114 / Conclusion
which is stored in lagoons or spread on the land (or both). The vol-
ume of waste contains far more nutrients than the land can absorb,
resulting in contamination of soil and surface and groundwater.
The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that remediation of
the leaching of waste from dairy and hog CAFOs in Kansas alone
will cost that state’s taxpayers $56 million. Based on these fi gures,
which are conservative because Kansas is not a major dairy- or hog-
producing state, the estimated nationwide clean-up costs in these
two industries would exceed $4.1 billion. In other examples, pollut-
ants from CAFOs have caused a steady decline in the Chesapeake
Bay blue crab industry. They have also contributed to a “dead zone”
in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in losses in fi shing and shrimp-
ing. In short, state and local governments considering whether to
allow a CAFO in their region should not have to weigh the promise
of jobs against potential social and economic losses. Strict federal
standards should guide their decisions. State and local governments
could establish stricter criteria, but they should be at least as strin-
gent as the federal regulations.
Regulations for siting CAFOs could reduce the environmental
toll during disasters by reducing the numbers of animals in a partic-
ular geographic location. Reforming taxpayer subsidies would en-
courage sustainable animal husbandry. Together these shifts would
reduce animals’ vulnerability. They would, for example, reduce the
risk of disease, and the risks associated with the drugs routinely
used to prevent them, both of which also put human populations at
risk. A third policy that can support sustainability and reduce vul-
nerability involves reciprocity of slaughterhouse inspection. Ready
access to local slaughterhouses with U.S. Department of Agricul-
ture (USDA) certifi cation would improve small farmers’ access to
markets for sustainably raised meat. Measures to provide such ac-
cess were approved in the 2008 federal farm bill, but much work
remains to be done before the effects are seen. For meat to be sold
across state lines or in foreign countries, the USDA requires that an-
imals be slaughtered, processed, and packaged at USDA-approved
slaughter facilities. However, large companies own most of the ap-