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Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment
Swine flu. Bird flu. Unusual concentrations of cancer and other diseases. Massive fish kills from flesh-eating parasites. Recalls of meats, vegetables, and fruits because of deadly E-coli bacterial contamination.
Recent public health crises raise urgent questions about how our animal-derived food is raised and brought to market. In Animal Factory, bestselling investigative journalist David Kirby exposes the powerful business and political interests behind large-scale factory farms, and tracks the far-reaching fallout that contaminates our air, land, water, and food.
In this thoroughly researched book, Kirby follows three families and communities whose lives are utterly changed by immense neighboring animal farms. These farms (known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” or CAFOs), confine thousands of pigs, dairy cattle, and poultry in small spaces, often under horrifying conditions, and generate enormous volumes of fecal and biological waste as well as other toxins.
Weaving science, politics, law, big business, and everyday life, Kirby accompanies these families in their struggles against animal factories. A North Carolina fisherman takes on pig farms upstream to preserve his river, his family’s life, and his home. A mother in a small Illinois town pushes back against an out-sized dairy farm and its devastating impact.
And a Washington State grandmother becomes an unlikely activist when her home is invaded by foul odors and her water supply is compromised by runoff from leaking lagoons of cattle waste.
Animal Factory is an important book about our American food system gone terribly wrong---and the people who are fighting to restore sustainable farming practices and save our limited natural resources.
Recent public health crises raise urgent questions about how our animal-derived food is raised and brought to market. In Animal Factory, bestselling investigative journalist David Kirby exposes the powerful business and political interests behind large-scale factory farms, and tracks the far-reaching fallout that contaminates our air, land, water, and food.
In this thoroughly researched book, Kirby follows three families and communities whose lives are utterly changed by immense neighboring animal farms. These farms (known as “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” or CAFOs), confine thousands of pigs, dairy cattle, and poultry in small spaces, often under horrifying conditions, and generate enormous volumes of fecal and biological waste as well as other toxins.
Weaving science, politics, law, big business, and everyday life, Kirby accompanies these families in their struggles against animal factories. A North Carolina fisherman takes on pig farms upstream to preserve his river, his family’s life, and his home. A mother in a small Illinois town pushes back against an out-sized dairy farm and its devastating impact.
And a Washington State grandmother becomes an unlikely activist when her home is invaded by foul odors and her water supply is compromised by runoff from leaking lagoons of cattle waste.
Animal Factory is an important book about our American food system gone terribly wrong---and the people who are fighting to restore sustainable farming practices and save our limited natural resources.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2010
39 people are currently reading
1349 people want to read
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October 14, 2014
My first job after graduate school was in Harrisonburg, Va., a largely rural community with several poultry-processing plants. My second apartment there was a few blocks from the biggest plant, and driving home from work or the gym I would frequently get stuck behind semi-trucks heading there with cages full of chickens. The cages were tiny, crammed onto the flatbed of the semis, and left open to the air during transport. The chickens were small and white, and feathers typically flew whenever the truck moved. They made me cry every single time.
As I get older and deal with various health issues, I'm increasingly interested in where my food comes from. I have been a vegetarian since I was 13, but I care deeply about animal welfare, and while I knew this book would be disturbing and difficult, I wanted to read it. I'm glad I did. I didn't realize when I picked it up how much factory farming takes place in North Carolina and how barbaric it really is. Some facts:
Dairy, hog, poultry and egg CAFO "farms" - concentrated animal feeding operations - place literally thousands of animals in long, concrete buildings with no windows. These animals spend their entire lives indoors in spaces so small they can't stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs and, in the case of the chickens, move at all. Piglets are taken from nursing sows before they are properly weaned. Slaughter is frequently inhumane. From the book, some specifics about poultry CAFOs. The chickens sit in cages about the width/length of a sheet of paper. Their food is delivered to them on conveyer belts, their water is delivered via a pick right above their heads, and their litter is taken away on another conveyor belt. Broiler chickens, the kind you typically buy at the grocery store, are bred specifically to grow fast - so fast it's uncomfortable and painful for the birds.
"As birds got bigger, contractors were required to raise the level of the pans each week with a motorized pulley system. 'They don't want chickens have to bend down to reach the food,' Carole [a former contract farmer] explained. 'That would be wasting energy. And they make sure there's plenty of feed in the pans at all times - those birds eat constantly.' The same is done with drinking-water lines, only these were kept slightly above beak level...'The company really wants water in that bird - it makes them grow faster. And arsenic makes it drink more. They also put salt in the feed. Those are some VERY thirsty chickens.'
The brutal heat and humidity of eastern shore summers also took its toll on the birds. Normally, the way chickens cool off, aside from panting, is to stand up, lift their wings, and let all that heat under them escape. 'But now, they are bred and ed in such a way that, after about five weeks, they are just too darn big to walk or even get up. So they just sit there,' Carole said. 'They will die of heat if you don't do something. So during the summer, someone has to go into each confinement building every hour to 'walk the chickens' - physically force them to get up and flap their wings around, otherwise they'd just sit there and die.' ... As the birds got bigger, the heat really became hard for them to handle. 'You constantly have to pull out all the dead birds, up to one hundred or two hundred per day, per building,' Carole said. 'Many of them die of heart attacks or kidney failure, because they are growing so fast their internal organs cannot keep up with their muscles and skeletons.' Industrial chickens are 'on the verge of structural collapse' because they grow so fast, she said. One study found that 90 percent of all meat chickens have leg problems and structural deformities, and more than a quarter live with the chronic pain of bone disease."
This is some of the LESS disturbing information in the book. CAFOs also contribute to human illness by overusing antibiotics as a preventive measure, which leads to antibiotic-resistant strains of illness (i.e. swine flu - literally, cultivated at a hog CAFO in Mexico and transmitted to humans). The massive amounts of waste from these facilities is sprayed on already-saturated fields, leading to water pollution (including the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers). Waste lagoons emit foul stenches that make nearby residents sick and cause property values to plummet. I could go on.
If you're interested in animal welfare, environmental health, agriculture or simply the origins of your food, I can't recommend this book enough. The problem is complicated and at the consumer level, so is the solution - not everyone (myself included) can afford to buy all-organic, 100 percent humane food. The book touches on that as well. A wonderfully researched and written, if wholly disturbing, look at the agricultural system in the United States.
Cons: A bit too long, in my opinion. I think Kirby had more research than he knew what to do with.
As I get older and deal with various health issues, I'm increasingly interested in where my food comes from. I have been a vegetarian since I was 13, but I care deeply about animal welfare, and while I knew this book would be disturbing and difficult, I wanted to read it. I'm glad I did. I didn't realize when I picked it up how much factory farming takes place in North Carolina and how barbaric it really is. Some facts:
Dairy, hog, poultry and egg CAFO "farms" - concentrated animal feeding operations - place literally thousands of animals in long, concrete buildings with no windows. These animals spend their entire lives indoors in spaces so small they can't stand up, turn around, stretch their limbs and, in the case of the chickens, move at all. Piglets are taken from nursing sows before they are properly weaned. Slaughter is frequently inhumane. From the book, some specifics about poultry CAFOs. The chickens sit in cages about the width/length of a sheet of paper. Their food is delivered to them on conveyer belts, their water is delivered via a pick right above their heads, and their litter is taken away on another conveyor belt. Broiler chickens, the kind you typically buy at the grocery store, are bred specifically to grow fast - so fast it's uncomfortable and painful for the birds.
"As birds got bigger, contractors were required to raise the level of the pans each week with a motorized pulley system. 'They don't want chickens have to bend down to reach the food,' Carole [a former contract farmer] explained. 'That would be wasting energy. And they make sure there's plenty of feed in the pans at all times - those birds eat constantly.' The same is done with drinking-water lines, only these were kept slightly above beak level...'The company really wants water in that bird - it makes them grow faster. And arsenic makes it drink more. They also put salt in the feed. Those are some VERY thirsty chickens.'
The brutal heat and humidity of eastern shore summers also took its toll on the birds. Normally, the way chickens cool off, aside from panting, is to stand up, lift their wings, and let all that heat under them escape. 'But now, they are bred and ed in such a way that, after about five weeks, they are just too darn big to walk or even get up. So they just sit there,' Carole said. 'They will die of heat if you don't do something. So during the summer, someone has to go into each confinement building every hour to 'walk the chickens' - physically force them to get up and flap their wings around, otherwise they'd just sit there and die.' ... As the birds got bigger, the heat really became hard for them to handle. 'You constantly have to pull out all the dead birds, up to one hundred or two hundred per day, per building,' Carole said. 'Many of them die of heart attacks or kidney failure, because they are growing so fast their internal organs cannot keep up with their muscles and skeletons.' Industrial chickens are 'on the verge of structural collapse' because they grow so fast, she said. One study found that 90 percent of all meat chickens have leg problems and structural deformities, and more than a quarter live with the chronic pain of bone disease."
This is some of the LESS disturbing information in the book. CAFOs also contribute to human illness by overusing antibiotics as a preventive measure, which leads to antibiotic-resistant strains of illness (i.e. swine flu - literally, cultivated at a hog CAFO in Mexico and transmitted to humans). The massive amounts of waste from these facilities is sprayed on already-saturated fields, leading to water pollution (including the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers). Waste lagoons emit foul stenches that make nearby residents sick and cause property values to plummet. I could go on.
If you're interested in animal welfare, environmental health, agriculture or simply the origins of your food, I can't recommend this book enough. The problem is complicated and at the consumer level, so is the solution - not everyone (myself included) can afford to buy all-organic, 100 percent humane food. The book touches on that as well. A wonderfully researched and written, if wholly disturbing, look at the agricultural system in the United States.
Cons: A bit too long, in my opinion. I think Kirby had more research than he knew what to do with.
October 7, 2019
Kirby isn’t a vegan or vegetarian and it shows. This is about the evils of factory farms for specifically damaging the health of local farms and individuals that live near them. It delves bed superficially into environmental problems and is an endless string of journalistic facts and quotes. Did he edit it? If he had it would be a quarter of this length and probably include more on the animal ethics and health risks of meat and dairy consumption which is either not covered or skimmed briefly in parts. I liked about 10% of this and could have gone without the rest. Read “comfortably unaware” and “Project Animal
Farm” for more polished writing about industrial farming and the first talks about how sustainable farms are really not that sustainable which this book conveniently avoids.
Farm” for more polished writing about industrial farming and the first talks about how sustainable farms are really not that sustainable which this book conveniently avoids.
March 8, 2010
Animal Factory exposes the shocking and ugly ways large scale animal processors are impacting our environment. Before reading this eye opening book, I had no idea of the pollution coming out of today’s large scale pork farms, dairies, and cattle operations. I always thought of farming as a fairly benign activity. Cows poop in the fields, and farmers plow the manure in for fertilizer. Seems harmless and natural, right? It is, in a traditional farm.
But today’s mega-farms concentrate thousands of animals in a fraction of the space. Cows in these lots don’t graze in meadows – they are fed concentrated food from troughs. They are packed so tight there’s no room to graze, and there are so many hungry beasts that there’s nothing growing to eat, anyway. A field that thrived on the manure of fifty cows collapses with the waste stream of five hundred, and it becomes an environmental disaster when trampled by a thousand cattle.
David showed me a new perspective on animal waste, and frankly, it’s shocking. It’s no surprise that cows and pigs generate more waste than humans. What happens to it? In many places, the waste is pumped into lagoons – open cesspools – before being sprayed on surrounding fields. Some of these animal operations generate as much waste as a city of 10,000 people. Can you imagine the public outrage if we stored that much human waste in open cesspools before spraying it over community meadows? That’s a pretty disgusting thought.
Yet that’s exactly what we do with pig, chicken, and cattle wastes. We’ve brought human waste under tight control in recent decades. David shows us that it’s time to do the same for animals in these factory environments.
There have been a number of books in recent years detailing the animal cruelty and purported evils of large scale animal operations. That’s not the message of this book. Rather, David takes us into communities in North Carolina, the Midwest, and Washington State where we see the impact this kind of agriculture has on communities and the environment. And it’s not pretty.
Now that I’ve read Animal Factory, my view of these factory farms is forever changed. Millions of people appreciate cheap meats in the supermarket, and places like these make that possible. But at what price? Humanity evolved on a much lower level of meat consumption. Perhaps it’s time to take a step back, and reconsider our priorities. I know I will. I already knew the risks of heart disease from eating too much meat. Now, adding the environmental risks, I think the answer for me is less meat, sustainably raised.
David makes a strong case for monitoring and regulating these mega-animal processors the same way we oversee chemical plants and other large industrial operations. Operators will surely cry foul, and complain that the cost of sewage treatment will make our food more expensive. But they are wrong. Every time a meat processor saves a few million dollars on waste management we all suffer as our rivers are polluted, fish die, and people get sick.
The owners of the food factories get rich by cutting corners, and we live with the consequences. Communities around these plants endure horrible and unhealthy stenches, and a toxic rain of manure and other effluents. And when the waste lagoons burst the effects are even worse.
David’s book doesn’t contain any nutrition or eating advice, but I sure am glad I eat organic locally grown foods whenever I can. There may not be much I can do about pollution from a hog factory in North Carolina, but I can at least support sustainable and environmentally responsible alternatives, so that’s what I do. And I can eat less meat. You can too.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma showed us alternatives to factory foods.
Slaughterhouse showed what it’s like for workers and animals inside these places.
Now, Animal Factory shows us the place these operations have in our human community.
And it’s not for me. This is an eye opening book, for sure. Read it.
But today’s mega-farms concentrate thousands of animals in a fraction of the space. Cows in these lots don’t graze in meadows – they are fed concentrated food from troughs. They are packed so tight there’s no room to graze, and there are so many hungry beasts that there’s nothing growing to eat, anyway. A field that thrived on the manure of fifty cows collapses with the waste stream of five hundred, and it becomes an environmental disaster when trampled by a thousand cattle.
David showed me a new perspective on animal waste, and frankly, it’s shocking. It’s no surprise that cows and pigs generate more waste than humans. What happens to it? In many places, the waste is pumped into lagoons – open cesspools – before being sprayed on surrounding fields. Some of these animal operations generate as much waste as a city of 10,000 people. Can you imagine the public outrage if we stored that much human waste in open cesspools before spraying it over community meadows? That’s a pretty disgusting thought.
Yet that’s exactly what we do with pig, chicken, and cattle wastes. We’ve brought human waste under tight control in recent decades. David shows us that it’s time to do the same for animals in these factory environments.
There have been a number of books in recent years detailing the animal cruelty and purported evils of large scale animal operations. That’s not the message of this book. Rather, David takes us into communities in North Carolina, the Midwest, and Washington State where we see the impact this kind of agriculture has on communities and the environment. And it’s not pretty.
Now that I’ve read Animal Factory, my view of these factory farms is forever changed. Millions of people appreciate cheap meats in the supermarket, and places like these make that possible. But at what price? Humanity evolved on a much lower level of meat consumption. Perhaps it’s time to take a step back, and reconsider our priorities. I know I will. I already knew the risks of heart disease from eating too much meat. Now, adding the environmental risks, I think the answer for me is less meat, sustainably raised.
David makes a strong case for monitoring and regulating these mega-animal processors the same way we oversee chemical plants and other large industrial operations. Operators will surely cry foul, and complain that the cost of sewage treatment will make our food more expensive. But they are wrong. Every time a meat processor saves a few million dollars on waste management we all suffer as our rivers are polluted, fish die, and people get sick.
The owners of the food factories get rich by cutting corners, and we live with the consequences. Communities around these plants endure horrible and unhealthy stenches, and a toxic rain of manure and other effluents. And when the waste lagoons burst the effects are even worse.
David’s book doesn’t contain any nutrition or eating advice, but I sure am glad I eat organic locally grown foods whenever I can. There may not be much I can do about pollution from a hog factory in North Carolina, but I can at least support sustainable and environmentally responsible alternatives, so that’s what I do. And I can eat less meat. You can too.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma showed us alternatives to factory foods.
Slaughterhouse showed what it’s like for workers and animals inside these places.
Now, Animal Factory shows us the place these operations have in our human community.
And it’s not for me. This is an eye opening book, for sure. Read it.
September 26, 2017
I have mixed feelings about this one. I guess I should start by explaining why I read this book in the first place. That’d be because I’m writing a novel that’s set on a factory farm – or a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) as they prefer to be known – and so I read this book as part of my research. I needed to learn as much as I could about how factory farms operate so that I could capture their evils in what’s essentially a political horror novel.
The issue here is that it’s long and fairly repetitive, and it really just follows the stories of several different activists as they repeatedly file legislation. It doesn’t really take us inside the farms as such, focusing more on the excrement that they pour into rivers and which causes the locals to suffer some serious adverse effects. We’re talking death, here. People die because of CAFOs, and yet most people turn a blind eye.
Still, this might not be the best book to read unless you’re heavily involved in the field, and it’s not really a decent introduction into what actually goes inside the facilities. It’s more like a prolonged anecdote, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll feel your interest starting to wane even if you are using it as research for an exciting new novel.
On the plus side, nobody could argue that it isn’t thorough. The author has clearly put a lot of effort into his research and he’s also undeniably passionate about the subject. I had to give it a 4/5 instead of a 3/5 quite simply because there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s fine. It’s just not amazing. And when you’re starting to read a 500 page piece of non-fiction, you damn well want to make sure that it’s going to be worth your while before you invest the time.
This book, then, probably isn’t the book that will appeal to regular readers and turn CAFOs and factory farms into a subject that everyone in the country has an informed opinion on. It’s more of a specialist read, but it will at least offer some comfort to people who are facing a new facility that’s popped up or is threatening to pop up near to their homes and workplaces.
But it doesn’t really matter whether this book is specialist or not, because ultimately if you do decide to read it then the author is preaching to the converted. If you don’t give a damn about where your food comes from, you’re unlikely to care enough to research it. It’s a shame really, because it’s the ignorant people who most need to read it.
It is what it is. If you’re happy to invest a lot of time reading about litigation and the like then this book’s for you. If not, don’t bother. Try something else.
The issue here is that it’s long and fairly repetitive, and it really just follows the stories of several different activists as they repeatedly file legislation. It doesn’t really take us inside the farms as such, focusing more on the excrement that they pour into rivers and which causes the locals to suffer some serious adverse effects. We’re talking death, here. People die because of CAFOs, and yet most people turn a blind eye.
Still, this might not be the best book to read unless you’re heavily involved in the field, and it’s not really a decent introduction into what actually goes inside the facilities. It’s more like a prolonged anecdote, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll feel your interest starting to wane even if you are using it as research for an exciting new novel.
On the plus side, nobody could argue that it isn’t thorough. The author has clearly put a lot of effort into his research and he’s also undeniably passionate about the subject. I had to give it a 4/5 instead of a 3/5 quite simply because there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s fine. It’s just not amazing. And when you’re starting to read a 500 page piece of non-fiction, you damn well want to make sure that it’s going to be worth your while before you invest the time.
This book, then, probably isn’t the book that will appeal to regular readers and turn CAFOs and factory farms into a subject that everyone in the country has an informed opinion on. It’s more of a specialist read, but it will at least offer some comfort to people who are facing a new facility that’s popped up or is threatening to pop up near to their homes and workplaces.
But it doesn’t really matter whether this book is specialist or not, because ultimately if you do decide to read it then the author is preaching to the converted. If you don’t give a damn about where your food comes from, you’re unlikely to care enough to research it. It’s a shame really, because it’s the ignorant people who most need to read it.
It is what it is. If you’re happy to invest a lot of time reading about litigation and the like then this book’s for you. If not, don’t bother. Try something else.
March 30, 2010
From my blog:[return]Animal Factory by David Kirby is a well written, researched and documented book regarding the potential damages of industrial pig, dairy and poultry farms to not only humans but also to the environment. He writes a passionate and compelling novel, and it is one sided and fairly narrow in focus even with him following three communities. A more balanced book would have gone farther with me than just a personal narrative about the evils of Industrial animal farming. However, Kirby's journalist skills are impeccably thorough and quite compelling. Animal Factory is a book to make people stop and think before buying meat, dairy and poultry products. Kirby follows three communities and while I applaud his thoroughness, I would have preferred to read a book a little less one-sided, however I do like the fact he does not blame the farmer, or even the industry, but points to a systemic failure. I applaud Kirby for writing what he does about more sustainable meat, dairy and poultry markets, farms not industries. While I would have preferred a more balanced approach, Animal Factory is well written and if a person is on the fence about the meat and poultry industry, this book will probably decide the case for you and I believe that is what worries me about this book. However, I do agree with Fred Kirschmann's point in the book (page 443), that the system is broken; from farmers to consumers we are all caught in the same system. Did Kirby convince me to once again become a vegetarian, no. I know a lot of wonderful farmers and I shall continue buying meat and poultry, and continue to stay vigilant about what meats and poultry I purchase. Animal Factory is an excellent book for consumers who want to stay informed, make better choices, and/or help to bring farming back to the farmers.
May 8, 2010
Sometimes it seems that the only people who truly support CAFOs, or animal factory farms, are those who stand to profit from them. This is made brilliantly clear in "Animal Factory," David Kirby’s exposé into the business. To most people, especially those who are forced to live in their vicinity, CAFOs are a major source of environmental pollution. "Animal Factor" follows the stories of three people trying to fight against big dairy and pork operations. These stories are deeply disturbing and might actually make readers sick. Animal waste from manure “lagoons” pollute water supplies when they overflow or are breached; excessive levels of nitrates make people gravely ill, while the animal feces invite infestations of algae, parasites, and protozoa that kill millions of fish and can leave open wounds on people who come in contact with the water. Despite the author’s claim of neutrality on the subject, readers will undoubtedly walk away from this book firmly in the anti-CAFO corner. The writing is brilliant, the people profiled are inspirational in their activism, and the topic is one that so many people remain blissfully ignorant of. Everyone would benefit from reading this book and becoming aware of where their food comes from.
May 25, 2010
Most people who pay attention to food production in America realize that our cheap meals have come with some very troubling hidden costs. However, no book I've found has outlined the human casualties of factory farming in such a thorough and devastating manner.
Readers will share the quiet outrage of those rural residents who have had their backyards, waterways, livelihoods and health destroyed by massive-scale pig, poultry, and cattle operations. This isn't a book about animal cruelty, but rather the human toll taken by corporate farms' environmental irresponsibility.
The sheer size of this book may, unfortunately, be a turnoff for those only casually interested in the subject matter. Something I couldn't help but wonder: At the end of the day, it is consumer choice driving the factory-farm madness. How many neighbors of noxious CAFOs still choose to buy commercially-produced animal products?
Readers will share the quiet outrage of those rural residents who have had their backyards, waterways, livelihoods and health destroyed by massive-scale pig, poultry, and cattle operations. This isn't a book about animal cruelty, but rather the human toll taken by corporate farms' environmental irresponsibility.
The sheer size of this book may, unfortunately, be a turnoff for those only casually interested in the subject matter. Something I couldn't help but wonder: At the end of the day, it is consumer choice driving the factory-farm madness. How many neighbors of noxious CAFOs still choose to buy commercially-produced animal products?
August 4, 2024
AN EXCELLENT RECENT CRITIQUE OF FACTORY FARMS AND CAFOs
David Kirby is a journalist who also wrote 'Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines' and 'The Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy' and 'Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity.'
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, "'Animal Factory' is not strictly an anti-CAFO [Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations] book... I do not call for an end to industrial animal production... I would never dream of telling people what to eat, or, more importantly, what NOT to eat. But we all have a responsibility, even an ethical obligation, to know where our food comes from, and what impacts its production has on the environment and public health... I am not a vegetarian, and you will occasionally find me in line for fast food, so I have no business telling others how to eat." (Pg. xvi-xvii)
He writes of an area around a factory hog farm, "even when CAFOs were not stinking, the hog smell persists. It can literally adhere to homes. Shingles, siding, and other materials absorb and trap odors during the night, off-gassing them in the sunlight of day. In people, fatty tissues act in much the same way." (Pg. 90)
He observes that "In the closing years of the twentieth century... factory-farm activists soberly realized that they were in this fight for the long haul... The work was grueling, time-consuming, and expensive. The opposition was well funded and well organized. But retreat was not an option... these groups were beginning to come to terms with an unsettling realization: Nobody was going to make factory farms disappear altogether. Reform them, yes. Promote smaller independent farms, of course. But the CAFOs could not be legislated, litigated, or even shamed into obsolescence... by forcing reforms and reducing the risk to public health... the more they were helping to sustain the entire corporate food system. Were activists unwittingly reforming CAFOs into perpetuity?" (Pg. 213)
Later, he adds, "By 2006, the animal-factory wars were raging, having spread from rural communities to state courthouses and now all the way to Capitol Hill. The tactics were fiery, and the rhetoric simplistic, as each side agitated to smear its opponents. Anti-CAFO forces portrayed industrial livestock leaders as part of an immense network of greed, without regard for health and the environment. Agribusiness was ramping up its counterattack that naysayers were anti-farming, overemotional, irrational, and a threat to economic development, affordable food, and national security." (Pg. 325)
This very informative book will be of great interest to persons concerned with animal rights/welfare, as well as vegetarians/vegans, and other progressives.
David Kirby is a journalist who also wrote 'Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines' and 'The Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy' and 'Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity.'
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, "'Animal Factory' is not strictly an anti-CAFO [Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations] book... I do not call for an end to industrial animal production... I would never dream of telling people what to eat, or, more importantly, what NOT to eat. But we all have a responsibility, even an ethical obligation, to know where our food comes from, and what impacts its production has on the environment and public health... I am not a vegetarian, and you will occasionally find me in line for fast food, so I have no business telling others how to eat." (Pg. xvi-xvii)
He writes of an area around a factory hog farm, "even when CAFOs were not stinking, the hog smell persists. It can literally adhere to homes. Shingles, siding, and other materials absorb and trap odors during the night, off-gassing them in the sunlight of day. In people, fatty tissues act in much the same way." (Pg. 90)
He observes that "In the closing years of the twentieth century... factory-farm activists soberly realized that they were in this fight for the long haul... The work was grueling, time-consuming, and expensive. The opposition was well funded and well organized. But retreat was not an option... these groups were beginning to come to terms with an unsettling realization: Nobody was going to make factory farms disappear altogether. Reform them, yes. Promote smaller independent farms, of course. But the CAFOs could not be legislated, litigated, or even shamed into obsolescence... by forcing reforms and reducing the risk to public health... the more they were helping to sustain the entire corporate food system. Were activists unwittingly reforming CAFOs into perpetuity?" (Pg. 213)
Later, he adds, "By 2006, the animal-factory wars were raging, having spread from rural communities to state courthouses and now all the way to Capitol Hill. The tactics were fiery, and the rhetoric simplistic, as each side agitated to smear its opponents. Anti-CAFO forces portrayed industrial livestock leaders as part of an immense network of greed, without regard for health and the environment. Agribusiness was ramping up its counterattack that naysayers were anti-farming, overemotional, irrational, and a threat to economic development, affordable food, and national security." (Pg. 325)
This very informative book will be of great interest to persons concerned with animal rights/welfare, as well as vegetarians/vegans, and other progressives.
July 12, 2018
Holy pig shit. How do you fight Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations? In court, but good luck because they are lawyered up. Did you you know that one single hog produces 10 to 20 times the amount of waste per day then a human? Sounds obvious, but imagine if the New York City sewage system suddenly went kaput, then all that waste backed up. On dairy and pig CAFOs, this is an everyday occurrence because farmers store the waste in shit "lagoons" which cause poisonous gases in the air up to 1,000 feet. Also, the practice of pumping purified pig waste into the local streams is common place. Good luck at your summer swimming hole. Still having a hard time wrapping your head around how screwed up this is? Travel to a town where factory farms own the landscape and ask the locals how the smell affects their day to day, or if any of their family has been affected by headaches, stomach issues, or mood swings. Breathing in large amounts of ammonia is not healthy.
Another fun fact. Farmers who operate CAFOs don't actually own the farm. They take out a big money loans to buy into to the major meat corporations who promise them big money returns, and top dollar for their raised meat. Sounds good, right? Not when meat and dairy prices fall.
Another fun fact. Farmers who operate CAFOs don't actually own the farm. They take out a big money loans to buy into to the major meat corporations who promise them big money returns, and top dollar for their raised meat. Sounds good, right? Not when meat and dairy prices fall.
August 26, 2025
Kirby is an incredible writer and storyteller. The weaving of the three activists' stories was done so well that I often felt like I was in the room taking part in some of the most difficult and life-changing conversations. The court chapter (no spoilers) was hands-down my favourite part of the book. 11/10 I am definitely going to reread it. Kirby captured not only the public health, community complaints, and tensions that arise from CAFOs, but also the environmental and animal welfare problems so simply and yet with such seriousness. It amazes and saddens me that the very problems and tensions he wrote about almost 15 years ago are still being fought against by activists, scholars, journalists, and community members. I'm grateful to have read this book and the stories of the activists who paved the way for even more progress, and I'm even more thankful for the individuals who stand against CAFOs and industrial livestock production practices. Give this book a read!!
September 15, 2017
Another book by David Kirby, this book explores the ethical and environmental aspects of factory farming animals. From toxic runoff and manure spray to the tearing apart of animal families, Kirby explores the story behind the production of animal products. Kirby's recounting of the stories of others makes the book riveting and enthralling. He meets people in court, people who live next to such farms who experience such effects every day, and people devoting their lives to fighting such atrocities. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about where animal products really come from, or anyone that's slightly curious at all.
August 13, 2023
This was a book club pick, though I did not go to the session where it was discussed. I did not finish this book. It got repetitive and I stopped reading on page 334, about 2/3 of the way through. It’s a long read.
The book follows three anti-CAFO activists, one in North Carolina, one in Washington State and one in Illinois. All three suffered by their proximity to CAFO operations, but took their problems and turned them into action. We are all better off for the attention that they have brought to the issue. The descriptions given in the book should make one want to give up on meat, dairy and eggs altogether.
The book follows three anti-CAFO activists, one in North Carolina, one in Washington State and one in Illinois. All three suffered by their proximity to CAFO operations, but took their problems and turned them into action. We are all better off for the attention that they have brought to the issue. The descriptions given in the book should make one want to give up on meat, dairy and eggs altogether.
February 10, 2018
I work with some of the people featured in this book and know them personally so I may be a biased reader. Before my involvement in this issue, I knew nothing about the havoc factory farms cause to the environment and rural communities. This book is important as it raises questions about whether cheap meat produced through vertical integration is really that cheap when you think of the high externality costs of environmental disasters, increased risks of cancer and asthma, and rural displacement.
February 7, 2021
This is a long, detailed, slightly out of date report on the state of farming in the US. I wish it could be distilled and distributed to all Americans. Viruses are spread through human-animal interactions and factory farming is just one area we could clean up our act.
dnf
June 12, 2020dnf before i hit page 100. i don’t really read book synopses, but i definitely should start.
July 22, 2021
Very interesting, but long winded. Perhaps too much detail of the minutiae.
March 14, 2017
This book is about the damage to our country done by factory farms. It concentrates on 3 different people and how their proximity to factory farms affected their health and their homes. Astonishingly, not one of the people fighting for environmental rights, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is vegan, or even vegetarian!
April 26, 2011
pThis book should be required reading for EVERYONE! Animal Factory tells the story of CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) from the personal perspective of 3 ordinary citizens turned activists. Rick Dove in New Bern, NC retired from the Marine Corps with plans to run a fishing boat business with his son, but their dream only lasted 2 years before the Neuse river was so polluted that they couldn't fish it anymore. Rick decided to try to figure out what was causing such horrific pollution - this turned into a 20 year crusade to save North Carolina waterways from industrial hog farming. Helen Reddout in Yakima Valley, Washington and her husband owned fruit orchards and loved her small town farmer's life until industrial daries began moving in and Helen became and outspoken anti-CAFO advocate. Karen Hudson in Elmwood, Illinois and her husband were small farmers living a comfortable life until industrial hog farming took over her rural community. Karen would eventually be on a nation-wide committee that helped support people who wanted to fight industrialized farming in their communities.
This book covers each of these people's personal stories and how they were driven to take on these "animal factories." There is also TONS of information about how CAFOs impact the animals inside them, the enviroment, and their communities. This book is very eye-opening in that you realize not only how terrible CAFOs are, but how our government tends to support this horrific industry. The truly scary idea to me is that there seems to be no end in sight for this kind of factory farming. I do think if more people are more educated on this issue they can make better choices and seek out farmers who raise animals in a natural, humane way. But as Rick Dove is quoted as saying at the end of this book, "'You know something, Joanne? I have no idea where this story ends," Rick said with a deep sigh. 'And that's what scares me the most.'"
Although there are a lot of facts, court cases, and scientific study to read through in this book, the fact that it does center around 3 people's personal stories makes it more interesting to read. Parts of it are almost like a John Grisham novel, but the scariest part is that it is all true. If you are interested in animal welware and knowing where your food comes from this is the book for you.
This book covers each of these people's personal stories and how they were driven to take on these "animal factories." There is also TONS of information about how CAFOs impact the animals inside them, the enviroment, and their communities. This book is very eye-opening in that you realize not only how terrible CAFOs are, but how our government tends to support this horrific industry. The truly scary idea to me is that there seems to be no end in sight for this kind of factory farming. I do think if more people are more educated on this issue they can make better choices and seek out farmers who raise animals in a natural, humane way. But as Rick Dove is quoted as saying at the end of this book, "'You know something, Joanne? I have no idea where this story ends," Rick said with a deep sigh. 'And that's what scares me the most.'"
Although there are a lot of facts, court cases, and scientific study to read through in this book, the fact that it does center around 3 people's personal stories makes it more interesting to read. Parts of it are almost like a John Grisham novel, but the scariest part is that it is all true. If you are interested in animal welware and knowing where your food comes from this is the book for you.
September 15, 2010
I expected to be disappointed by this book, so I can't twit it for any bait-and-switching. David Kirby's "Animal Factory" is "Animal Liberation" for a new generation- people who care enough about animals to push for marginal improvements in their treatment, but not enough to liberate them from their status as chattel property. Typical of books that take this approach, it dabbles in the mainstream of animal advocacy without so much as paying lip service to an abolitionist perspective of the issue. Kirby's idea of "vegan-driven" activism is HSUS.
That isn't to say Kirby doesn't realize the larger ramifications of animal industries. He relates the horrible human costs of animal agriculture plainly and memorably. His interviews effectively put a human face on the devastating effects of animal-based pollution, more so than any other book I've read on the subject.
But that ultimately rings hollow. This is crawling with the sort of petty double-think that allows the author to discuss animal industry reform over "country ham, potato salad and a Coke". In other words, Kirby gets the point, misses it, knows he missed it, and doesn't do anything about it. The whole book is dedicated to screaming "Abuse is the problem!" but has no problem whatsoever with the ethics of use that allow that abuse. That inconsistency, that failure of resolve, that moral doublemindedness, made this book frustrating to read. I don't recommend it.
That isn't to say Kirby doesn't realize the larger ramifications of animal industries. He relates the horrible human costs of animal agriculture plainly and memorably. His interviews effectively put a human face on the devastating effects of animal-based pollution, more so than any other book I've read on the subject.
But that ultimately rings hollow. This is crawling with the sort of petty double-think that allows the author to discuss animal industry reform over "country ham, potato salad and a Coke". In other words, Kirby gets the point, misses it, knows he missed it, and doesn't do anything about it. The whole book is dedicated to screaming "Abuse is the problem!" but has no problem whatsoever with the ethics of use that allow that abuse. That inconsistency, that failure of resolve, that moral doublemindedness, made this book frustrating to read. I don't recommend it.
April 1, 2011
Excellent book to read if you care about how your pork, beef and chicken is raised prior to reaching your table. The book focues on the formation of citizen groups in different regions around the country that were formed to battle environmental issues caused by Confined Animal Feedling Operations (CAFOs). CAFOs are just what the term implies, farming operations where animals (sometimes in the thousands) are packed so tightly into confined feeding areas that many cannot even turn around. Problems arise from big farm operations that do not follow regulations for disposing of waste matter, which in many cases was channeled directly into streams and rivers causing health problems for people living and recreating on the waterways and large fish kills. In some cases, little or no regulations existed prior to the formation of the citien groups, which fought long battles to get regulations put on the books. In many cases, the actions pitted neighbor against neighbor.
The book does go into the effects on animals of living in a CAFO setting. I think more description of that would have made a stronger case for the cause b/c most people are more moved by mistreatment of animals than the environment, sad to say.
The book is written in an easy reading style but does become a bit melodramatic at times. I can't really fault the writer given the gravity of the subject.
For me, it's a must read.
The book does go into the effects on animals of living in a CAFO setting. I think more description of that would have made a stronger case for the cause b/c most people are more moved by mistreatment of animals than the environment, sad to say.
The book is written in an easy reading style but does become a bit melodramatic at times. I can't really fault the writer given the gravity of the subject.
For me, it's a must read.
February 8, 2016
After 200+ pages I had to give this up. I understand all aspects of the meat industry. I understand the Big companies trying to meet demand. The farmers wanting to make money to take care of their families, like the men and women before them. I empathize with the neighbors of these mega farms, having to deal with the smell, dust and then potential threats to there water, let alone there health. I understand that there is always losses in lives of animals,whether its a mom & pop farm or a mega farm. I also understand the retailers view of this HUGE business. I also understand the customers concerns about the use of hormones and antibiotics in these animals. I wish I had a viable cure for all of this. A couple years ago the drought in the mid west cause the farmers to kill a lot of the herds to save money and feed, in result the prices went through the roof. Sadly the demand, despite the prices didn't slow down. That shows that yea, there is a HUGE environmental problem with these mega farms and what they are doing to our air and water qualities, but do we care enough to stop buying meat to set these farmers in there place? Ignorance is bliss, but ignorance doesn't cut it when it comes to our natural resources.
October 20, 2016
Kirby's book traces the history of the growth of factory farms by following the stories of three major families, their fight against local forces as their land and water is poisoned, and their grass roots coalition to continue the fight even in the face of politicians and greedy companies who care for nothing but the almighty dollar. It's a devastating treatise, and even today North Carolina remains a state with over 2100 CAFOs, a state that is constantly being slammed by hurricanes that spread the millions of tons, YES, MILLIONS OF TONS of fecal waste into the surrounding land and water. This book concentrates mostly on the affects on the environment and the people, rather than on the millions of animals slaughtered every year to feed a public that turns a blind eye to the ruination of the environment, the rise of anti-resistant bacteria (because of low level antibiotics used to try and keep the animals healthy in confined spaces), the rise of cancer in humans and the torture of animals as they reach for the cellophane wrapped meat, so nice and clean in the supermarket. Ultimately, we may face the strongest force against this insidious practice - nature herself. It's not a pretty picture.
November 16, 2010
Wow, what a well researched book! It is making me think more than twice about where my food is actually coming from. I am really glad that I stopped eating pork a couple of yr. ago and now I plan to either buy organic or look elsewhere for my protein sources. Even my veggies, unless organic, may be tainted. The very fact that chicken feed is laced with arsenic to "encourage them to eat and drink more" and then their poop is used as fertilizer, again spreading the arsenic onto our vegetables makes me want to gag. Oh, and also it's carried by the wind into homes, schools, etc. if a person is unlucky enough to live near a CAFO. Yes, I know that arsenic occurs naturally in the ground but no one needs it added to their diet since it has a cumulative effect. It will be interesting to see if the Pres. Obama will follow thru on promises made to the activists during his campaign if and when other pressing tasks settle down-wars, economy, etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2012
This is a book that has been done before, and been done better.I learned some interesting things from this book, so I can't completely reject its worth. However, the style was irritating, in my opinion. Essentially, there are three stories framing the book, about three people who have suffered and stood up to these Animal Factories. I could tell the man was a journalist by his style, and unfortunately, while he is clearly a good writer, I found his handling of the case studies (apologies for the wrong use of this word) dull and repetitive. It smelled, there was poop in the water, the farmers were rude. I guess I just didn't feel like what he said he was going to discuss and how he was going to discuss it (from the introductory parts) were covered as well as I'd hoped. Anyways, not a bad book. but it just drags in parts and the people in it didn't feel like they had sufficiently unique stories.
April 1, 2014
The title is "Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment" which got me expecting this to be a quality overview of factory farming's impact on the environment and humans.
But the real title should be "North Carolina's Neuse Valley pollution: a detail burdened, meandering through CAFO pig farming and the looming legal tedium."
I get that the author tried to write this as a bit of a thriller to spice it up but the minute detail around what he said/she said becomes incredibly draining. It's such a specific topic, at a specific time and in a specific area - just give me the facts and move on to another case study! I don't care about what the Neuse Riverkeeper had for breakfast before he went out to inspect the pollution! Shesh.
You could extrapolate this book out, and see it as a watershed for factory farming across the world, but the author leaves all that to the readers interpretation.
Quite disappointing.
But the real title should be "North Carolina's Neuse Valley pollution: a detail burdened, meandering through CAFO pig farming and the looming legal tedium."
I get that the author tried to write this as a bit of a thriller to spice it up but the minute detail around what he said/she said becomes incredibly draining. It's such a specific topic, at a specific time and in a specific area - just give me the facts and move on to another case study! I don't care about what the Neuse Riverkeeper had for breakfast before he went out to inspect the pollution! Shesh.
You could extrapolate this book out, and see it as a watershed for factory farming across the world, but the author leaves all that to the readers interpretation.
Quite disappointing.
May 19, 2015
I have to first point out that the message of this book is extremely important. Factory farming is a disaster that is raping the planet without end.
We must not give up the idea of CAFO-free planet. The big agriculture-industrial corporations are some seriously scary motherfuckers. But if everyone starts thinking about it, and starts doing just little things differently, then we can have huge change.
Now, that said, I have to deal with the shitty writing of this book. Not everyone wants to be lead through the lives of activists with excruciatingly fine detail. Maybe if you're more closely affected by factory farms it would be more engaging.
But most of us live in cities. And we just like it short and to the point. We don't want to be barraged with names, dates, and places for 500 pages. Next time, let's trim it down before publishing shall we?
We must not give up the idea of CAFO-free planet. The big agriculture-industrial corporations are some seriously scary motherfuckers. But if everyone starts thinking about it, and starts doing just little things differently, then we can have huge change.
Now, that said, I have to deal with the shitty writing of this book. Not everyone wants to be lead through the lives of activists with excruciatingly fine detail. Maybe if you're more closely affected by factory farms it would be more engaging.
But most of us live in cities. And we just like it short and to the point. We don't want to be barraged with names, dates, and places for 500 pages. Next time, let's trim it down before publishing shall we?
April 26, 2010
The only reason I'm giving this book four stars is because of the importance of the information it contains. I understand the author's purpose in writing it the way he did, but it was hard to get through at times. This is one of those books that everyone should read so they are aware of where the bulk of our food comes from and how much that needs to change. It was nice that this book didn't focus on the animal welfare aspect of factory farming, but on the environmental, economical and health costs associated with it. I definitely care about the animals, but a lot of people don't and they should be made aware of this information. Just reaffirmed my decision to eat sustainably whenever possible.
November 24, 2010
This book is tough because there is so much to digest. He tells the stories of about 4 people who stood up to CAFOs in their neighborhoods and the long battles that took place. It was good, but exhausting. He is thorough in his facts and research, so I learned some new things and was able to see how the CAFOs and factory farms in the West are impacting the Pacific. I had to skim the end because I just got overwhelmed by the magnitude of agribusiness and frustrated that the only way I can fight it is by buying locally as much as possible from reputable small farms that are primarily organic. I struggle every time I go to the store and need to buy meat or eggs, so I often just forgo it if I can't find trustworthy brands.
February 8, 2011
It takes a lot for me to put a book down before finishing it. In fact, this may be only the third tme I've ever done so. And I know this book has received many plaudits, but I just can't do it anymore. It's too boring. Nothing is sourced. The conversations and dialogue are trite.
It's basically a book about how three separate groups fight off factory farms. (I made it 70 percent through) but there is no continuity and honestly not enough of a difference between the three groups to warrant three separate tellings. It reads like a bad college essay. It's slow and basically cobbles together a bunch of newspaper articles. I never could care for the characters. OK, having never written a book, I don't want to sit here and dump all over this guy's work so I'll leave it there.
It's basically a book about how three separate groups fight off factory farms. (I made it 70 percent through) but there is no continuity and honestly not enough of a difference between the three groups to warrant three separate tellings. It reads like a bad college essay. It's slow and basically cobbles together a bunch of newspaper articles. I never could care for the characters. OK, having never written a book, I don't want to sit here and dump all over this guy's work so I'll leave it there.
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