Factory Farm Nation: Map Charts Unprecedented Growth in Factory Farming

[Dynamique]

Food & Water Watch Analysis Finds Livestock on Factory
Farms Grew by 20 Percent in 5 Years

Food & Water Watch
November 30, 2010
https://www.factoryfarmmap.org/press...farm-nation-pr

Washington, D.C. - Food & Water Watch today unveiled the
newest version of its pioneering Factory Farm Map that
charts the concentration of factory farms across the
country and the impacts these massive operations have on
human health, communities, and the environment. The
interactive map illustrates the geographic shift in
where and how food is raised in the U.S. and allows
anyone to quickly search for the highest concentration
of animals by region, state and county.

[moderator: the map is here -
https://www.factoryfarmmap.org/#anim...:US;year:2007]

Food & Water Watch analyzed U.S. Department of
Agriculture Census data from 1997, 2002 and the most
current census, 2007, for beef and dairy cattle, hogs,
broiler meat chickens and egg-laying operations, and
found the total number of livestock on the largest
factory farms rose by more than 20 percent between 2002
and 2007-while the number of dairy cows and broiler
chickens nearly doubled during the same time, making
them the fastest-growing population of factory farmed
animals.

Despite the fact that the number of livestock farms
across the country has decreased, the Food & Water Watch
Factory Farm Map illustrates that big farms are getting
bigger, with specific regions and states bearing the
brunt of intensive animal production.

"While more and more light is being shed on the ways our
food system is broken and consumers are increasingly
interested in knowing where their food comes from, there
is still a lot of information that's hidden from public
view," said Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch's
executive director. "The purpose of the Factory Farm Map
is to provide an easy-to-use tool that anyone can access
to learn more about where our food is really coming
from."

Key findings in Food & Water Watch's analysis and map
show:

* In five years, total animals on factory farms grew by
5 million, or more than 20 percent.

o Cows on factory dairy farms nearly doubled
from 2.5 million cows in 1997 to 4.9 million
in 2007. Factory dairy farms growth in western
states like Idaho, California, New Mexico and
Texas shifted the dairy industry away from
traditional states like Wisconsin, New York
and Michigan.

o Beef cattle on industrial feedlots rose 17
percent from 2002 to 2007 - adding about 1,100
beef cattle to feedlots every day for five
years.

o Nationally, about 5,000 hogs were added to
factory farms every day for the past decade.
The growth of industrial broiler chicken
production added 5,800 chickens every hour
over the past decade.

o Egg laying hens on factory farms increased
by one-quarter over the decade.

* The average size of factory farms increased by 9
percent in five years, cramming more animals into each
operation.

o In 2007, the average factory-farmed dairy
held nearly 1,500 cows and the average beef
feedlot held 3,800 beef cattle.

o The average size of hog factory farms
increased by 42 percent over a decade. o Five
states with the largest broiler chicken
operations average more than 200,000 birds per
factory farm.

o Over a decade, average-sized layer chicken
operations have grown by 53.7 percent to
614,000 in 2007.

Food & Water Watch released a companion report, Factory
Farm Nation, which explains the forces driving factory
farms, as well as the environmental, public health, and
economic consequences of this type of animal production.
The report also examines the causes for industrial-scale
livestock and the demise of small and medium farms.

[moderator: the report is here -
https://documents.foodandwaterwatch....ation-web.pdf]

"This map shows the extent to which factory farms have
taken over farming and our communities," said Robby
Kenner, director of the Academy Award-nominated film
Food, Inc. "Through the Factory Farm Map, Food & Water
Watch is shining a spotlight on the mega-corporations
that need to be held accountable for the damage they're
doing to our health, environment and rural economies."

In addition to the map itself, the website ranks the top
concentrations of factory farmed livestock nationwide as
well as by state and county. It features a newsfeed for
monitoring local and national factory farm news and
social media tools that allow users to share the map and
its data via Facebook, Twitter, email and RSS feed. The
Factory Farm Map website includes a widget that bloggers
and other websites can embed on their sites and a
variety of other online tools for activists to spread
the word and encourage local, regional or national
action.

"Whether you live near a factory farm and are subject to
the groundwater contamination or air pollution it
causes, or live thousands of miles away and eat the meat
or eggs from potentially unsafe facilities, very few
people are spared the risk that these operations bring,"
said Hauter. "The Factory Farm Map arms consumers with
critical information about how our food is being
produced and what we need to do to chart a course to a
more sustainable food system."

The Factory Farm Map and the companion report can be
found at www.factoryfarmmap.org.

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and
fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So
we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we
help people take charge of where their food comes from,
keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely
to our homes, protect the environmental quality of
oceans, force government to do its job protecting
citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping
shared resources under public control.