Lorena Mucke
July 2006
The exploitation of animals raised for food is causing not only unimaginable misery for these animals, but also pollution that sickens people and contaminates the environment.
As stewards of God’s creation, one of our responsibilities is to keep our
environment as healthy and clean as possible. Being obedient to God’s will
glorifies Him. However, the exploitation of animals raised for food is
causing not only unimaginable misery for these animals, but also pollution
that sickens people and contaminates the environment. Concentrated animal
feeding operations (CAFOs) in the U.S. generate some 500 million tons of
animal manure a year. That is three times more waste than humans in the U.S.
produce.
What is even worse, is that of the approx. 18,800 CAFOs in the U.S., only
about 8,500 currently have permits. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has proposed a new requirement, that CAFOs obtain permits if animal
waste from their facilities enters local bodies of water.
However, the great concern is that the proposal allows CAFOs to define what
constitutes a polluting discharge, and thus decide whether a permit is even
needed.
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