LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION: Its contribution to water pollution

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-white-hen-at-poultry-farm-image9780241 http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/March09/Features/GrainPrices.htm http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/visual/visual.php?shortname=confined_hogs

What is livestock?

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber, and labor.

For the purposes of this presentation we will be referring to livestock as animals commonly raised in the U.S. for food.

Cattle, poultry, and hogs or pigs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock http://www.nass.usda.gov/

Estimated number of animals slaughtered through the course of 1 year in the U.S.2.56 million Cattle 60,200 Calves9.04 million Hogs 165,400 Sheep246.8 million Turkeys 8,683 million Chickens

Aspects of Livestock ProductionAgriculture – One of the largest contributor to water waste and pollution is industrial agriculture for feed crops

Deforestation to make space for grazing land – In order to make space for grazing land, forests are cut and burned down negatively impacting global warming

Farm Buildings and Slaughter – Industrial meat production results in crowded animal holdings, which produces massive waste. There is little room for proper waste control in today’s fast rate of animal slaughter and meat packaging

Aspects of Livestock Production Agriculture

Irrigation – watering of field crops

• Irrigated agriculture is the primary user of diverted water globally

• Responsible for the depletion of fossil water reserves; underground aquifers are drying out

• One major river in ten no longer flow into the sea for several months as a result of its water being piped for crop irrigation

• Irrigation Management currently focuses in production rather than sustainabilityhttp://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm

http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/58/2/147.full “Home” Documentary Film http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/The-Colorado-River-Runs-Dry.html# Brink, Nils. Water Pollution from Agriculture. Journal p. 789-795, 1975

70% or more of the Colorado River is diverted through pipes to irrigate 3.5 million acres of cropland

Aspects of Livestock Production Agriculture

Fertilizers/Pesticides/Herbicides – synthetic and organic chemicals directly applied to field crops

• Traces of all chemicals used on crops can be found in our drinking water

• When crops are irrigated chemicals sip through the soil into aquifers, rivers, ponds and lakes

• An alarming amount of nitrates has been found in freshwater as a result of runoff from crop fields

• High amounts of nitrate in drinking water is toxic as it can destroy the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen

• Triazine herbicides are widely used in the U.S. and have been linked to numerous health problems including cancerhttp://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm

http://php.delawareonline.com/blog/allgreentome/labels/pesticides.html http://www.state.ky.us/nrepc/water/wcpno.htm Brink, Nils. Water Pollution from Agriculture. Journal p. 789-795, 1975

Aspects of Livestock Production Deforestation for Grazing Land

Grazing – grassland suitable for pasturage• Livestock sector is the largest user of

land• Grazing occupies 26% of the Earth’s

terrestrial surface• About 70% of forests in Latin America

have been cut and burned down to make space for grazing

• When trees are cut down, forest soil is quickly depleted of its nutrients and no longer good for grazing

• Trees are an important player in the water purification process that makes it to our streams and rivers, with them gone the quality of water

• The land is then abandonedhttp://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0262e/a0262e00.pdf Brink, Nils. Water Pollution from Agriculture. Journal p. 789-795, 1975http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2011/07/pasture-land-completely-depleted-in.html

Depleted grazing land in the horn of Africa

Aspects of Livestock Production Deforestation for Grazing Land

Grazing – grassland suitable for pasturage• With trees gone, the soil looses its

ability to retain water• With no trees to purify the

atmosphere, Greenhouse gas emission increased the rate at which global warming is happening. As a result, large natural drinking water reserves are disappearing

• Glaziers (largest fresh water reserves) are not cold enough to preserve water and in the summer rivers don’t receive water from mountains

http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm Home: Documentary Videoftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0262e/a0262e00.pdf Brink, Nils. Water Pollution from Agriculture. Journal p. 789-795, 1975http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/photo-contest/entries/46953/view/

80% of glaziers of Mount Kilimanjaro have disappeared and in the summer fresh water no longer flows into the rivers. Local people have no water

Aspects of Livestock Production Farms Buildings

Farm Buildings – contrary to public believe, industrial livestock is not raised running free on open land, but rather caged in concrete buildings

• Due to the crowded and harsh conditions the animals are kept, meat production companies use antibiotics to keep the animals healthy and hormones to make them grow fast

• All hormones and antibiotics fed and given to livestock is present in animal urine and manure that runs-off to our waterways

• Some illnesses caused by farmhouse pollution range from birth defects to brain damage

• They are also responsible for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and severe respiratory problems

http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm Brink, Nils. Water Pollution from Agriculture. Journal p. 789-795, 1975http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-Used-For-Food/Other-Health-Risks-of-the-Meat-Industry.aspxhttp://www.das-europe.com/uploads/tx_templavoila/wastewater-treatment-agriculture_01.jpg

Aspects of Livestock Production Slaughter Factories

Slaughter – place where animals are slaughtered for food. The process uses millions of gallon of water. Waste includes animal urine and excrement. Average rate of slaughter is about 1 cattle, 3 pigs, and 287 chickens per second

• Slaughterhouse wastewater contains large amounts of blood, fat and hair

• Possible high chloride content from salting skins

• Legally slaughterhouses may dumb harmful amount of waste to city sewers to be treated and piped to homes

• Slaughter houses use up to 12 million gallons of water and more to wash away slaughtered animal parts

• Each state limits the amount of pollution permitted from slaughterhouses into our water streams, but water is always polluted at some level

http://www.animalvisuals.org/projects/data/slaughterhttp://www.ecc.com.gr http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/aug99/chicken2.htm

Landscape Management:Improve protection of wild areas, maintain connectivity among protected areas, and integrate livestock production and producers into landscape management

Water Management: Better management of animal waste in industrial production units:

• Better diets to improve nutrient absorption by the animals and this way manure waste will be improved and not as harmful

• Improved manure management and better use of processed manure on croplands

• Slaughter houses should improve their water management, update their waste treatment technology to cut down their water use by half

http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm Mike Lawrence DNSU 2006 Waste Water Mangement Project

Land Degradation Prevention :Restore damaged land through soil conservation:

• Better management of grazing systems and protection of sensitive areas

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Sustainable intensification of livestock and feed crop production to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and pasture degradation

• Improve animal nutrition and manure management to cut methane and nitrogen emissions

• Slaughterhouse waste should be thrown away as solid after a solidification and drying process

• Cleaned periodically with as little water as possible

http://www.fao.org/ag/magazine/0612sp1.htm Mike Lawrence DNSU 2006 Waste Water Mangement Project