Large cattle-feeding operations are known to have a negative effect on air quality, and a study shows New Mexicans who live near CAFOs are less likely to have health insurance.
A huge number of cattle in one place stirs up a lot of dust – and that particulate matter can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, posing significant health risks. Benjamin Goldstein, an assistant professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, participated in a study that looked at 15,000 cow and pig farms around the United States. Data from Texas, Kansas and New Mexico stood out.
"So, we looked at where are there high amounts of cattle farms, with a high percentage of people who are uninsured," he said, "and sure enough, eastern New Mexico; that co-location of cattle-feeding operations and high levels of uninsured people."
New Mexico has about 160 cattle CAFOs, mostly dairy farms, around areas such as Clovis and Roswell – far fewer than states such as Iowa, North Carolina or Texas, where both cattle and hog confinements number in the thousands.
CAFOs are typically defined as operations with 1,000 or more animals. Air pollution from these sources is similar to particulate matter from factories and cars, but there's also ammonia and hydrogen sulfide mixed in.
Goldstein noted the study could not show with 100% certainty that CAFOs are the sole reason for higher particulate matter concentrations in the air, but said there's likely a connection.
"These different types of farms have different levels of air pollution that they give off," he said, "and so, if you're living around large cattle-feeding operations, these are more likely to produce more dust, which is then more likely to impact the people who live around there."
In addition to air quality, CAFOs can degrade land and harm water quality, according to Food and Water Watch.