Breaking drone footage from Mercy For Animals reveals what could be one of the strangest things ever seen at a factory farm. The aerial footage shows a device capturing methane from a covered pond of cow feces for use as biogas.
Biogas
Instead of working to mitigate the devastating environmental impacts of factory farming, Big Ag has created a new money-making industry that could further entrench the current system.
Biogas—which should really be called “dirty factory-farm gas”—may actually incentivize factory farms to raise more animals so they can create more methane, a greenhouse gas tens of times more potent than carbon dioxide. In fact, Mercy For Animals research shows that many dairy facilities increased their herd sizes after having biogas systems permitted or installed.
The global food system contributes nearly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, and as a leading source of methane, animal agriculture is a major part of the problem. But of course, the disastrous effects of factory farming go well beyond methane.
Factory-Farm Pollution
Each year, slaughterhouses dump millions of pounds of feces, blood, and other contaminants into rivers and streams across the United States. In fact, slaughterhouses and meat-processing facilities are top industrial sources of phosphorus and nitrogen pollution, which promotes the growth of algae blooms. These blooms can make water unsafe for drinking or outdoor recreation and create oxygen-deprived zones that cause aquatic animals to flee or die.
Industrial animal agriculture often victimizes the most vulnerable among us. In fact, according to the EPA, a stunning 74% of meat plants discharging waste into waterways are within one mile of low-income communities or communities of color. Not only does the waste from factory farms and slaughterhouses contaminate waterways, but nearby communities are forced to endure the stench and insects that come with these facilities.
Animal Suffering
Factory farming leads to the widespread suffering of countless animals. At dairy farms, cows are treated like mere milk-producing machines—constantly cycling through pregnancy, birth, and milking until their bodies give out or their milk production is no longer profitable.
Mercy For Animals undercover investigations have exposed workers at dairy factory farms dragging cows by their necks with ropes attached to tractors and viciously kicking and hitting them. Cows were tied up, shocked, and hit on their heads with sledgehammers.
Take Action
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden recently signed into law, includes conservation funding for climate-smart agricultural practices. Big Ag wants to spend these federal dollars on false solutions, like dirty factory-farm gas, that would further entrench the factory-farming system.
This climate-smart funding must go to real solutions. One such solution is supporting farmers who wish to transition their factory farms to climate-smart operations.
It is time to prioritize our planet by directing climate funding to true environmental solutions. Urge the Biden administration to make farm transitions eligible for IRA climate-smart funding!
