A concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO – better known as a factory farm – is a facility where large numbers of animals are raised in confined, cramped conditions. A few decades ago, CAFOs were very uncommon. Today, the vast majority of farm animals in the U.S. are raised in CAFOs. Over the course of this four-part series, we’ll learn about how factory farms took over the American agriculture system, what effect they’ve had on rural communities in the Midwest, and we’ll meet some of the farmers, advocates and rural organizers fighting against them as part of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. How to Fight a Factory Farm is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. This feed also includes IATP’s two previous podcast series, Uprooted: Talking COP27 and The Farm Bill Uprooted.
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A concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO – better known as a factory farm – is a facility where large numbers of animals are raised in confined, cramped conditions. A few decades ago, CAFOs were very uncommon. Today, the vast majority of farm animals in the U.S. are raised in CAFOs. Over the course of this four-part series, we’ll learn about how factory farms took over the American agriculture system, what effect they’ve had on rural communities in the Midwest, and we’ll meet some of the farmers, advocates and rural organizers fighting against them as part of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. How to Fight a Factory Farm is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. This feed also includes IATP’s two previous podcast series, Uprooted: Talking COP27 and The Farm Bill Uprooted.
What is a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), and what does it mean that nearly all farm animals in the U.S. are now raised in them? Factory farms are a major change from how livestock was traditionally raised, and the billions of gallons of manure produced by these facilities are causing major problems for neighbors, the environment and anyone downstream. Independent family farmers and rural communities are facing the brunt of these consequences, but they're not going to take it lying down.
In this episode, hear from Rebecca Wolf, Senior Food Policy Analyst at Food and Water Watch, along with Iowa CCI's Barb Kalbach and Dakota Rural Action's Kathy Tyler on the pollution crisis created by factory farms, and what it means for those living nearby.
References and further reading
The CAFO Next Door, REAMP Network, June 2024
Factory Farm Nation: 2024 Edition, Food and Water Watch
Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry, Austin Frerick, 2024
US Factory Farming Estimates, Sentience Institute, 2019
Environmental Regulation of Hog Feeding Operations, Chen, C.-T. and G. Lade, Iowa State University, 2018
Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs), EPA, 2024
How to Fight a Factory Farm is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. Thank you to our intern, Anna Karns, for her assistance producing this series, and to Noah Earle for the use of his song “Fry an Egg” for our theme music. Learn more about the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment at fightfactoryfarms.org.
How to Fight a Factory Farm
A concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO – better known as a factory farm – is a facility where large numbers of animals are raised in confined, cramped conditions. A few decades ago, CAFOs were very uncommon. Today, the vast majority of farm animals in the U.S. are raised in CAFOs. Over the course of this four-part series, we’ll learn about how factory farms took over the American agriculture system, what effect they’ve had on rural communities in the Midwest, and we’ll meet some of the farmers, advocates and rural organizers fighting against them as part of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. How to Fight a Factory Farm is produced by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment. This feed also includes IATP’s two previous podcast series, Uprooted: Talking COP27 and The Farm Bill Uprooted.
