Texans are being poisoned by cows
Texas is the largest producer of cows in the United States with as many as 14.3 million cows in Texas at any given time (Infohouse). These cows create millions of pounds of manure every day and not all of it can be stored and disposed of properly. This manure then dries up, flakes into the air and is blown into surrounding areas as clouds of manure dust or what scientists refer to as “Fecal Dust”. Just the western panhandle of Texas itself accounts for one fifth of the nation’s cattle supply (Collins). This is a massive amount of cattle in a relatively small area with very little rain or terrain to stop the wind from spreading the fecal dust. The amount of pollution, specifically in the air, created by cow manure in Texas every day is a massive environmental issue.
Cow manure contains ammonia, particulate matter, and can create Hydrogen sulfide if left for a long period of time (Collins). All of which are swept up into the air. This air pollution accounts for 14 percent of all agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the US (Lindwall). These particles can cause lung disease, asthma, heart disease, and chronic lung infections. Causing 3.3 million deaths each year globally (Tsigaridis). This specifically affects residents of Texas and especially those in counties with cattle farms because of the sheer quantity of cattle. And that’s just what gets blown into the air. Unmanaged manure also pollutes water. Manure deposits disease-causing microorganisms, nutrients, and oxygen demanding organics to the nearby water supply. This is classified as a non-point source pollution which is recognized as the leading cause of water pollution that is not yet controlled (USDA). Farmers have been advised by the Environmental Protection Agency that they should avoid waste runoff into water by implementing waste management systems, engaging in watershed efforts and planting buffer fields (EPA). These efforts however, do nothing to solve the problem of air pollution. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) received over 100 formal complaints about fecal dust between 2008 and 2017 (Collins). But, with all these complaints, between 2014 and 2019, they did not issue a single warning or levy any fines against these large beef feedlots (Collins). TCEQ does operate a network of air quality monitors around the state but have not placed any in the small towns where fecal dust is most prominent (Collins). Regulation agencies must take action in order to reduce the amount of pollution coming out of these farms and by not doing so they encourage these environmentally destructive practices to continue taking place.
There are also further solutions that are being proposed but not yet quite adopted. One of these solutions is making sure that farms pass the Animal Welfare Approved standards. These standards are generally seen as purely for making sure animals are treated in the most humane way possible. But in reality, the techniques used to comply with these standards also work to lessen air pollution (Foodprint). For example, the AWA requires farmers to check the ammonia levels of their animals, this would make sure that less ammonia is getting into the air through manure. Consumers can pressure farms to become AWA certified by only buying products with the AWA certification stamp on them.
Not only can consumers try to only consume beef that comes from sustainable and clean farms, another option is to cut beef out of their diet altogether. Reducing consumption of beef and dairy lowers the demand for them and therefore will lower the number of cows being raised each year. Fewer cows means lower emissions from them. However, this solution isn’t necessarily economically feasible for many people. Vegetarian meat substitutes can be expensive and trust me, as a vegetarian I am fully aware. Not only would people switching to eating less meat have to consider the cost of meat alternatives they also have to think about the cost of supplements such as iron, calcium, and vitamin B12. Not everyone can afford to do that. But rest assured, cutting meat out completely is not necessary for everyone either. If every American just reduced their meat consumption by 50% it would have the same effect on air pollution as taking 26 million cars off the roads (Cameron). This is a fairly achievable step that almost every American could take to reduce the pollution caused by cow manure.
Air pollution affects everyone but some more than others. People who live in feedlot hotspots of the Texas panhandle have the 11th highest rate of pediatric asthma out of the 254 counties in Texas (Collins). These people are being poisoned by their neighboring cow farms. Another group that must start taking this issue seriously is the cow farmers themselves. If they do not begin to take action to remedy this problem then the consumers will be forced to take their own actions and the farmers will lose business. Not only are these farmers the closest to the pollution and therefore the most physically susceptible to its negative impacts, they also could be put out of business if they don’t act before the consumers are forced to. However, many of the solutions that the farmers could enact are expensive. Government agencies could help the farmers with subsidies so that they can afford to buy the equipment to handle the manure in the proper manner. For agencies such as the TCEQ this could potentially save them money in the long run since they wouldn’t have to respond to as many complaints.
Now I don’t live in the panhandle but I do live in Texas. That means that while I am not part of the most affected groups of people by the pollution, I am still very affected. This is in the air I breathe and the water I drink. There is no escaping it without moving away which I do not plan on doing anytime soon. However, I have lived in areas without cattle farming and I can attest to the fact that the air down here is much worse and I got sick much more often after moving here. I also happen to be a vegetarian for the sole purpose of trying to lessen these emissions. I started that process by cutting beef out of my diet two years ago and then gradually omitting all meat from my eating habits. That’s how I know that it can be done and it can be done on a budget as I am currently on a college student’s grocery budget which doesn’t afford very much.
Texans are slowly being poisoned by cattle ranches and the state government is not taking the actions that are needed to stop this. People are getting sick, water is being poisoned, and the air is being polluted on a massive scale. We need to work together to pressure farmers to make better decisions for our livelihood and our planet and we need to provide them with the resources to do so.
Works Cited
Cameron, James, and Suzy Amis Cameron. “Animal Agriculture Is Choking the Earth and Making Us Sick. We Must Act Now.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Dec. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/04/animal-agriculture-choking-earth-making-sick-climate-food-environmental-impact-james-cameron-suzy-amis-cameron.
Collins, Chris. “A Texas Community Chokes on Fecal Dust from Cattle Feedlots.” Food and Environment Reporting Network, 3 Jan. 2020, thefern.org/2020/02/a-texas-community-chokes-on-fecal-dust-from-cattle-feedlots/.
EPA. “The Sources and Solutions: Agriculture.” Nutrient Pollution, Environmental Protection Agency, 30 July 2020, www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture.
Foodprint. “How Industrial Agriculture Pollution Affects Our Air.” FoodPrint, 18 Sept. 2019, foodprint.org/issues/how-industrial-agriculture-affects-our-air/#:~:text=To%20improve%20air%20quality%2C%20sustainable,gold%20standard%20for%20humane%20treatment.
Infohouse, P2. “ Animal Factories: Pollution and Health Threats to Rural Texas.” Pollution and Health Threats to Rural Texas, Consumers Union SWRO, 2020, p2infohouse.org/ref/48/47954.pdf.
Lindwall, Courtney. “Industrial Agricultural Pollution 101.” NRDC, 31 July 2019, www.nrdc.org/stories/industrial-agricultural-pollution-101#:~:text=Livestock%20and%20their%20manure%20pollute,(and%20deadly)%20solid%20particles.
Tsigaridis, Kostas, and Ron Miller. “A Major Source of Air Pollution: Farms.” Earth Institute, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, 16 May 2016, www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/3281.
USDA. “Animal Manure Management .” Natural Resources Conservation Service Texas, United States Department of Agriculture, www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/tx/technical/dma/rwa/?cid=nrcs143_014211.
