2 NEW REPORTS DOCUMENT RISKS, COSTS OF CAFOS:
1)POLLUTION, DISEASE RISKS FROM CAFOS. 2-yr study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health cite risks from the huge amount of animal waste industrial farms generate, use of antibiotics by such facilities leading to the development of drug-resistant bacteria and the high concentration of animals on industrial farms increasing the risk of disease spreading. The report recommends phasing out the most inhumane production practices within 10 years; implementing federal performance-based standards to improve animal welfare; and expanding and reforming animal agriculture research. See the full report.

2) CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS COST TAXPAYERS BILLIONS. The Union of Concerned Scientists calls for POLICIES THAT REDUCE CAFO SUBSIDIES AND ENCOURAGE MODERN, SUSTAINABLE MEAT, MILK AND EGG PRODUCTION. See "CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations" for details of the policies that have allowed CAFOs to dominate U.S. meat and dairy production. "CAFOs aren't the natural result of agricultural progress, nor are they the result of rational planning or market forces," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in UCS's Food and Environment Program and author of the report. "Ill-advised policies created them, and it will take new policies to replace them with more sustainable, environmentally friendly production methods."