![]() ![]() Manure land application in excess of the land’s absorptive capacity also can lead to excess nitrogen and phosphorus in soil,10 eutrophication of surface waters and algae overgrowth-including some algaes producing human toxins 11-13 and Epidemiology studies have, in fact, linked several outbreaks involving these pathogens to livestock waste 9 and ![]() 8 Runoff from manure-applied fields can carry human pathogens into surface waters, which often serve as drinking water sources. Manure pathogens capable of causing severe gastrointestinal disease, complications, and sometimes death in humans include Campylobacter and Salmonella species, as well as Listeria monocytogenes, Helicobacter pylori, and E coli O157:H7, and the protozoa Cryptosporidium parvum. Increased numbers of CAFOs in an area often are associated with declines in local economic and social indicators (e.g., business purchases, infrastructure, property values, population, social cohesion), which undermine the socioeconomic and social foundations of community health, 3 particularly in poor and African American rural communities 4,5 andĬAFOs generate an estimated 575 billion pounds of animal manure yearly.6 CAFO generated manure has constituents and byproducts of health concern including heavy metals, antibiotics, pathogen bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as dust, mold, bacterial endotoxins and volatile gases CAFO-generated manure being uneconomical to transport for any distance, 7 it is typically stored in open or covered pits or lagoons and later spread or sprayed untreated on nearby cropland, posing additional risks to public health and ![]() livestock are now concentrated on 5 percent of livestock farms, 1 with the largest of such farms getting larger 2 and these industrial-scale, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) which are, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria, facilities with more than 1,000 beef cattle, 2,500 hogs or 100,000 broiler hens now dominate U.S. ![]()
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