"Rudy Canoza" <rudy-canoza.RemoveThis@excite.com> wrote in message news:aWFAh.2092$Jl.1653@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> pearl wrote:
>
> > "The National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production
> > is holding a series of public hearings around the country on
factory farming. The task of the Commission, an independent
entity launched by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health, is to examine the impact of factory farming on
public health, the environment, rural areas, and animal welfare.
Its final report and recommendations could be very influential,
so it is important for the Commission to hear from family
farmers, citizens in communities affected by factory farming,
and others who have particular knowledge of the issues. To
learn of hearing dates and locations, and sign up to speak visit:
http://www.ncifap.org/meetings/
> Off topic for almost all the groups
On topic, but you just _had_ to make ~some~ comment.
'Public Health
New public health concerns surrounding farm animals include
food borne diseases caused by bacteria like E. coli and
Salmonella that have a major public health impact in the United
States. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) estimates
5,000 deaths and 76 million cases of food borne illness annually.
The FDA reports that bacterial food borne disease is a growing
problem worldwide and has been addressed in many reviews
and reports on the topic. Other pathogens that are of grave
concern include avian influenza and mad cow disease.
There are also public health concerns surrounding animal hormones.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there is a
potential for natural and synthetic steroid hormones (e.g. estrogens,
androgens, progestins) found in concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFOs) waste to reach groundwater aquifers and
surface waters through a multitude of pathways (e.g. surface runoff,
leaching from holding tanks and lagoons and composting facilities).
Scientists say the occurrence of hormonally-active agents in surface
water is of increasing concern worldwide, and has led to a growing
awareness that human and wildlife health might be negatively
impacted by hormones in the environment.
These and other public health concerns may stem from industrial
animal production systems, which with some producers include
the use of antibiotics as growth promoters. The FDA says the
emergence of antimicrobial resistant and multi-drug resistant
bacteria are evident in both humans and animals.
http://www.ncifap.org/issues/public_health/
'Impact on Rural Communities
As traditional farms dwindle and the number of large farms grows,
rural America is dealing with dramatic economic and social shifts.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
in 1950 40 percent of people in rural areas lived on farms. Now
USDA statistics reveal that less than 10 percent of the rural
population lives on farms and that only 14 percent of the rural
workforce is employed in agriculture.
Conditions in rural America vary greatly. Some rural areas within
commuting distances to big cities are thriving. Many are attracting
retirees and high-income professionals willing to commute. More
remote rural communities are not faring as well. According to the
USDA, in 2003 14.2 percent of the population living in rural
America, or 7.5 million people, were poor, while the poverty rate
in metropolitan areas was 12.1 percent, a disparity that has been
constant for several decades.
A 2001 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report found
that declines in farming and opposition to industrializing trends
in agriculture are compelling rural areas to seek new job sources.
The report goes on to say that manufacturing, which has been
a major focus of rural economic development over the last 40
years, is now also threatened by increasing low-wage
international competition.
Some rural residents do not welcome large feeding operations
in their communities, often because of the odors associated
with concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Although
large farms create jobs and can add to local economies, a 2001
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental
assessment found that the heavy odors emitted from some
CAFOs can reduce property values for nearby homes.
http://www.ncifap.org/issues/rural_communities/
'Environment
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), agricultural operations, including animal confinement
operations, are a significant source of water pollution. States
estimate that agriculture contributes to the impairment of at least
173,629 river miles, 3,183,159 lake acres and 2,971 estuary miles.
Twenty-two states cited impacts of specific types of agriculture
on rivers and streams and attributed 20 percent of agricultural
impairments to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
The EPA says these findings, as well as waste spills, excessive
runoff, leaking storage lagoons and odor problems, have
heightened public awareness of environmental impacts from
animal feeding operations (AFOs.)
The Size of Pollution Concerns
According to the EPA:
- an estimated 1.3 million U.S. farms currently hold livestock
about 238,000 of these farms are considered AFOs
- AFOs generate more than 500 million tons of animal waste
annually
- animal waste can pose substantial risks to the environment
and public health
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cites a
report compiled by the Minority Staff of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry for Senator
Tom Harkin (D-IA) revealing that the 1.37 billion tons of
solid animal waste produced every year in the U.S. is 130 times
greater than the amount of human waste-a total of 5 tons for
every human being in the country.
Sources of Possible Manure Pollutants
- direct discharge
- open feedlots
- pastures
- treatment and storage lagoons
- manure stockpiles
- land application fields
What AFO Pollution Can Do
The EPA says that AFO pollutants can result in fish kills and
reduced biodiversity and that nitrogen and phosphorus
pollution can contribute to algae blooms, which can then lead
to a number of negative health effects in animals and humans.
Human and animal health can also be harmed by the pathogens
and nitrogen in animal waste. Nitrogen in manure is easily
transformed into nitrate form. The EPA found that nitrate is the
most widespread agricultural contaminant in drinking water wells
and estimates that 4.5 million people are exposed to elevated
nitrate levels from drinking water wells. Nitrate, if it finds its
way into the groundwater, can potentially be fatal to infants.
Airborne Emissions Concerns
The trend toward larger, more concentrated production
operations has meant that odors and other airborne emissions
are rapidly becoming an important issue for agricultural
producers, says the EPA. Odor emissions from animal
production systems originate from three primary sources:
- manure storage facilities
- animal housing
- land application of manure
The EPA says the question of whether airborne emissions
from animal operations are adversely affecting human health
is still being debated; however, anecdotal reports about
health problems and quality-of-life factors for those living
near animal facilities have been documented.
http://www.ncifap.org/issues/environment/
'Animal Health and Well-Being
The health and well-being of farm animals is an important
and often hotly contested issue. The United States
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agriculture Research
Service says it's important to learn how to measure animal
well-being so that producers and consumers will have the
information they need to evaluate management practices and
determine which techniques best assure the well-being of
food animals.
Concerns regarding the well-being of farm animals include,
but are not limited to, the use of battery cages for laying hens
and of crates for pregnant sows and veal calves. Another
concern often expressed is whether confinement operations
limit animals' ability to live naturally and if this has subsequent
effects of the quality of meat produced.
Understanding how food animals are affected by the stress
caused by social and environmental factors could help
improve both production efficiency and animal well-being.
The USDA points out that such research will benefit animals,
producers and, ultimately, consumers by reducing animal
health-care costs and by improving food-production efficiencies.
Finally, the USDA cautions that a lack of sensitivity to animal
welfare issues could fuel negative domestic marketing and, in
world markets, be turned into an artificial trade barrier to animal
products.
http://www.ncifap.org/issues/animal_health_well_being/
> you chose to pollute with this crap.
'Bullies project their inadequacies, shortcomings, behaviours
etc on to other people to avoid facing up to their inadequacy
and doing something about it (learning about oneself can be
painful), and to distract and divert attention away from
themselves and their inadequacies. Projection is achieved
through blame, criticism and allegation; once you realise this,
every criticism, allegation etc that the bully makes about their
target is actually an admission or revelation about themselves.
....'
http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm >> Stay informed about: Fw: Public hearings on factory farming, sign up to speak. 
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