OT: Book on Factory Farming out soon

[Guest guest]

Listmates, if you eat meat, this affects you. It is NOT a book to try to

turn you into a vegetarian, but rather to inform you that WHERE you buy meat

and HOW it was grown is very important. As parents of children with autism

we seek to feed our kids healthy choices and this book will help you

understand how to choose healthy meats for your family! I can¡¯t wait to

get my copy. You can pre-order it from Amazon.com

<http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Factory-Looming-Industrial-Environment/dp/0312

380585/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 & s=books & qid=1266174581 & sr=8-1> , and Noble

or many other large book retailers.

Statistics from ANIMAL FACTORY: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy,

and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment

by Kirby, author of Evidence of Harm

A TOXIC WASTE LOAD:

¡ñ US animal factories yield 100 times more waste than all US human sewage

plants.

¡ñ Human sewage is treated to kill pathogens but animal waste is not. Hog

manure has 10-to-100 times more pathogens than human waste.

¡ñ The law would never permit untreated human waste to be kept in vast

¡°lagoons¡± or sprayed onto fields in the way that raw manure is applied.

¡ñ The Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay produces 1,000,000 tons of chicken

manure a year, enough to fill a large football stadium to the top row.

A THREAT TO AIR AND WATER:

¡ñ Raising cattle produces more greenhouse gases than cars, a UN report

warns.

¡ñ Manure-based emissions of methane and other CO2 containing gases

contributed 7.4 percent (2 million tons) annually to total greenhouse gas

emissions in the U.S.

¡ñ Agricultural waste is the top cause of well water contaminants in the US.

At least 4.5 million Americans are exposed to dangerously high nitrate

levels in their drinking water.

¡ñ A CDC study of well water in nine Midwestern states showed that 13

percent of the supply had nitrate levels above the EPA standard of

10miligrams per liter.

¡ñ Waste lagoons do not destroy all pathogens: About 15% of viruses and 55%

of bacteria survive and could reach groundwater supplies.

¡ñ There is ample documentation of water pollution from runoff of animal

waste. More than half of all US fish kills were attributed to livestock.

A THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH:

¡ñ Manure can contain deadly pathogens, antibiotics, drug-resistant

bacteria, hormones, heavy metals, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, etc. that can

seriously impact human health.

¡ñ Odors from 170 separate chemicals can cause respiratory disease,

diarrhea, depression, violent behavior, nausea, vomiting, headache,

insomnia, coughing, appetite loss, and irritation to the eyes, nose and

throat.

¡ñ Animal factories can release nitrates into well water in levels that may

cause diarrhea, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, spontaneous abortion and

¡°blue-baby syndrome.¡±

¡ñ Excess nitrate exposure in pregnant women may cause central nervous

system problems in children, and even neural tube defects, which has been

linked to autism.

¡ñ Animal factories can help breed dangerous levels of organisms such as

dangerous E-coli, salmonella, listeria, viruses, protozoa and worms.

¡ñ Factory farmed animals often receive low dose antibiotics, creating

bacterial resistance that is passed between bacteria and conferring

resistance to drugs needed by humans.

¡ñ One study found salmonella in 20% of hamburger tested, of which, 84% was

resistant to at least one drug, and 53% resistant to three or more drugs.

¡ñ Another study found airborne enterococci, staph, and strep bacteria with

resistant genes: 98% were resistant to two or more antibiotics.

¡ñ Helicobacter pylori bacteria, associated with gastric ulcers and possibly

stomach cancer, has been found in swine lagoons.

¡ñ 1-in-5 US pig farmers has methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus

(MRSA) infection, which kills more Americans than AIDS each year.

¡ñ The National Pork Board found MRSA in 3% of pork samples tested. A family

buying raw pork twice a week was bringing MRSA home three times a year.

¡ñ The US still feeds cows to cows (a cause of mad cow) in three ways ¨C In

restaurant scraps, blood meal and chicken litter, which can have

beef-containing feed pellets in it.

A THREAT TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES:

¡ñ Economic concentration of agricultural operations tends to remove a

higher percentage of money from rural communities than when the industry is

dominated by smaller farms.

¡ñ Many studies have shown that social and economic well-being in small

towns improve by increasing the number of farmers, not increasing the volume

of commodity produced.

¡ñ The agriculture sector boasts that it is so productive it only employs 2%

of the population. For every job created by a hog factory, three local jobs

are lost.

¡ñ Every year, hog factories put almost 31,000 farmers out of business, out

of their homes, and out of their communities.

¡ñ In 1990, there were 670,350 family hog farms; in 1995, there were only

208,780, though hog production has increased..

¡ñ One poll said that 42% of rural respondents said a neighboring farm

detracted from quality of life ¡°a great deal¡± or ¡°somewhat.¡± Odor was

the main concern, followed by flies, manure run-off, noise, and dust.

¡ñ Agribusiness leaders have political contacts and access to government

uncharacteristic of the average citizen.

¡ñ When individual concerns and complaints are taken to the state level they

are often regarded as being scientifically unfounded and ¡°emotional¡± in

nature.

¡ñ Quality of life is an issue. One study said that ¡°highly cherished

values of freedom and independence gives way to feelings of violation and

infringement.¡±

¡ñ Local redress can be restricted: 13 states have laws limiting disparaging

speech about agriculture.

¡ñ All 50 states have some type of ¡°right-to-farm¡± rules that protect

animal factories from zoning laws or lawsuits

ANIMAL FACTORY

by Kirby

¡°Thanks to Kirby¡¯s extraordinary journalism, we have the most relatable,

irrefutable, and unforgettable testimony yet to the hazards of industrial

animal farming.¡± -- Booklist, Review Journal of the American Library

Association.

ANIMAL FACTORY (St. ¡¯s Press; March 2, 2010) is a dramatic expos¨¦ of

factory farms and the devastating impact they have on human health, the

environment, and the economy by New York Times bestselling author

Kirby.

ANIMAL FACTORY is a thoroughly-researched piece of investigative journalism,

in which Kirby sets out to approach factory farms differently from

Schlosser¡¯s Fast Food Nation or Safran Foer¡¯s Eating Animals:

beyond the terrible costs for animals raised and killed in these facilities,

what are the costs for all of us?

Recent public health crises raise urgent questions about how our

animal-derived food is raised and brought to market. In Animal Factory,

bestselling investigative journalist Kirby exposes the powerful

business and political interests behind large-scale factory farms, and

tracks the far-reaching fallout that contaminates our air, land, and water

supply.

In the book, Kirby follows three families and communities whose lives are

utterly changed by immense neighboring animal farms. These farms (known as

¡°Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,¡± or CAFOs), confine thousands of

pigs, dairy cattle, and poultry in small spaces, often under horrifying

conditions, and generate enormous volumes of fecal and biological waste as

well as other toxins. In ANIMAL FACTORY, Kirby follows three American

families in different regions of the US, whose lives have been utterly

changed by these CAFOs: Weaving science, politics, big business, and

everyday life, Kirby accompanies these families and their struggles in:

New Bern, North Carolina: Rick Dove, a retired Marine J.A.G and Vietnam

veteran observed the degradation of his beloved local river, the Neuse,

including strange colors in the water, massive amounts of dead fish, and

fishermen developing sores wherever the river water touched them. His

investigation uncovered that local pig farms were spilling waste into the

river, contributing to outbreaks of the Pfisteria parasite.

Yakima Valley, Washington: Helen Reddout, a farmer¡¯s wife, fought back

against local dairy farms that sprayed her house and fields with liquefied

manure, spreading pathogens and a film of waste, not to mentioned the

offensive odors that permeated the town.

Elmwood, Illinois: An all-American town outside of Peoria was devastated by

waste lagoon spills and economic pressure from dairy CAFOs in the region.

Families and neighbors were torn apart over the damage to the land, the

environment, and profits. Hudson formed a grassroots group,

¡°Families Against Rural Messes¡± to fight the CAFO¡¯s dangerous practices.

As this powerful and provocative books shows, the supermarket price of milk,

pork, steak and chicken do not reflect the actual costs of mass-producing

meat and dairy, which are passed on the to surrounding communities,

including:

* Airborne feces sprayed by farms, covering neighboring homes, fields,

and towns

* Recalls of dangerous meats, fruits, and vegetables caused by farm

toxins

* Increasing public health crises, including asthma, MRSA infection,

swine flu, leukemia and other cancers in communities adjacent to these farms

* Massive fish kills in local waters from pig and cow manure lagoon

spills

* High levels of feces and nitrates in public water supplies near

these farms. The New York Times recently reported that ¡°19.5 million

Americans fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with

parasites, bacteria or viruses.¡± (9/15/09)

* Immense costs to clean up hazardous farms, absorbed by taxpayers or

individual farmers, rather than by the corporations that profit from such

practices

* Dead zones spreading miles out to sea, where marine life is

suffocated by algae growth stimulated by factory farm pollution

Weaving complex science, politics, business, and the lives of everyday

people, ANIMAL FACTORY documents a crisis that has reached a critical

juncture in the history of human health and our larger global environment.

This important book describes an American food system gone terribly wrong¡ª

and the people who are fighting to restore sustainable farming practices and

safe natural resources.

----------

Kirby, a contributor to The Huffington Post, is the author of the

bestselling book Evidence of Harm, which won the 2005 Investigative

Reporters and Editors Award for Best Book, and was a finalist for the NY

Public Library Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. He has

appeared in media outlets such as Meet the Press, Larry King, CNN, Don Imus,

CNBC and NPR.

Praise for ANIMAL FACTORY

Indie Next List - American Booksellers Association: ANIMAL FACTORY has been

selected by the as one of the Indie Next List Notables for March 2010 and

will appear as a line listing in the Indie Next List printed flyer, as well

as with jacket image and full bookseller quote in a downloadable PDF file to

be posted on Bookweb.org.

Booklist ¨C Journal of the American Library Association: **STARRED REVIEW**

¡°In factory farms, thousands of animals are confined and rapidly fattened

for slaughter, generating millions of gallons of animal waste, which is

stored in open lagoons and sprayed into the air. Kirby, author of the

best-selling Evidence of Harm (2005), profiles three individuals who have

been subjected to the stench, mess, environmental contamination, and health

risks of megafarms. Rick Dove, a Marine Corps prosecutor, retired early to

enjoy the Neuse River near his North Carolinian home but instead became a

devoted ¡°riverkeeper¡± after witnessing massive fish kills caused by

pig-factory waste. In beautiful Yakima Valley, Washington, Helen Reddout and

her husband joyfully tended their fruit orchards until a megadairy fouled

their property, inducing Helen to become a ¡°warrior activist.¡± The same

thing happened to farmer¡¯s wife Hudson in Elmwood, Illinois.

Stonewalling government agencies and evasive and hostile factory-farm owners

and their corporate overseers ensure that the trio¡¯s battles for safe air

and water have been protracted, complicated, and dangerous, hence the

magnitude of Kirby¡¯s meticulously detailed yet propulsive chronicle. Thanks

to Kirby¡¯s extraordinary journalism, we have the most relatable,

irrefutable, and unforgettable testimony yet to the hazards of industrial

animal farming.¡±

F. Kennedy, Jr.: ¡° Kirby¡¯s book, Animal Factory, is a

beautifully written account of the danger industrial meat production

represents to our health, environment and democratic process. In a unique

and captivating way, Kirby reveals the consequences of animal factories

through the eyes of the citizen advocates who have fought the long and hard

battle to civilize the barbaric and often criminal behavior of the meat

barons. Rick Dove, Hudson, , Don Webb and others

featured in the book are real American heroes. Their stories are compelling,

true and engaging. The time has come to end the greedy and destructive

practices of animal factories. As the readers of Kirby¡¯s book will learn,

nature¡¯s clock is ticking and much is at stake for the planet and all of

its inhabitants. Each page of this book is filled with powerful information.

It has all the makings of a number one best seller.¡±

Alice Waters: ¡°Nature did not intend for animals to live and die in a

factory assembly line. In Kirby¡¯s startling investigation Animal

Factory, he gives a human face to the terrible cost our health and

environment pays for this so-called ¡®cheap food¡¯. This is a story that is

seldom told and rarely with such force and eloquence.¡±

Steve Ells, Founder, Chairman & Co-CEO, Chipotle Mexican Grill: ¡°Hurray to

Kirby for exposing the horrific conditions that are so prevalent at

America¡¯s factory farms. When I first confronted the realities of factory

farming some ten years ago, I knew that I did not want Chipotle¡¯s success

to be based on the exploitation that I saw. While few people actually have

the chance to see firsthand where their food comes from, Animal Factory

provides a vivid account of the system and the harm it causes.¡±

n Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at

New York University, and member of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm

Animal Production: ¡°This book puts a human face on a well hidden national

scandal: the effects of large-scale raising of animals on the health and

well being of farm workers and their families, local communities, the

animals themselves, and the environment which we all share. By examining

how CAFOs affect the lives of real people, Kirby makes clear why we must

find healthier and more sustainable ways to produce meat in America.¡±

Wallinga, MD, Food and Health Director, Institute for Agriculture and

Trade Policy: " Animal Factory tells how big agribusiness' industrial meat

production is leaving our communities foul with unhealthy air, awash in

untreated sewage, and increasingly buffeted by bacteria made resistant to

the antibiotics. Anyone in search of why America's health care system is

going bankrupt will find part of the answer in these pages.¡±

S. Lawrence, MD, Director, Center for a Livable Future, s Hopkins

Bloomberg School of Public Health: ¡°Animal Factory, by Kirby,

documents the scandal of today¡¯s industrial food animal production system

in the same compelling way Upton Sinclair alerted Americans to the abuses of

the meat packing industry in his 1906 The Jungle. The well being of animals

produced for human consumption, the fate of rural communities, the health of

farm workers, and the protection of the environment are daily compromised

for the sake of profit.¡±

Frederick Kirschenmann, President of Kirschenmann Family Farms: ¡°

Kirby' s new book points to a deeper story than may be apparent to some.

It is easy to blame the farmer, or blame the industry for the unintended

consequences of our food system. But there are deeper systemic issues

which give rise to these problems that we now need to address. Our " fast,

convenient, and cheap " food system gave us benefits that many found

praiseworthy. But we failed to anticipate the unintended costs to health,

to communities, and to the environment. Perhaps it¡¯s time to reinvent a

food system that is resilient, affordable and health-promoting for both

people and land. Perhaps Kirby's new book can serve as part of a wake-up

call for us all to become food citizens to that end.¡±

Bill Niman (Founder, Niman Ranch) and tte Hahn Niman (Author,

Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms):

" The industrial production of farm animals is a grim saga of pollution,

health risks, and animal misery. Yet in Animal Factory Kirby has put

together an ingenious book that is highly readable and engaging. The heroes

of his book are fighting for a better America -- one in which waters are

safe to drink, air is safe to breathe, and traditional family farmers are

the sources of our food. Anyone who reads this book will be drawn into

their cause.¡±

Deirdre Imus: Ol¡¯ Mac had a farm ¨C until America¡¯s corporate animal

factories plowed it under, packing living, breathing, sensate creatures into

sewage plant conditions for your gustatory pleasure. Now, you¡¯re next.

Bon appetit.