Concentrated Animal Feed Lots (CAFL)

According to Humane society, concentrated animal feeding operations are legally defined as industrial farming facilities that confine animals for 45 days or more within a year for their meat or products, such as meat, eggs or milk. While CAFOs are highly efficiently and are excellent ways to meet the growing demand from the population, there are major ethical concerns. Animal welfare is one main problem: animals in CAFOs often suffer from overcrowding, poor living conditions, and limited access to natural behaviors. In fact, animals frequently die in CAFOs, further illustrating how terrible the living conditions are. This is also a problem overlooked and not regulated. “CAFOs are not restricted by animal cruelty regulations because many states exempt livestock farming from customary animal cruelty statutes (Humane Society, n.d.). These factors allow CAFOs to continue employing poor management practices that negatively impact the animals they produce for consumption”——umass.edu

The conditions in CAFO’s are not only physically but also mentally problematic; many scientific studies support the claim that pigs housed in CAFOs suffer negative physiological consequences due to detrimental farm conditions. This is evidenced  by the shown immunological impacts on pigs housed in CAFOs. Elevated white blood cell levels were seen in pigs before and after transport to slaughter from the CAFO’s. And given that elevated white blood cell levels occur in pigs experiencing acute stress, this just further proves the detrimental mental and physical environment animals in CAFO’s are experiencing.