Find out how factory farms affect all of us:

  • Farms & Communities

    Huge meat companies have steadily driven down the prices farmers receive for the livestock they raise, forcing farms to “get big or get out.” Small farms have been replaced by factory farms that pollute nearby air and water, undermine rural economies, and reduce the quality of life for neighbors.

    Protect Our Food: Act for a Fair Farm Bill
  • Consumers

    The meat industry tells consumers that factory farms are modern, efficient, and produce cheap food. But factory farms leave consumers with fewer choices and make them pay more for meat, poultry and dairy products, while farmers get paid less.

    Find out how to buy food that doesn’t come from factory farms
  • Food Safety

    Factory farms increase the risk of pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella that cause foodborne illness in people. And bad practices on even a few factory farms can end up on everyone’s plate.

  • Health

    Foodborne illness isn’t the only health threat from factory farms. Overuse of antibiotics can fuel the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the use of arsenic and growth hormones can increase the risk of cancer in people, and crowded conditions can be a breeding ground for disease.

    Find out how to buy food that doesn’t come from factory farms
  • Animal Welfare

    Chickens and hogs on factory farms have no access to the outdoors, fresh air or natural light. Cattle on factory farms do not graze on pasture. And the pressure put on animals to grow quicker and produce more meat or milk results in frequent health problems.

Iowa Facts

  • There are 18 times more chickens on factory farms than people in Iowa.
  • The number of factory farmed hogs in Iowa grew 75 percent to 17.9 million between 1997 and 2007.
  • The size of average Iowa egg factory farms nearly tripled to nearly 1.3 million hens between 1997 and 2007.
  • In 2008, a leaky hose on a Blairstown, Iowa dairy allowed 5,000 gallons of manure to discharge to a local waterway.
  • In 2009, 25,000 gallons of manure released over a field from a Mitchell County sow operation and killed 150,000 fish over four miles of a local stream.
  • The nearly 7.7 million egg-laying hens on factory farms in Sioux County, Iowa produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the Seattle metro area.
  • In 2009, 25,000 gallons of manure released over a farm field at a Mitchell County, Iowa sow operation killed 150,000 fish over four miles of a local stream.
  • The nearly 733,000 hogs on factory farms in Plymouth County, Iowa produce twice as much untreated manure as the sewage from the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
  • The more than 190,000 beef cattle on industrial feedlots in Sioux County, Iowa produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the New York City metro area.
  • The more than 857,000 hogs on factory farms in Hardin County, Iowa produce three times as much untreated manure as the sewage from the greater Atlanta metro area.
  • The more than 1 million hogs on factory farms in Sioux County, Iowa produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the Los Angeles and Atlanta metro areas combined.
  • The more than 3.8 million egg-laying hens on factory farms in Winneshiek County, Iowa produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from the San Jose, California metro area.
  • In 2007, a Clark County, Iowa hog operation released at least 10,000 gallons of manure into a local creek, where heightened ammonia levels were detected for four miles downstream.
  • The 2008 spring floods destroyed at least 3 hog factory farms near Oakville, drowned up to 1,500 hogs and flooded manure from storage pits downstream into waterways throughout eastern Iowa.
  • In 2009, manure from a 900-head Carroll County, Iowa cattle feedlot overflowed the operation’s manure controls and entered a tributary of the Raccoon River, which provides water to Des Moines.
  • In 2010, a Sioux County, Iowa 1,200-head dairy paid a $26,288 civil penalty to settle allegations that it discharged manure waste that flowed a quarter mile into a local waterway without a permit.
  • In 2009, a 4,600-head Sioux County, Iowa cattle operation agreed to pay $25,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act by allowing manure and wastewater to run off into tributaries of the Floyd River.
  • In 2009, a Washington County, Iowa hog operation spilled an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 gallons of manure when a applicator was left unattended and sprayed into a channel that fed a tributary of the Indian Creek, killing fish.
  • In 2010, a large dairy, cattle and hog operation agreed to settle alleged water pollution violations for $60,0000 for incidents in 2005, 2008 and 2009 that included allowing manure to enter the Turkey River and Chialk Creek.
  • In 2008, 5,000 gallons of hog manure flowed into Iowa’s Volga River when a hose designed to transport manure to fields decoupled from its connector. The manure traveled one mile downstream and caused a fish kill of unknown size.
  • In 2007, manure seeped from a broken pipe on a 20,000-head Harrison County hog operation into a local creek and killed fish. Manure foam was visible on the creek three miles from the spill and ammonia levels were nearly 10 times the levels that kill fish.
  • The 17.9 million hogs, 1.2 million beef cattle, 52.4 million egg-laying hens, 1 million broiler chickens and 64,500 dairy cows on factory farms in Iowa produce as much untreated manure as the sewage from 471 million people — more than the entire U.S. population.
  • In 2010, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigated a 3,000-gallon hog manure spill in Hardin County that was possibly caused by a frozen pipe that reached the South Beaver Creek, which had heightened levels of ammonia and dead minnows for over six-miles.
  • In 2010, the EPA filed civil enforcement actions against 3 beef feedlots in Sioux and Mills counties to prevent unauthorized discharges of manure into local waterways. One of the feedlots agreed to pay a $31,573 fine for its unauthorized manure discharge into Mills County waterways.
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