Large US cattle lots threaten water, food - Sierra Club
Date: 15-Aug-02
Country: USA
Author: Randy Fabi
The environmental group joined a growing campaign against the U.S. meatpacking industry, which is dominated by four companies that control about one-third of all U.S. cattle slaughtered.
The four companies are ConAgra Foods Inc , Tyson Foods Inc , farmer cooperative Farmland Industries, and privately owned Cargill Inc.
In its two-year study of state and government documents from the 1990s, the Sierra Club said large corporate feedlots leaked millions of gallons of livestock waste into rivers and lakes, polluting drinking water and killing vast numbers of fish.
"This industry is constantly concentrating more and more animals in smaller places ... creating waste on such a large level at one location that a company is not able to deal with it," said Navis Bermudez, co-author of the report.
The Environmental Protection Agency is updating how it regulates large animal feeding operations. The new rules, expected by Dec. 15, will address how these operations must dispose of manure and other farm waste.
The report lists alleged violations at more than 630 meat plants in 44 states.
In one example, a Cargill pork factory in Missouri killed 53,000 fish in the Loutre River after it dumped hog waste, violating clean water regulations, according to the green group.
In addition to environmental damage, the large consolidation of the meatpacking industry may also contribute to unsafe food, the Sierra Club said.
Bermudez said the study found a higher incidence of meat recalls at big, corporate plants than compared to its smaller counterparts.
U.S. slaughterhouses recalled 134 million pounds of meat products in the last 20 years due to concerns of harmful bacteria like listeria, salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, the Sierra Club report said.
The U.S. meat industry criticized the report, saying the study compiled the "worst-case scenarios" and did not fairly represent the entire industry.
"Unlike other industries, we have federal food safety inspectors in our packing plants during every minute of operation overseeing the way we treat our animals and process our food," said Patrick Boyle, president of the American Meat Institute.
The industry also defends large feedlots as an efficient way to produce meat at low prices for consumers.
The Sierra Club identified the 10 companies with the worst health, safety and pollution records. They include Cargill, ConAgra, Tyson and the top U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. .
Congressional hearings are scheduled for later this year to investigate whether consolidation in the U.S. meatpacking industry has kept cattle prices low and hurt family farmers.