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November 30, 2010
Having spent several years working to raise awareness about the problems created by factory farms, I’ve fielded a whole lot of questions about industrial livestock production–so many, in fact, that I’ve often considered publishing a pocketsize list of factory farm FAQs. You know, a little something to inspire lighthearted cocktail party conversation or to use as an icebreaker during first dates. Instant commercial success, guaranteed. Anyway, at the top of the list would be the question, “where are these factory farms?”
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Surprisingly enough, despite the wonders of internet-accessible government records and powerful modern mapping technology, there’s no easy way to find the exact locations of all the industrial livestock operations in the US. See, it turns out that the folks who own factory farms–which damage the environment, sicken neighbors and ruin rural communities–aren’t too keen on publicizing their whereabouts. And government agencies aren’t too keen on undertaking projects that upset Big Ag.
So it was thrilling when Food & Water Watch decided to produce its own factory farm map a few years ago. But even more thrilling is the fact that FWW released an updated version of the map today, which you can find at factoryfarmmap.org. Version 2.0 features a slick new interface, more detailed graphics and, most importantly, inclusion of the latest data!
Since federal, state and local regulatory agencies are often unable and/or unwilling to provide information about the locations of factory farms, Food & Water Watch used the USDA’s Census of Agriculture to calculate the number of mega-livestock facilities in each county. (As someone who loves to geek out on technical details, I’m excited to report that users can read all about FWW’s data compilation process in the methodology section.)
While the map doesn’t pinpoint the exact address of each factory farm, its county-by-county analysis provides an outstanding visual representation of national and state distribution trends. It’s also lots of fun to tinker around with; users can filter by species (see where all the hog factory farms are located!), zoom in to the state level (find out how many factory farms exist in your county!) and to pull up maps depicting conditions in 1997, 2002 and 2007 (learn how poultry production shifted over the past decade!).
For those who prefer cold hard stats to cartographic imagery, here are some not-so-fun facts from Food & Water Watch’s analysis of the data:
Hopefully this compelling depiction of the agricultural transition from farm to factory will ultimately inspire dramatic change in our food system. In any event, I’m pleased to note that it provides the answer to the first question of my forthcoming Factory Farm FAQ pocketsize reference guide:
Q: Where are factory farms located?
A: See factoryfarmmap.org.
Originally published on Ecocentric
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Details like this can really help the local and grassroots minded folks keep a strong and sharp edge about their navigational position, as it were. Philip McMichael has done some great work as one of the scholars dealing with "food regimes." In his articles, like "Geneaology of Food Regimes" in the journal of Peasant Studies online, he gives a comprehensive history and finally refers to some of the solutions like Via Campesina and Slow Food.
Last I knew, Europe had successfully kept out GMOs from much of their areas. We need to wake up America and the world, and thanks to non-profits and co-ops, and small green bizzes, we have lots to work with.
The World Social Forum process, and the solidarity economics movement are two others which are helping citizens organize and enterprise.
I've been attempting to be a "weekday vegetarian" and getting the meat I do eat from local farmers. Seeing this map is certainly going to be more motivation to keep up my efforts. My chickens just started laying eggs as well... no more store bought eggs for me!
Thank you for sharing such a great resource!