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John Ikerd
johnikerd.com
Sun, 13 Sep 2015 21:12 UTC
Comment: The economics of CAFOs:
- There are approximately 15,000 CAFOs in the US, which raise 50% of all animals used for our food.
- The largest food processors hold the greatest share of the market, so they wield more power, both economic and political.
- CAFOs receive a wide array of subsidies, both direct and indirect, such as crop subsidies on the corn and soybean used to feed CAFO animals. This in turn means more money in the pockets of feed producers like Monsanto.
- Because CAFOs are not held accountable for the environmental and health damage they do, they don't have to worry about those costs, putting more into their pocket. Those costs are absorbed by the public at large.
- There are also the economies of scale: once a farm is automated for a large number of animals, doubling that number does not mean a doubling of costs. Organic costs more to produce - as much as 20% more - than CAFOs and factory farms because they require more labor (no use of dangerous of chemicals), more costly fertilizer, higher labor costs for crop rotation, more money spent on organic certification, slower growing time, greater post-harvest handling costs to avoid cross-contamination, and more spacious (and thus more expensive) living conditions for livestock. And of course they don't receive the aforementioned subsidies.