Hot, Crowded and Legal

A Look at Industrial Agriculture in Brazil and the United States

David CassutoProfessor of Law, Pace Law School

Director, Brazil-American Institute for Law & Environment (BAILE)

Why CAFOs?

• Global Climate Change• Air and Water Pollution

from Waste• Animal Abuse• Deforestation• > ½ World’s cow, pig,

fowl, eggs

A Climate Change Feedback Loop

• Increased global demand for meat spurs conversion of forests to pasture and fields on which to grow feed crops.

• This requires more fossil fuel-based fertilizers and increases manure production. This in turn exacerbates carbon, methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

• Emissions accelerate climate change, causing a positive feedback loop for the CAFOs.

• Elevated temperatures negatively impact animal feed crops, facility climate control costs and pesticide efficacy.

• These increased costs require more volume, which requires more demand, which requires more conversion of forests to fields, etc.

Why the U.S. and Brazil?

United States

Production & Consumption

Factory Farm Model

Legal Regulation

Production & Consumption

• 10 Billion per Year Slaughtered

• 1 Million per Hour Slaughtered

• 9 Million per Year Milked

• 67% Protein from Meat

(World Average: 34%)• > ½ lb of Meat per Day• 1 lb of Dairy per Day• 200 lbs Meat per Year• 30 lbs Cheese per Year

Consumption

110 Grams of Protein per Person per Day

Obesity

Meat as Social Status & Cultural Significance

Increased Disposable Income

Government Programs and Subsidies for Meat and Dairy

75% Vegetarians Resume Meat-Eating

Factory Farm Model

Economic Model: Massive Production Weight > High Attrition Rate

Achieved By:

Space

Feed

Antibiotics

Waste Lagoons

Hormones

(Non-Enviro)Legal Regulation

• FDA– Food Drug and Cosmetic Act

• USDA– Humane Method of Slaughter Act (HMSA)

– Twenty Eight Hour Law

– Practice Guidelines & Standards

• NOT the Animal Welfare Act!

Factory Farm Model

Pillar:• Space• Feed• Antibiotics• Waste Lagoons• Growth Hormones

Regulating Body:• USDA• FDA• FDA & USDA• USDA• FDA

Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act

• Feed– Bans Feeding Ruminants Mammal Tissue

• Hormones– Approved for Beef & Dairy Cattle

– Banned for Chickens & Pigs

• Antibiotics

– Approves Safe Drugs

– Maximum Residue Limits at Slaughter

USDA

• Humane Method of Slaughter Act– Express Goals: Industry Interest

• Twenty Eight Hour Law– Transport Requirements for Mammals

• Practice Guidelines & Standards– Poultry Best Commercial Practices– Lagoon Standards

FDA & USDA

Covers:• Slaughter• Transport• Antibiotics at Slaughter• Limited Feed Regulation• Allows Hormones• Allows Minimal Space• Lagoon Structure

Do Not Cover:• Antibiotic Levels pre-

Slaughter• Most Feed

FDA & USDA

Covers:• Slaughter• Transport• Antibiotics at Slaughter• Limited Feed Regulation• Allows Hormones• Allows Minimal Space• Lagoon Structure

Do Not Cover:• Antibiotic Levels pre-

Slaughter• Most FeedSupports CAFO Economic Model!

Massive Production Weight > High Attrition Rate

United StatesConsumption Increasing

Laws and Regulations Reinforce the CAFO Model

Brazil

• Trends in Developing World• Production• Regulatory Regime• Good Agricultural Practices

Trends in Developing World

• Meat Industry Movement:From US & EU to Developing World

• Embracing Meat Industry:Perceived Indicator of Economic & Social Progress

• Increases in Meat Consumption

Brazilian ProductionLargest Cattle Herd in the World

Leading Global Exporter of Cow, Poultry, Pig

Government Investment & Credits

Regulatory Regime

• Federal Anti-Cruelty Decree # 24,645 of 1934– Mandates standards of cleanliness, personal

space and access to air & light; – Sets standards for “humane” slaughter;

• Permanent Technical Committee on Animal Welfare of 2011– Propose and Coordinate Good Practices

“Good” PracticesInclude Welfare before Slaughter

Voluntary Programs

Industry Leads with Government Support

Battery Cages & Gestation Crates Still Used by the Millions

Brazil

Embracing Status as Global Leader

Welfare Protections Systems are New

Limited Protections Support CAFO Model

US & Brazil

• Exemptions• Narrow Regulations• Bovine Growth

Hormone• Industry Lobby Anti-

Welfare

• New Area of Law• Covers More Animals• No Growth Hormones• Industry Leading in

Establishing Standards

So What?

• Myths Make Reality • Prevailing Myth of Costs and Benefits is

Wreaking Havoc• Externalized Harms, Statistical Lives etc. • Neither animals nor the environment can ever

count• It’s Not Just Ethics – It’s Math

Questions?

dcassuto@law.pace.edu