News, Indiana dairy farm High Point Dairy has agreed
to pay a $9,600 civil penalty fine plus a $1,775 reimbursement to the Indiana Department of Natural
Resources after manure overflowed into nearby
Fountain Creek last
year, killing upwards of 3,500 fish.
White, estimated that around 5,000 gallons of cow manure polluted the water.
The trouble started when a manure lagoon, storing thousands of gallons of cow
waste, became full to the brim. Then came heavy rains, making the overflow
inevitable. By the time residents noticed dead fish in the creek, it was too
late.
Environmental Management,
this isn’t the first time High Point Dairy has violated environmental
regulations.
after the second-largest dairy farm in Oregon, Lost Valley Farm, lost its operating permit due to similar violations.
Lost Valley Farm repeatedly mismanaged its waste and contaminated legally
protected groundwater with cow manure.
its massive dairy operation, concerned officials in Morrow County penned a
letter to the state’s department of agriculture explaining that the farm could
negatively impact human health and the environment:
The County Court respectfully asks that the
ODA, through issuance of this permit, not harm water reserves, increase
groundwater contamination, or negatively impact agricultural production.
violating environmental regulations and polluting water. Last year, a dairy factory farm just outside Loveland, Colorado, was
placed under investigation after public health officials discovered that cow
manure had been dumped into the Big Thompson River. Similarly, more than
190,000 gallons of manure from Tony Silveira
Dairy spilled into Oregon’s Tillamook Bay last year. And an HP Hood dairy facility in
Frederick County, Virginia, came under fire for regularly violating pollution
limits in its wastewater.
Toxins like manure and fertilizer from factory farm runoff leak into nearby
waterways. These toxins promote algae blooms, which create dead zones that kill aquatic
life. In
fact, animal excrement and
agricultural runoff have polluted nearly one-third of rivers in the U.S.
Dairy factory farming is not only damaging to human health and the environment but unspeakably cruel. At dairy factory farms, cows are treated as mere
milk-producing machines.
They are forcibly impregnated and kept in terrible conditions. Calves are torn away from their mothers shortly after they are born. Male calves are killed for
veal.
Females are forced into the dairy herd, trapped in a cycle of abuse for years until they are considered
“spent and sent to slaughter.
Heartbreaking, right? Just watch this undercover video from a Mercy For Animals
investigation.
Help
protect our planet, your health, and cows by joining the millions who are
boycotting the destructive factory farming industry by ditching dairy and
other animal products. Click here to get started. And check out our Pinterest page for thousands of recipe ideas!
For a list of dairy alternatives, click here.
