CAFOs Uncovered

The report analyzes the 'hidden costs' of CAFOs, including taxpayer-funded subsidies and externalized environmental and health damages. It argues that CAFOs are not more efficient than medium-sized or pasture-based alternatives but are favored by government policies and the market power of large meat processors. The document details the pollution caused by manure, the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and the economic decline of rural communities, while proposing policy reforms to level the playing field for sustainable alternatives.

• CAFOs produce a disproportionate amount of livestock manure relative to their number; while they comprise approximately 5 percent of all U.S. animal operations, they produce more than 50 percent of food animals and about 65 percent of the manure from U.S. animal operations, totaling roughly 300 million tons per year.
• CAFOs have been indirectly supported by federal farm bill commodity crop subsidies that kept grain prices artificially low. Between 1996 and 2005, these indirect subsidies for feed grain were worth almost $35 billion to CAFOs, averaging nearly $4 billion per year.
• The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides direct subsidies to CAFOs for pollution reduction. The report estimates that U.S. CAFOs may have benefited from approximately $125 million in EQIP subsidies in 2007.
• Manure leakage from CAFO lagoons and pits contaminates groundwater with nitrates, which can cause 'blue baby syndrome' and certain cancers. A rough national estimate for the cost of cleaning up soil under U.S. hog and dairy CAFOs is $4.1 billion, based on data from Kansas.
• CAFO manure runoff contributes to eutrophication and the creation of 'dead zones' in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay. Animal sources are believed to contribute about 15 percent of the nutrient pollution reaching the Gulf of Mexico.
• CAFOs are a primary source of atmospheric ammonia, which can cause respiratory disease and acidify forest soils. Confined dairy cows produce approximately 8 to 13 times as much volatilized ammonia per cow as pastured dairy cattle.
• The presence of CAFOs negatively impacts rural communities through foul odors and depressed property values. A study in Missouri found that each CAFO lowered surrounding property values by an average of $2.68 million; extrapolated nationally, this represents a potential loss of about $26 billion.

APA

Gurian-Sherman, D. (2008). CAFOs Uncovered. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/cafos-uncovered-full-report.pdf

Chicago

Gurian-Sherman, Doug. CAFOs Uncovered. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/cafos-uncovered-full-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gurian-Sherman |first1=Doug |title=CAFOs Uncovered |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=April 2008 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/cafos-uncovered-full-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{guriansherman2008cafos, author = {Gurian-Sherman, Doug}, title = {{CAFOs Uncovered}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/cafos-uncovered-full-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }