Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America

A Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America A Report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America ConTEnTS Foreword by John Carlin ii Preface by Robert P. Martin vi How the Current System Developed x Public Health 10 Environmental Risks 22 Animal Welfare 30 Rural America 40 Conclusion: Toward Sustainable Animal Agriculture 50 The Recommendations of the Commission 56 References 96 Endnotes 104 Final Report Acknowledgments 106 Foreword by John Carlin, Former Governor of Kansas ii I have witnessed dramatic changes in animal agriculture over the past several decades. When I was growing up, my family operated a dairy farm, which not only raised cows to produce milk, but crops to feed the cows and wheat as a cash crop. When I took over management of the farm from my father in the mid-sixties, on average we milked about 40 cows and farmed about 800 acres. We were one of some 30 such dairy operations in Saline County, Kansas. Today in Saline County and most Kansas counties, it is nearly impossible to find that kind of diversified farm. Most have given way to large, highly specialized, and highly productive animal producing operations. In Saline County today, there is only one dairy farm, yet it and similar operations across the state produce more milk from fewer cows statewide than I and all of my peers did when I was actively farming. Industrial farm animal production (ifap) is a complex subject involving individuals, communities, private enterprises and corporations large and small, consumers, federal and state regulators, and the public at large. All Americans have a stake in the quality of our food, and we all benefit from a safe and affordable food supply. We care about the well-being of rural communities, the integrity of our environment, the public’s health, and the health and welfare of animals. Many disciplines contribute to the development and analysis of ifap—including economics, food science, animal sciences, agronomy, biology, genetics, nutrition, ethics, agricultural engineering, and veterinary medicine. The industrial farm has brought about tremendous increases in short-term farm efficiency and affordable food, but its rapid development has also resulted in serious unintended consequences and iii ... - tailieumienphi.vn