CAFOs injure and sicken their workers
- CAFOs wreck domestic rural communities
- Environmental damage caused by factory farms
- Cole et al., 2000
- CAFOS reduce employment and provide low quality jobs
- Public health damage from living near IMPs
A 2018 review of 21 studies found that workers in CAFOs are exposed to high levels of bio-aerosols, and the more they were exposed to, the worst their respiratory health was.
Studies among farmers have indeed shown a higher risk of developing COPD, especially in cattle, poultry and pig farmers, probably due to long-term exposure to indoor air contaminants (Fontana et al., 2017, Guillien et al., 2019).
Case study: Vermont's Migrant dairy workers
77% of workers reported being harmed from a musculoskeletal risk. Of these workers, 82% also reported having pain in the back or neck from moving or carrying heavy things. Additionally, 58% of workers reported being harmed by repetitive movement and 73% also had pain in the back or neck from repetitive movements. 83% of workers reported experiencing harm from a chemical or biological risk. Interviews showed prevalence of itchy eyes (49%), coughing (47%), headaches (50%), skin rashes (36%), skin burns (32%), allergies (26%), nosebleeds (32%) difficulty breathing (27%), and vision problems (22%). About 67% of workers reported one or more concerns related to mental health, with the most prevalent reports were feeling stressed (64%) and feeling depressed (40%).
Injuries
US meat workers are already three times more likely to suffer serious injury than the average American worker, and pork and beef workers nearly seven times more likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries. There have been reductions in worker injury rates over the last couple of decades, but they remain high.
Records compiled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reveal that, on average, there are at least 17 “severe” incidents a month in US meat plants. These injuries are classified as those involving “hospitalisations, amputations or loss of an eye”.
Recorded injuries include:
- An employee’s left arm had to be surgically amputated at the shoulder after it was pulled into the cubing machine during sanitation
- A worker was reaching down to pick up a box to clear a jam when his jacket became caught in a roller. As he tried to pull it out, his hand got pulled in as well. His hand and lower arm were crushed
- While an employee was attempting to remove the ribs from the spine of a cattle rib set, his hand made contact with a running vertical band saw and two of his fingers were amputated
- An employee working on a sanitation crew pushed the stop button after removing parts from the upper portion of a machine. The employee then placed his foot into a horizontal grinder while climbing down from the machine, causing all five toes on his right foot to be amputated
- A worker was clearing the hydrolyzer when back pressure caused hot feathers to discharge on to him. As he moved out of the way, he fell six feet, breaking a bone over his left eye and suffering first- and second-degree burns to the hands, arms, face and neck.
Mental illness
- A review of 14 studies confirms this Slade and Alleyne, 2021
- Lander and colleagues (2016) found that the prevalence of depression was four times higher than the national average. Lipscomb and colleagues (2007) found that rates of severe depression were more than five times higher than their reference group, controlling for gender and socioeconomic variables.
- Hutz et al. (2013) found higher levels of vulnerability, anxiety and depression due to stressfull working conditions among Brazillian slaughterhouse workers