, Public Health, And Social Impacts Of Pig Factory Farming
Fact Sheet: The Environmental, Public Health, And Social Impacts Of Pig Factory Farming
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Biosecurity Challenges Of Industrial Farm Animal Production
Biosecurity Challenges Of Industrial Farm Animal Production
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, Chickens 1960‐2013
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, Chickens 1960‐2013
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, By Species (Excluding Poultry) 1960‐2013
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, By Species (Excluding Poultry) 1960‐2013
Agribusiness Reports
These data do not include statistics on the slaughter of fish, crustaceans, rabbits, and other farmed animals for whom the USDA does not provide information, or on the slaughter of animals who are not farmed, such as equines. The USDA estimates that up to 2 million rabbits were slaughtered in 2001 in the United States. There is no more recent report than the 2002 Rabbit Industry Profile.
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, By Species (Excluding Chickens) 1960‐2013
Chart: Us Slaughter Totals, By Species (Excluding Chickens) 1960‐2013
Agribusiness Reports
These data do not include statistics on the slaughter of fish, crustaceans, rabbits, and other farmed animals for whom the USDA does not provide information, or on the slaughter of animals who are not farmed, such as equines. The USDA estimates that up to 2 million rabbits were slaughtered in 2001 in the United States. There is no more recent report than the 2002 Rabbit Industry Profile.
The Welfare Of Animals In The Chicken Industry
The Welfare Of Animals In The Chicken Industry
Agribusiness Reports
More than 8.5 billion chickens are slaughtered for meat production in the United States every year. Raised in industrial production systems, these animals experience crowded indoor confinement, unnatural lighting regimes, poor air quality, stressful handling and transportation, and inadequate stunning and slaughter procedures. Because they are selectively bred for rapid growth, broiler chickens are prone to a variety of severe skeletal and metabolic disorders that can cause suffering, pain, and even death. Broiler breeders, the parent birds of chickens raised for meat, are subjected to severe feed restriction, and males may undergo painful toe and beak amputations, performed without pain …
Industrial Farm Animal Production And Livestock Associated Mrsa (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)
Agribusiness Reports
Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bacterial infection and is increasingly found to be resistant to antibiotic therapy. A newly described type of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus carried by farm animals, Livestock Associated MRSA (LA-MRSA), is now causing infections in humans with and without direct livestock contact. A reduction in the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in feed would likely reduce the capacity of industrial animal agriculture to continue to create, disseminate, and perpetuate a large reservoir of LA-MRSA on a global scale, but more fundamental changes in the way animals are raised for food may be necessary forestall a …
The Public Health Implications Of Intensive Farm Animal Production In South Asia
The Public Health Implications Of Intensive Farm Animal Production In South Asia
Agribusiness Reports
Intensive farm animal production (IFAP) is being increasingly implemented to meet the rising demand for animal source foods in South Asia. The siting of IFAP facilities in urban or peri-urban areas leads to large proximate animal populations, increasing human exposure to pollutants and pathogens. Improperly managed wastes from IFAP facilities and abattoirs can contaminate water with excess nutrients, pathogens, veterinary pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, heavy metals, and hormones, and can release ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds, bioaerosols, and particulate matter into the air compartment. The unregulated nature of IFAP in South Asia creates a risk for zoonotic transmission, including anthrax, brucellosis, …
Welfare Issues With Gestation Crates For Pregnant Sows
Welfare Issues With Gestation Crates For Pregnant Sows
Agribusiness Reports
Throughout nearly the entirety of their 112-115 day pregnancies, most breeding sows in the United States are confined in gestation crates (also known as sow stalls)—individual metal enclosures so restrictive that the pigs cannot turn around. Crated sows suffer a number of significant welfare problems, including elevated risk of urinary tract infections, weakened bones, overgrown hooves, lameness, behavioral restriction, and stereotypies. Due to concerns for the welfare of intensively confined sows, legislative, industry, and corporate policies are increasingly phasing out the use of gestation crates.
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Hen Eggs (2012)
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Hen Eggs (2012)
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Chickens & Chicken Meat (2012)
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Chickens & Chicken Meat (2012)
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Pigs & Pig Meat (2012)
Chart: Top 10 Global Producers Of Pigs & Pig Meat (2012)
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
Welfare Issues With Tail Docking Of Cows In The Dairy Industry
Welfare Issues With Tail Docking Of Cows In The Dairy Industry
Agribusiness Reports
Banned in several European countries, as well as three US states, and opposed and criticized by the American Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, experts, scientists, and representatives of industry, tail docking of cows in the dairy industry—the partial amputation of up to two-thirds of the tail, typically performed without anesthetic—is still permitted in most of the United States. Scientific studies have shown the practice to cause serious welfare problems for animals, including distress, pain, and increased fly attacks.
The Welfare Of Animals In The Veal Industry
The Welfare Of Animals In The Veal Industry
Agribusiness Reports
Intensive confinement of calves raised for veal has long raised pointed concerns regarding the animals’ welfare. Traditional production practices include individually isolating calves in narrow wooden stalls or pens, which severely restrict movement, feeding the animals an all-liquid diet deliberately low in iron, and prematurely weaning the animals. Stressful conditions lead to a high incidence of stereotypic behavior and illness. Scientific reviews of the welfare of intensively confined calves raised for veal have concluded that the young animals suffer when reared in conventional systems.
The Welfare Of Intensively Confined Animals In Battery Cages, Gestation Crates, And Veal Crates
The Welfare Of Intensively Confined Animals In Battery Cages, Gestation Crates, And Veal Crates
Agribusiness Reports
Within U.S. animal agriculture, the majority of egg-laying hens, pregnant sows, and calves raised for veal are reared in battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates, respectively. The intensive confinement of these production systems severely impairs the animals’ welfare, as they are unable to exercise, fully extend their limbs, or engage in many important natural behaviors. As a result of the severe restriction within these barren confinement systems, animals can experience significant and prolonged physical and psychological assaults. Indeed, extensive scientific evidence shows that intensively confined farm animals are frustrated, distressed, and suffering.
Food Safety Risks Associated With U.S. Horse Slaughter
Food Safety Risks Associated With U.S. Horse Slaughter
Agribusiness Reports
Meat originating from U.S. horses may contain residues from substances banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Union for use in animals intended for consumption. Phenylbutazone, for example, is commonly administered to U.S. horses and has been associated with life-threatening reactions in humans. Requiring a thorough drug history for each U.S. horse intended for human consumption may help circumvent human health risks.
The Welfare Of Animals In The Foie Gras Industry
The Welfare Of Animals In The Foie Gras Industry
Agribusiness Reports
The production of pâté de foie gras involves force-feeding ducks and geese by placing a long tube down the birds’ esophagi and pumping an unnatural quantity of food directly into their stomachs. Force-feeding induces hepatic lipidosis and causes the birds’ livers to become diseased and enlarged. Substantial scientific evidence suggests that force-feeding can cause pain and injury from feeding tube insertion, fear and stress during capture and handling, gait abnormality due to distended livers, pathologies in liver function, and increased mortality. Force-feeding birds to produce foie gras is detrimental to their welfare.
The Welfare Of Calves In The Beef Industry
The Welfare Of Calves In The Beef Industry
Agribusiness Reports
Calves raised for beef often begin life unconfined, on rangeland where they are free to express their natural behavior. However, the welfare of calves can be compromised by certain specific management practices, typical on many ranching operations. These include castration of male calves, dehorning, and branding, all of which are usually performed without anesthesia or analgesia, pain relief of any kind. Welfare is also a concern during weaning, handling, auction, and transport, common stressful events that occur before calves are moved to feedlots. Techniques to minimize pain and distress should be used or further developed in order to address the …
Food Safety And Cage Egg Production
Food Safety And Cage Egg Production
Agribusiness Reports
States have begun legislating against cage egg production and dozens of major U.S. food retailers, restaurant chains, and foodservice providers—as well as hundreds of U.S. universities—are switching to cage-free eggs. Extensive scientific evidence strongly suggests this trend will improve food safety. All sixteen scientific studies published in the last five years comparing Salmonella contamination between caged and cage-free operations found that those confining hens in cages had higher rates of Salmonella, the leading cause of food poisoning related death in the United States. This has led prominent consumer advocacy organizations, such as the Center for Food Safety, to oppose the …
The Economics Of Adopting Alternatives To Gestation Crate Confinement Of Sows
The Economics Of Adopting Alternatives To Gestation Crate Confinement Of Sows
Agribusiness Reports
No abstract provided.
The Impact Of Industrial Farm Animal Production On Food Security In The Developing World
The Impact Of Industrial Farm Animal Production On Food Security In The Developing World
Agribusiness Reports
Food security is often incorrectly used as a justification for the inhumane confinement of animals on industrial farm animal production facilities, while in reality, the industrialization of animal agriculture jeopardizes food security by degrading the environment, threatening human health, and diminishing income-earning opportunities in rural areas. Support from governments and international agencies for more humane and sustainable agricultural systems can ensure adequate food consumption and nutrition throughout the developing world.
Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza
Human Health Implications Of Intensive Poultry Production And Avian Influenza
Agribusiness Reports
The high stocking density, stress, unhygienic conditions, lack of sunlight, and breeding practices typical of industrial poultry and egg production systems may facilitate the emergence and spread of diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with public health implications such as H5N1.
The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In India: A Focus On Methane
The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In India: A Focus On Methane
Agribusiness Reports
Animal agriculture inefficiently consumes natural resources, contributes to deforestation, and produces immense quantities of animal waste, threatening water and air quality and contributing to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated in 2006 that animal agriculture was responsible for 18% of global, anthropogenic, or human-induced, greenhouse gas emissions and was ―by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land. Climate change poses significant challenges to India‘s agricultural sector, which is already facing increased competition for land and water.
The Welfare Of Piglets In The Pig Industry
The Welfare Of Piglets In The Pig Industry
Agribusiness Reports
Pig production has changed dramatically over the last several decades, and most piglets are now raised on industrialized commercial operations that confine thousands of animals on one site. In these facilities, piglets are born and reared under conditions that dramatically contrast with the natural environment they are biologically adapted to fit. In nature, a mother sow builds a nest of twigs and leaves for the birth of her litter, and, after several days, the piglets gradually begin to leave the nest, explore their environment by rooting and nibbling, and slowly integrate into a larger family group. Piglets on commercial production …
The Welfare Of Animals In The Pig Industry
The Welfare Of Animals In The Pig Industry
Agribusiness Reports
The discordance between the behavioral needs of pigs and the life afforded to those raised commercially for the meat industry has created many animal welfare problems. Methods of pig production have changed substantially over the last several decades, and industrialized confinement operations have largely overtaken small, diversified farms. Overcrowded in indoor, barren environments, pigs in commercial production facilities are offered little opportunity to display their full range of complex social, foraging, and exploratory behavior. Behavioral abnormalities, such as tail-biting and aggression, arise due to environmental and social deficiencies. Poor air quality and intensive confinement may lead to health problems, and …
Welfare Issues With Furnished Cages For Egg-Laying Hens
Welfare Issues With Furnished Cages For Egg-Laying Hens
Agribusiness Reports
Furnished cages were developed in response to criticisms about conventional battery-cage confinement of laying hens in commercial egg production. Battery cages—small, barren, wire enclosures—restrictively confine the birds, depriving them of the opportunity to display many important patterns of behavior. In contrast, furnished cages are typically equipped with a nest box, perch, and dustbathing area, thereby providing more behavioral outlets than conventional cages. However, similar to conventional battery cages, furnished cages provide an unacceptably limited amount of space per bird; prevent many important locomotory activities, including running, jumping, flying, and wing-flapping; and constrain perching, dustbathing, and nesting. The severe locomotory restriction …
Understanding Mortality Rates Of Laying Hens In Cage-Free Egg Production Systems
Understanding Mortality Rates Of Laying Hens In Cage-Free Egg Production Systems
Agribusiness Reports
In cage-free egg production systems, concerns have been raised over hen mortality rates. High mortality is an obvious indicator of poor welfare, and problems should be addressed without delay. It is important to note, however, that mortality can vary substantially between hen flocks, and that some cage-free systems have healthy flocks that do not suffer substantial death losses. These systems can serve as models for the rest of the industry, since mortality is not inherent to any particular system, but a consequence of how well the system is managed.
Adopting A Cage-Free Production Policy For Animal Products In Brazil
Adopting A Cage-Free Production Policy For Animal Products In Brazil
Agribusiness Reports
Farm animal welfare is becoming an important concern for governments, producers, and consumers worldwide. In particular, intensive confinement systems, such as battery cages and gestation crates, have been acknowledged as severely impairing to the physical comfort and expression of natural behaviors of animals. The European Union and select states in the United States have already passed bills eliminating these housing systems over the next several years. Numerous international retail and food production companies, including Burger King (North America), Smithfield Foods, and McDonald’s (Europe) are committed to gradually eliminating the use and sale of eggs and pork produced via intensive confinement …
The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In Brazil
The Impact Of Animal Agriculture On The Environment And Climate Change In Brazil
Agribusiness Reports
The intensification of farm animal production in industrialized agricultural systems, or factory farms, compromises animal welfare and degrades the environment. Animal agriculture inefficiently consumes natural resources, contributes to deforestation, and produces immense quantities of animal waste, threatening water and air quality and contributing to climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated in 2006 that animal agriculture was responsible for 18% of global, anthropogenic, or humaninduced, greenhouse gas emissions and was ―by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land."
Welfare Issues With Conventional Manual Catching Of Broiler Chickens And Turkeys
Welfare Issues With Conventional Manual Catching Of Broiler Chickens And Turkeys
Agribusiness Reports
Approximately 9 billion chickens and 270 million turkeys are raised for meat annually in the United States. When these farmed birds reach market weight, they must be caught and crated for transport from production facilities to slaughter plants. Conventional manual catching results in severely compromised welfare. Birds experience stress and fear, and can be physically harmed, suffering bruises, broken bones, dislocated joints, and other injuries. Alternatives to conventional manual catching practices that improve bird welfare exist, including mechanical harvesters, gentle manual catching, and, for turkeys, herding into specially designed transport crates.