Slaughterhouse Line Speeds
5 KEY POINTS – Slaughterhouse Line Speeds 1. The term line speed usually refers to the slaughter line (aka evisceration line) and the rate at which animals are slaughtered. The USDA sets an upper limit for this line based on the maximum number of animals for which inspectors can conduct the required post-mortem examination. 2. […]
NPDES for CAFOs
What is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)? The NPDES is a program enacted by the EPA pursuant to the Clean Water Act to regulate pollutants discharged from “point sources” into waters of the United States.[1] An NPDES permit is a license for a facility to discharge a specified amount of a pollutant into […]
Infographic – Fertilizer & Pesticide Use on Feed Crops
The following offers a few key figures on the shares of all U.S. fertilizers and pesticides used on corn & soybeans – the crops predominantly used for animal feed. To download, click here
Slaughterhouse Capacities
3 KEY POINTS – Slaughterhouse Capacities 1. A typical broiler chicken slaughterhouse slaughters ~225,000 chickens per day, or about 59 million in a year. 2. A typical large pig slaughterhouse slaughters ~20,000 pigs each day, or more than 5 million per year. 3. A typical large cattle slaughterhouse slaughters ~5,400 cattle per day, or about […]
Water Usage by Factory Farms & Slaughterhouses
How much water is consumed on factory farms? Broadly estimated, livestock water consumption on farms accounts for about 2% of total national water consumption.[1-3] The USGS reports that in 2015, livestock water withdrawals were estimated at 2 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/d), with 62% of total withdrawals coming from groundwater.[4] Factory farms, and […]
Externalities Overview
What is an externality? An externality is “a consequence of an economic activity that affects unrelated third parties. The externality can be either positive or negative. Thus, an externality is a transaction spillover that creates a cost or a benefit not transmitted through market prices.”[1] In slightly different words, an externality “affects the welfare of […]
Clean Water Act Animal Ag Regulations
Which agency regulates water pollutants from industrial animal ag? The Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes the EPA to implement the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), a program that prohibits any point source from discharging pollutants into “waters of the United States” unless they have an NPDES permit.[1,2] Point sources are commonly understood to be […]
Slaughterhouse Numbers & Locations
5 KEY POINTS – Slaughterhouse Numbers & Locations 1. There are ~350 poultry slaughter plants under federal inspection, accounting for over 99% of total poultry slaughter. 2. There are ~1000 livestock slaughter plants under federal inspection. 3. There are approximately 1,950 non-federally inspected poultry and livestock slaughterhouses. 4. Including plants that do further processing, there […]
Factory Farm Worker Totals
What are the BLS categories that closely align with factory farm workers? The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not try to determine the number of workers specifically on factory farms. Rather, the BLS uses the term “Animal Production and Aquaculture” (NAICS 112) as a classification of industries that “raise or fatten animals for the […]
Animal Ag Commodities
How is commodity production connected to animal ag? The key economic characteristic of animal-sourced foods is that they are largely made up of commodities. Live animals along with their end products – pork, milk, eggs, chicken, beef – are generally viewed and sold as commodities. What is a commodity? A commodity is an item that […]