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In just the past century, livestock production has shifted from pasture based farms to factory operations. This overcrowding of livestock for meat production isn’t just inhumane for the animals, but also pollutes the air and water for people living nearby. Steve Wing talks about the impact of factory farms on the environment and the people.
Video Length: 00:11:17
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About Steve Wing
Associate Professor The University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSteve Wing received his Ph.D. in epidemiology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is currently ...read more.
Publications & Reports
Books:
- Animal Factory, David Kirby, 2010: http://us.macmillan.com/animalfactory/davidkirby
- CAFO – The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, Ed. Daniel Imhoff, 2010: http://www.cafothebook.org/thebook.htm#up
Reports & Studies:
- Air Pollution from Industrial Swine Operations and Blood Pressure of Neighboring Residents, Steve Wing, Rachel Avery Horton, & Kathryn M. Rose, 2013: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1205109/
- Land application of treated sewage sludge: Community health and environmental justice, Amy Lowman, Mary Anne McDonald, Steve Wing, & Naeema Muhammad, 2013: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1205470/; http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/5/ehp.1205470.pdf
- A case control study of environmental and occupational exposures associated with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in patients admitted to a rural tertiary care hospital in a high density swine region, Leah Schinasi, Steve Wing, Kerri L. Augustino, Keith M. Ramsey, Delores L. Nobles, David B. Richardson, Lance B. Price, Maliha Aziz, Pia DM MacDonald and Jill R. Stewart, 2014: http://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-13-54
- Asthma symptoms among adolescents who attend public schools that are located near confined swine feeding operations, MC Mirabelli, S Wing, SW Marshall, TC Wilcosky, 2006: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16818539
- Factory Farm Nation, Food & Water Watch, Nov. 2010: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/FactoryFarmNation-web.pdf
- An HSUS Report: The Impact of Industrialized Animal Agriculture on the Environment, Humane Society of the United States: http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/farm/hsus-the-impact-of-industrialized-animal-agriculture-on-the-environment.pdf
Blogs & Websites:
- Whole Hog NC: http://wholehognc.org
- Factory Farm Map: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/ – a project of Food & Water Watch
- Sustainable Table: http://www.sustainabletable.org/869/impacts-of-industrial-agriculture
- Farms Not Factories: http://www.farmsnotfactories.org/ – London-based nonprofit
- NC Environmental Quality – Animal Feeding Operation Permits: http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-permits/wastewater-branch/cafo-permits
- Make It Possible: http://www.makeitpossible.com – Austrialian-based
Information
Social Media:
Organization: Food and Water Watch
Organization’s Website: http://foodandwaterwatch.org
Organization’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodandWaterWatch
Organization’s Twitter: @foodandwater
Organization’s Instagram: @Foodandwaterwatch
Steve Wing received his Ph.D. in epidemiology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is currently an associate professor. Recent work has focused on environmental injustice and health effects of ionizing radiation, industrial animal production, sewage sludge, and landfills. He has collaborated on health and exposure studies with communities and workers impacted by threats to environmental and occupational health.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think factory farming exists?
- How would our world change if we no longer had factory farming?
- Do animals have the right to a certain quality of life? What would that look like? How would it change our current farming system?
Take Action
Things you can do…
- Pledge to end factory farming with FarmForward: http://farmforward.com/featured-pledge/
- Visit DoSomething.org to learn more facts about animals and factory farms and sign up for a campaign: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animals-and-factory-farms
Campaigns:
- HFA Campaign Against Factory Farming: http://www.hfa.org/hboDocumentary.html
- ASPCA Fight Factory Farm Cruelty: http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/factory-farms
- Browse and sign up for a campaign on DoSomething.org: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animals-and-factory-farms
Conferences, Meetings, & Events:
- Farm Sanctuary: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/events/ (Farm Animal Care Conference in NY in September 2016)