The Air We Breathe

Factory farms produce millions of pounds of dust each year-this dust contains feces, mold, and bacteria, and it causes humans who live around the farms to become ill.

Factory farms also produce massive amounts of dust and other contamination that pollutes our air. A study in Texas found that animal feedlots in the state produce more than 14 million pounds of particulate dust every year and that the dust “contains biologically active organisms such as bacteria, mold, and fungi from the feces and the feed.”⁴⁰ The massive amounts of excrement produced by these farms emit toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air. The EPA reports that roughly 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the United States come from animal waste.⁴¹

As if the chemicals and particulate matter from animal waste weren’t bad enough, the meat and dairy industries often knowingly add to the air-quality crisis. When the cesspools holding tons of urine and feces get full, factory farms will frequently get around water pollution limits by spraying liquid manure into the air, creating mists that are carried away by the wind.⁴² People who live nearby are forced to inhale the toxins and pathogens from the sprayed manure. Learn more about how pollution from factory farms affects human health. According to a report by the California State Senate, “Studies have shown that [animal waste] lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause inflammatory, immune, irritation and neurochemical problems in humans.”⁴³

Read more.

⁴⁰Consumers Union, “Animal Factories: Pollution and Health Threats to Rural Texas,” May 2000.
⁴¹Environmental Protection Agency, “Review of Emission Factors and Methodologies to Estimate Ammonia Emissions From Animal Waste Handling,” EPA Online Apr. 2002.
⁴²Jennifer Lee, “Neighbors of Vast Hog Farms Say Foul Air Endangers Their Health,” The New York Times 11 May 2003.
⁴³California State Senate, “Confined Animal Facilities in California,” Nov. 2004.