We Can Actually Ban Factory Farms

In May of 2018, Food & Water Watch became the first national organization to call for a ban on factory farms. Today, we’re proud to support a bill from Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) that lays out a plan to accomplish exactly that. This critical and groundbreaking piece of legislation, the Farm System Reform Act, would place an immediate moratorium - or “pause” - on construction of new or expanding factory farms (large confined animal feeding operations, also known as CAFOs) with a phaseout of existing large facilities by 2040. This is huge. TWEET

The bill also includes a long list of reforms that will make it possible for independent family-scale producers —or family farmers as they’re often known — to make a fair living raising animals the right way. As far as existing factory farms → it even includes a path to transition those to alternative and healthy farming systems.

What a factory farm ban will look like:

When we called for a factory farm ban in 2018 we urged bold action to address this crisis. Our asks included:

• Factory farm bans on both the federal and state levels to ultimately stop the creation of new factory farm operations and prohibit the expansion of existing factory farms
• Federal, state and local government enforcement of environmental laws on existing factory farms, including holding vertically integrated companies responsible for the pollution created by the animals they own
• Federal and state government support for the transition of existing factory farm operations and contract growers to diversified operations that can serve regional markets

The Farm System Reform Act will accomplish these objectives by overhauling the fundamental structure of our food system. It couldn’t be more urgent.

A factory farm ban is critical for the climate 

There is a long list of ways factory farms harm our rural communities, our air and water, workers, and put our food safety at risk. One of their worst harms is greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock production currently makes up an estimated 14.5% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing the greenhouse gas emissions of the agriculture sector is critical to stopping climate change. An emerging body of evidence shows that smaller farms are more suited to adapting a host of low-emissions practices that will be essential to reducing the impact of livestock production. To get to a world where it’s possible to make a living as a small independent livestock farmer, we need to totally upend the broken system we have right now.

Our current food system is broken

Livestock production has changed significantly over the past several decades. Small and medium-sized independent farms that raise food animals have been pushed out by factory farms that house thousands of animals in crowded spaces. These operations produce enormous volumes of waste, pollute the air and water, exploit workers, harm animal welfare, fuel antibiotic resistance and climate change, and harm the rural communities they claim to benefit. 

Pollution from large-scale agriculture in the U.S. threatens over 13,000 miles of rivers and streams and over 60,000 acres of lakes and ponds. Cows on factory farms in Tulare County, California produce five times more waste than the New York City metropolitan area. Manure from factory farms emits a host of toxic air pollutants, and those living near factory farms often report health impacts such as breathing problems, nausea, and vomiting.

Like many other sources of pollution, factory farms tend to be located near impoverished areas and communities of color; an environmental justice catastrophe. Their overuse of antibiotics is contributing to the rise of resistant “superbugs,” and the practices used on factory farms create harmful conditions for workers and animals alike. 

Years of failed policy brought us to this point

Since 1997, the total number of farms in the U.S. has fallen sharply while the number of livestock and the percentage of animals raised on factory farms has soared. This transition to a factory farm system was not an accident. It was fueled by bad farm policies that benefited the largest players in the meat industry. 

Factory farms have taken over our food system because of a combination of many policies and procedures, but there are three major drivers:

1. Corporate Farm Bills
   • For several decades, our federal farm policy has shifted to drive overproduction of cheap corn and soy. This push to produce more and more means that small, independent crop farmers struggle to stay afloat. It also means that the buyers of those crops, factory farms looking for cheap feed for their animals, get a huge discount on their biggest input.
2.  Merger Mania
   • Meat companies have merged and grown so large that they control huge portions of the market, with little to no antitrust enforcement to slow them down. As these meat companies get bigger, they prefer to deal with larger factory farms to supply animals to their slaughterhouses.
3. Agency Neglect
   • As enormous agribusinesses began to take over, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state governments were nowhere to be found. Without a strong presence from the agencies meant to enforce environmental laws, the factory farms have wreaked havoc on our air, water, and communities. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t been much better when it comes to the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms to try to compensate for stressful, crowded living conditions, a practice that drives the creation of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
      

There’s no doubt about it: right now, farm policy favors factory farms 

Small and medium-sized, independent farms are getting pushed out while the federal government continues to cater to the factory farming industry.

We cannot continue this failed experiment. Small policy changes will not reverse years of factory farm policy. As agribusinesses grow even more powerful, our communities, our climate, and our planet are facing disaster. It is time for a bold and sweeping solution. It’s time for a ban on factory farms. TWEET

The Farm System Reform Act is a groundbreaking solution to our factory farm crisis. Help us ban factory farms. Support this legislation.

Take action for a better future.