Industrial Food Animal Production and the High-meat ... - Food Day

Industrial Food Animal
Production and the High-meat Diet:
Health and Environmental Consequences
A Webinar in Anticipation of
Food Day, October 24
June 28, 2011
Robert S. Lawrence, MD
Director, Center for a Livable Future (CLF);
Keeve Nachman, PhD, MHS
Director, Farming for the Future Program, CLF
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Diverse and Resilient to Specialized

Food Animal Production in the US has been
Transformed over the Last 50 Years
Estimated 91 billion food animals
produced annually in the US
Source: Agricultural Statistics Board, NASS-USDA. Statistics by Subject.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_Subject/index.asp

Localization of Production
(Aho, 2003)
(USDA, 2009)
1949
Poultry processing plants
• Each dot represents a plant processing
50,000 or more chickens each year
2007
Chicken production
• Each dot represents annual
production of 1 million or more
chickens

Retail cut equiv./lb. per person
300
225
150
75
Meat Consumption
Continues to Increase in US
U.S. Per Capita Meat Consumption 1950 - 2007*
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2002 2004 2006*
*Data for 2005 is an estimate; data for 2006-2007 are projections
^Excluding veal
Source: USDA, Economic Research Service
Total
Chicken
Beef^
Pork
Turkey
Veal

Meat Consumption in America
Meat consumption comparison
(pounds per person per year)

The link between diet and health
Diets high in meat and saturated fat
increase our risk for heart disease,
stroke, cancer and diabetes.
Healthy, low-fat meal
Typical American meal high
in fat and saturated fat
Diets high in fruit, vegetables, whole
grains, beans and low-fat dairy foods
help prevent these same diseases.

2009-10 Slaughter and Inventory
Statistics for US Livestock
Animal # Slaughtered/year Inventory
Chickens 8,658,860,000* Not given
Hogs 113,733,800 64,400,000
Cattle & calves 33,300,000 93,700,000
Sheep & lambs 2,611,200 6,900,000
Turkeys 245,768,000 Not given
Total 9,054,273,000 -
* 1 million per hour
Source: USDA 2010

A campaign of The Monday Campaigns in association
with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Health Impacts of Industrial Food
Production Methods
• Environment
• Soil
• Water
• Air
• Biodiversity
• Chemicals, hormones, endocrine disrupters,
pesticide residues
• Antibiotics and Ab-resistant bacteria
• Loss of social capital in rural America
• Global climate change

Community Health Effects
Associated with Swine CAFOs
• Higher rates of respiratory
problems, nausea, diarrhea,
headaches, and plugged ears
• Higher rates of eye, nose,
and throat irritation
• Significantly more episodes
of depression, anxiety, anger,
fatigue, and confusion among
neighbors of swine CAFOs
Schiffman et al. (1995). Brain Research Bulletin.
Thu. (2002). Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health.
Wing and Wolf. (2000). Environmental Health Perspectives.

Use of Chemicals
• Over 1,600 chemicals used in
the manufacture of pesticide —
most have not been tested
• Worldwide, >6 million tons
of pesticides per year
• Human health
• Poisonings; long-term effects on
the immune, reproductive, and
nervous systems; increased
cancer risk

12 Most
Contaminated:
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes (Imported)
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
Pesticides in Produce
www.foodnews.org
12 Least
Contaminated:
Onions
Avocados
Sweet Corn (Frozen)
Pineapples
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Kiwi Fruit
Bananas
Cabbage
Broccoli
Papaya

Produce Contamination and
Human Illness
• Approx. 48 million cases of foodborne
illness in the U.S. per year (CDC
estimates)
• Foodborne illness associated with
produce is increasing over time

How Much Waste?
Approx. one dry ton of animal waste
generated for every US citizen
Treated Untreated
Human Waste Animal Waste
Generated/yr 6.9 million dry tons
Applied to Land/yr 3.9 million dry tons
287 million dry tons
>270 million dry tons

What’s in Animal Waste?
• Bacteria
• Protozoa
• Viruses
• Animal dander
• Pharmaceuticals
• Heavy metals
• Hormones
• Nutrients
Photo credit: SRA Project

Antibiotic Use:
Feed Additives vs. Human Medicine

Origins and Perpetuation of Resistance
Primary mechanisms of development and dissemination of resistance:
• Natural selection
• Sharing of resistance genes
• Mutagenesis
• Reservoir of resistance
Recent findings:
• Community dynamics

Resistance Selection
R.I.P.

Horizontal gene transfer
from Fuyura, Nature Reviews
Microbiology, 2006

Conditions Promoting
Resistance in Agriculture
• Failure of infection control
– Crowding
– Often sub-optimal hygiene
• Exposure to antibiotics
– Widespread
– Prolonged
– Sub-lethal doses
– Often little dose control
• Stress reaction
– Increases bacterial shedding

Thank You!
Robert S. Lawrence, MD
Director, Center for a Livable Future (CLF)
Keeve Nachman, PhD, MHS
Director, Farming for the Future Program, CLF
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
OUR WEBSITES:
www.jhsph.edu/clf
http://aphg.jhsph.edu/
OUR BLOG:
www.livablefutureblog.com