Double Entry Journal

Citation:
Wing, Steve, et al. Environmental Injustice in North Carolina's Hog Industry.
Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 108, no. 3, 2000, pp. 225231., doi:10.2307/3454438.

Source: Quote (Page # and Paragraph #) Responses

In contrast to rural America's traditional It makes since that large production centers
image of unspoiled territory free of industrial would move out into poor, bad areas as to
pollution, poor rural communities have been not disrupt the nice communities and be
targeted in recent years for urban, industrial, away from the mass populous.
and military wastes that are unwanted by
communities with larger populations and
more political power. pg 225

Between 1985 and 1998 North Carolina
moved from fifteenth to second in hog
production among U.S. states, with
approximately 10 million head outnumbering
the state's human population of approximately
7.5 million. pg 225
Astonishing that there are more male pigs in
the state of NC than humans. I wonder how
this huge population impacts the state? Has
the population continued to grow?

In 1998, market prices for hogs dropped to Once again we blast open the common ideal
their lowest levels since the 1920s, which that people's bacon comes from quaint, kind,
accelerated the demise of smaller independent relaxing family owned farms. The reality is
producers. Most hogs are now produced by that this is a business and there is no mercy in
operators who work under contract to the slaughter industry.
corporate integrators, which provide the
management plan and own the animals, feed,
and transportation; the operators own the land,
buildings, and waste. pg 225

In the past, hog production was dispersed
throughout the state, but it has become
consolidated in the coastal plain region, which
concentrates waste and the potential for
environmental damage in a region that is
sensitive because of low-lying flood plains
and high water tables. pg 225
I assume this could be very problematic as
low-lying plains usually have sensitive soil
composure and the run off would land directly
in water sources. Also, a lot of the population
lives on the coastal regions of the U.S.

Intensive swine production may pose
environmental health dangers because of the
high volume of waste, the chemical and
microbial content of the waste, and the
practice of using liquid waste management
They are referring to the mass amounts of
literal pig poop that our environment, water,
and land is being exposed to.
systems that are not isolated from the
environment. pg 225
Waste is collected in cesspools for anaerobic
decomposition and is subsequently sprayed on
fields. Airborne emissions from confinement
houses, cesspools, and spray fields contain
ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, hundreds of
volatile organic compounds, dusts, and
endotoxins. pg 225
These mixtures, which cause respiratory
dysfunction in hog confinement-house
workers and possibly lower level symptoms in
nearby residents are highly obnoxious
odorants that affect quality of life (29-31) and
may be associated with mood disorders and
lowered immune function. pg 225
Of the 3,039 animal operations in the
database, 2,585 were swine operations (Figure
1). Facilities with missing data or head counts
< 250 were excluded. pg 226
Some areas of the state, including
metropolitan areas, have no presence of the
commercial swine production industry. These
areas, including mostly white Appalachia and
some largely African American areas in
central cities of the Piedmont, could have
skewed the evaluation of the relationship
between hog operations and the
environmental justice variables. pg 226
These facilities are located
disproportionately in communities with higher
levels of poverty, higher proportions of
nonwhite persons, and higher dependence on
wells for household water supply. pg 229
Intensive swine production and its attendant
pollution are concentrated in areas of North
Carolina that have the highest disease rates
(44,45), the least access to medical care, and
the greatest need for positive economic
development and better educational systems
(46). pg 229
The hog waste, containing toxic chemicals
and ammonia, is sprayed on land and fields in
the communities that these operations are
located.
Not only does the toxic waste spray affect
those who choose to work at these facilities,
but they impact those living in the vicinity of
the operation. The ingestion of these
chemicals lead to serious health effects.
Animal operations included all operations of
animals with a headcount of higher than 250.
Of the nearly 3,000 operations in North
Carolina, approx. 2,500 were pig farms.
Though NC cities have high black and
minority population, this might have skewed
the data so they were left out, as there would
most likely not be swine operations is cities
no matter the population demographics.
As the researchers suspected, the location of
mass swine slaughter facilities were primarily
located in rural, poor, minority communities.
Showing obvious discrimination.
Not only does the hog industry in these small
town affect aesthetics and community value,
but it poses great health risk.
This study did not address siting decisions
for particular hog operations. The reasons
why a facility is located in a specific place
are, in some ways, particular to the historical
situation, business climate, local culture, and
personal or family decision making. However,
the pattern of location of industries reflects
institutional factors and the political and
economic power of local populations. pg 229
The public health implications of
environmental injustice in the North Carolina
hog industry are of special concern.
Exposures in the environment of confinement
houses are clearly related to impaired
respiratory function, occupational asthma, and
organic dust syndrome (51). pg 230
In addition, environmental exposures to
airborne emissions from hog CAFOs may be
associated with respiratory effects (29,30) and
impaired mood (32,33) in neighboring
populations. Groundwater from hog CAFOs
has been contaminated by nitrates in North
Carolina (34). pg 230
This article did not implore as to why these
swine facilities placed themselves where they
did, but one can conclude, whatever the
decision, that it was no accident the mass
majority were placed in low income, minority
neighborhoods.
The unfortunate truth is that the people living
in these communities are stricken with disease
and poor quality of life. They do not have the
money or resources to sue or fight these
corporations even if they wished to.
This shows it doesnt even just affect the
people directly in the town of the production
facility, it has the potential to affect the
neighboring towns and cities as well.