U.S. Food Manufacturing Processes Present Health Risks

April 2008

With the number of recent food recalls and poisoning incidents that have occurred across the country, some may not find the conclusions of a recent surprising. The report, issued by the Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, stated that the way in which America produces meat, milk, and eggs creates serious risks to public health.

The report's conclusions are derived from two years of research that focused on the food manufacturing industry's shift to large, highly populated animal feeding facilities. The report cites areas of improvement that would reduce or eliminate the following practices:

• The use of low levels of antibiotics that boost animal growth, which increases the likelihood that antibiotic-resistant strains of disease will surface in humans and animals.
• Relying on facilities that merge tens of thousands of chickens, pigs, or cattle that produce waste that can contaminate water supplies, spread disease, and cause respiratory problems, including higher asthma rates.
• Using of crates that keep pregnant cows from turning around and that limit sows' movement while nursing, small battery cages for laying hens, the force-feeding of geese or duck to make foie-gras, and the cutting of dairy cows' tails.

Kay Johnson Smith, a spokeswoman for the Animal Agriculture Alliance, does not believe that the report is fair, and claims that the industry is proactively looking to improve its practices. She said that federal policy change would raise the price of food. John Carlin, who is chairman of the panel that wrote the report, said that the price of food would only go up a few pennies.