CULTIVATING COMPASSION We’re in Deep: The Scoop on Poop
BY ANDY LAUREL; EDITED BY CAM MACQUEEN :KHUHGRHVWKHSRRSJR"6RTXHULHVDFODVVLFSRSXODUFRPHG\¿OP DERXWDQLQYHQWLRQWKDWGLVDSSHDUVSRRS*UDQWHGWKH¿FWLRQDOIRFXV is regarding the poop of our companion animals rather than domestic farmed animals. Those of us who love and care for our companion animal friends are aware of the vast quantities of material that must be disposed of — the cat boxes & the doggie-doo bags. We’re pretty good about handling that on an individual, household basis. Cleaning after one or two is manageable for most people. The animals on fac- WRU\IDUPVDUHLQFUHGLEO\ODUJHULQQXPEHUDQGRIWHQLQVL]H$FFRUG - LQJWRWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV'HSDUWPHQWRI$JULFXOWXUHQHDUO\ELOOLRQ ODQG DQLPDOV ZHUH VODXJKWHUHG LQ LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV DORQH 6RXUFH 86'$ $VIDFWRU\FRQ¿QHGDQLPDOVGRQ¶WXVHDSRWW\ER[RU doo bags, we will take a glimpse at what happens with all that waste When I was a kid growing up on a family dairy farm, one of the regular chores, beyond the feeding and the milking and the breeding of the cows, was the manure management. Several times a week we would have to scrape the barn out because the poop would be about a foot and a half high — up to knee level on a cow, almost knee level on a person wearing long rubber boots. It is rather unpleasant to wade in crap, for the cows and the farmworkers. On that farm we used a WUDFWRU WRVFUDSH LW LQWRDELJKROGLQJ WDQN:H WKHQXVHGDGL̆HUHQW WUDFWRUDWWDFKPHQWWRVSUD\WKHPDWHULDODVIUHVKIHUWLOL]HURXWRQWKH ¿HOGV(YHQEDFNWKHQWKHUHZDVPRUHSRRSWKDQ¿HOG:LWKPRGHUQ GD\IDUPLQJRSHUDWLRQVWKHUH¶VHYHQIDUOHVV¿HOGDQGIDUPRUHSRRS The overage is stored in tanks, ponds and lagoons. 0RVW IDUPLQJQR ORQJHU WDNHVSODFHRQVPDOO IDPLO\ IDUPV OLNHZH had decades ago. Farming has become much less a lifestyle or family
OHJDF\DQGPXFKPRUHEXVLQHVVRULHQWHG7KHSUR¿WPDUJLQLVWKLQQHU DQGZLWKWKDWFRPHVWKHQHFHVVLW\IRUYROXPH0RVWSHRSOHFDQQRWPDNH a living or a life on a family farm. Subsequently, more and more of farm- ing is operated by corporations. 3DUWRIWKHSUR¿WHTXDWLRQLVVDYLQJRQFRVWVDQGH[SHQVHV(QWHUWKH IDFWRU\ FRQFHSW 2YHU RI DOO IDUPHG DQLPDOV FRPH IURP &$)2V (concentrated animal feeding operations). The common practice here is having more animals in a smaller space. Chickens are in cages smaller than your iPad, unable to spread their wings. It’s about the same life that a parakeet would have living in a toilet paper roll. Pigs are also in- WHQVHO\ FRQ¿QHG LQ VSDFHV WRR VPDOO IRU WKHP WR WXUQDURXQG3UR¿W LV paramount in these factory models 'XH WR ODQG FRVWV DQG ]RQLQJ LQGXVWULDO IDUPV DUH IRXQG LQ ORZHU cost areas. Besides the animal factories and warehouses, these low-ly- ing communities also contain people. Who would want to live next to ¿HOGVRIRSHQFHVVSRROV":HOOQRRQHUHDOO\7KRVHZKROLYHQHDUE\DUH SHRSOHZKRFDQQRWD̆RUGWROHDYHRUKDYHOLPLWHGRSSRUWXQLW\WROHDYH they are more likely to be minorities, working class people, and the rural poor. One of the problems in these communities is living amongst the poop lagoons. The animal urine and feces is pumped into huge open festering vats, pools, and ponds — there are actually billions of gallons, millions of WRQV7KH8QLWHG6WDWHV'HSDUWPHQWRI$JULFXOWXUHHVWLPDWHVWKDWFRQ - ¿QHG IDUP DQLPDOV \LHOGPRUH WKDQ PLOOLRQ WRQV RIPDQXUH HDFK \HDU 6RXUFH 'R6RPHWKLQJRUJ 7KDWKXJHQXPEHU LVGL̇FXOW WRSLF - ture, so think of the entire weight of the entire human population of continued on page 30
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