Animal Feeding Operations and Public Health

Animal Feeding Operations (“AFOs”) represent modern livestock agriculture in the United States. AFOs produce large numbers of food animals and staggering amounts of animal waste. AFO management of confined animals and animal waste creates numerous public health and safety concerns. Air and water pollution constitute the most immediate public health effects. Other issues to be considered include AFO contribution to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and occupational health problems experienced by AFO workers. The presentation will provide an overview of the growing trend of AFOs on a national and state level, legal definitions and distinctions among different types of AFOs, and the health risks AFOs pose to environment, adjoining property owners, and AFO workers. Public policy and opposition efforts to restrict AFOs will also be discussed.