Say No to CAFOs
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“Say No to CAFO” is an app that allows consumers to scan their animal and meat products to determine whether the product they wish to buy is sourced from a CAFO. If the product is not from a CAFO, the screen lights up green indicating that it is safe to buy. On the other hand, if the product is from a CAFO, then the shopper has the option to send an automated message to the company in order to boycott the corporations that continue to cause severe health problems for those who live in its close proximity. Furthermore, consumers will be able to click on the corporations to read more about them as well as other products they manufacture, so they can be avoided. This app is unique in that it gives marginalized communities the voice they need to eliminate CAFOs from their respective living area.
With a world population of 7 billion people, the global food industry has gone through several changes over the past few decades to produce enough food for the population’s consumption. Among these changes, there has been a great shift from small, family-owned farms to large, corporate farms (Hribar). These modern farms are extremely efficient in producing animal products and meat and have overall increased the productivity of animal agriculture by cutting down the time it takes to raise animals, reducing farming costs, and using less land (Hribar). While it results in bigger profits, these livestock practices have a devastating effect on the environment. These large-scale productions reap the benefits of our capitalist society while endangering both the planet as well as the individuals that live near them (Hribar). Thus, it is critical to expose the realities of large farming through food entrepreneurship to create solutions for the problems brought forth by the industry.
Among the several problems with large-scale farming, one, in particular, is the way corporate farms handle livestock. The vast majority of large-scale farms use “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” otherwise known as CAFOs. CAFOs are industrial-sized livestock operations that can house between hundreds to millions of animals in a confined space (Why). Here, animals are kept for at least 45 days or more in windowless spaces without vegetation. These spaces include feedlots, forcing animals into boxes and stalls (Why). While this allows for the mass production of milk, eggs, and meat, these practices also result in huge amounts of animal sewage and other pollutants (Why). This is not only detrimental for the environment, but it also poses a threat to those who live near CAFOs, as these pollutants usually accumulate in nearby ditches and streams (Why).
Because of the large amounts of waste produced, it results in a series of health-related problems for individuals such as respiratory problems, eye irritation, nausea, weakness, and headaches (Hribar). These problems lead to other daily setbacks that might cause individuals to miss work or children to miss school, greatly interfering with their day-to-day routine. Additionally, a number of new research studies have shown that CAFOs cause mental health to suffer as well (McElroy). There are several social stressors that correspond to being in the vicinity of a CAFO including declining local economies, falling property values, controversies surrounding the necessity of CAFOs, and the overall worse quality of life that contribute to poor mental health outcomes faced by CAFO neighbors (McElroy).
To understand the scope of the problem, it is critical to delve into the location of CAFOs and how certain populations are disproportionally affected by them. North Carolina, in particular, is home to some of the largest swine CAFOs in the nation (Gurian-Sherman). The state has several CAFOs, but the majority of them are concentrated in rural communities, mostly on the eastern plain of North Carolina (Nicole). The clustering of swine CAFOs is prominent among low-income, minority communities that lack the political power to change their own proximity to the CAFOs, let alone eliminate altogether (Nicole). Additionally, several studies have mentioned that corporate companies purposely choose the so-called “path of least resistance” to mitigate any opposition to CAFO development, further demonstrating how certain individuals are disproportionately impacted (Nicole). Thus, it is critical to present a solution that tackles the environmental injustices and racism that follow the establishment of CAFOs to create a more equitable environment for everyone in North Carolina.
In order to eliminate CAFOs, it is important for residents of North Carolina to avoid buying meat that is sourced from large corporate CAFOs. If enough people boycott the industry, the CAFO business will not be able to sustain itself and will become bankrupt, forcing the industry to shut down their farms. Thus, a solution to the issue described above would be through as easy to use app called “Say No to CAFO.” This app would feature a barcode scanner that users would use to scan any meat product at the grocery store in order to find out whether the meat was sourced from a CAFO. If the meat was sourced from a CAFO, the phone will light up red, notifying the consumer that it is not a good idea to buy this product. After the red flash goes away, the app will show the reader which CAFO the meat is being sourced from as well as that CAFO’s contact information and a list of other meat products sourced from their CAFO company. If taking down the industry is something the consumer is particularly passionate about, they would also be able to contact the CAFO through the app to send in their concerns with just the press of a button. This will send an automated email and message to the CAFO company from the consumer, addressing their concerns with their livestock practices. Furthermore, this app can be extended to other animal products such as milk, yogurt, butter, and cheese. The shopper would scan the barcode at the store, and the app would notify them if the animal products were sourced from animals being raised in CAFOs. If the product is not sourced from a CAFO then the phone will light up green and tell the shopper where the product is safely being sourced from. Furthermore, similar to the red warning, the shopper would be able to read up on more information regarding where the animal product/meat came from and find other products from the same farmers. To sum it up, “Say No to CAFO” is an app that allows consumers to scan their meat/animal product to determine whether it is sourced from a CAFO to help boycott the industry.
As stated previously, there is a vast number of CAFOs within North Carolina, particularly concentrated in rural, low-income communities because of the “path of least resistance” (Nicole). In an interview with Naeema Muhammad, the Co-Director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, Naeema explains the reason for the disproportionality between the communities that contain CAFOs and the communities that don’t. According to her, communities with economic and political power, such as Pinehurst, NC, were able to say no to the construction of a CAFO (Center). On the other hand, when these corporations came into Eastern North Carolina, they were able to quickly build large CAFOs (Center). Its location can be characterized as low-income communities, with large populations of Latin Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans (Center). Marginalized individuals living in these areas found themselves having little economic and political power to voice their concerns with CAFOs, as they bear the health consequences associated with their proximity (Center). Thus, the target audience for this app would be individuals who live within those communities, in North Carolina, to give them the voice they need to eradicate CAFOs. “Say No to CAFO” would give people the chance to boycott right from their mobile devices in hopes to see a change in the environment around them. Furthermore, to reach as many people as possible, this app will be extremely easy to use. There will be a minimal number of words to keep the Flesch-Kincaid reading level at a 9th-grade reading level with large buttons to navigate to the barcode scanner and “Contact CAFO” page. While the target audience will mostly be people living in the marginalized communities in North Carolina, other North Carolina residents will also be able to download the app, given the high concentration of CAFOs in the state, in general. This would be important, considering that if more people boycott, it would be easier to take down the CAFO companies.
To take on a project like this one, it would be important to sustain and frequently update the app. This would require application developers that would constantly revise the app to add any new information about the CAFOs to keep the users up to date. Thus, it would be critical to keep a stream of funding available for the project which would be achieved by having advertisements from other companies on the app. This would provide the team with the money required to keep the app updated in regards to how the boycotting movement is progressing throughout the months and years to come.
At the moment, there is no product like “Say No to CAFO.” However, there are a few ways to find out where one’s meat is sourced from, but it requires extensive amounts of research. For example, when looking at a meat product, the packet might say “organic” but that can still mean the animal was raised in a feedlot or it could say “free-range chicken” but that can still mean the chicken was raised in a crowded livestock operation (How). Thus, depending on current labels is not enough to determine where exactly an animal/meat product is sourced from. So, there is a need for either more explicit labeling or an app such as “Say No to CAFO” which would give consumers information about the source.
Another important aspect of this topic is that there are several environmental organizations that work to raise awareness of the danger associated with CAFOs. For example, in North Carolina, the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network is a grassroots, people of color-led organization that work with people of color to face climate and environmental issues (NCEJN). This organization meets with communities to assist them with the problems caused by CAFOs by developing ways to talk about them and help community members intelligently speak up about the health and economic impacts (Center). It serves as a channel that organizes all of the important information necessary for making a change by developing informative brochures and flyers (Center). While these justice coalition systems are great at informing citizens on the problem, an app like “Say No to CAFO” would allow the members of the community to directly work with the problem. It lets them take matters into their own hands and make a difference by sending their own automated messages directly to the large factory farms. Thus, while there are resources and organizations that can also help spread the word on the detrimental effects of CAFOs on neighboring communities, there is a gap in the market for a digitized medium through which community members would be able to voice their concerns. Again, this is something that everyone could have access to as long as they have a mobile device, and it would be extremely convenient considering that all they have to do is press a button to learn more about different products when they shop.
When implementing any new product, it is critical to examine the limitations. One possible limitation would be accessibility to a phone, cellular data, and good reception. Given the type of app it is, Say No to CAFO would require an individual to have a flexible data plan and good reception when scanning a product at a store. Over time, there could be ways to mitigate these limitations by creating the app so it stores all of the data about products and CAFOs within its storage instead of having to connect to the internet; however, it would still need data to send the automated message.
In conclusion, “Say No to CAFO” is an app that allows consumers to scan animal and meat products to determine if it is sourced from a CAFO. Additionally, it would allow the shopper to send automated emails and messages to CAFO companies, addressing their concerns with their practices. This app would make a huge difference for the individuals who suffer from the consequences of living near CAFOs because it would work to boycott the companies in hopes to eliminate them once and for all. It would create an environment that is more just and equitable for all North Carolina residents, putting the citizens' wellbeing at its forefront.
Works Cited:
Center For Animal Law Studies. Industrial Animal Agriculture, Climate Change, and Environmental Injustice. 2021. YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayg5fJTc9gU.
Gurian-Sherman, Doug. “CAFOs uncovered: The untold costs of confined animal feeding operations.” (2008).
“How to Tell If Your Meat Is Consciously Sourced — or Misleadingly Labeled.” Paleo f(x)™, 29 May 2019, https://www.paleofx.com/conscious-meat-sourcing/.
Hribar, Carrie, and Mark Schultz. “Understanding concentrated environmental health animal feeding operations and their impact on communities.” Environmental Health (2010).
McElroy, Katie G. “Environmental Health Effects of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Implications for Nurses.” Nursing Administration Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 2010, pp. 311–319.
NCEJN | EJ, Equity & Health for All. https://ncejn.org/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2021.
Nicole, Wendee. “CAFOs and environmental justice: the case of North Carolina.” Environmental health perspectives vol. 121,6 (2013): A182–9. doi:10.1289/ehp.121-a182
“Why Are CAFOs Bad?” Sierra Club, 24 Feb. 2015, https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad.
