A coalition of human rights groups, conservationists and public health experts has petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, requesting a hearing on the “impacts and threats” to human rights caused by CAFOs.
“Living with clean air and water is a fundamental human right that the factory farming industry tramples with impunity,” said Hannah Connor, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “On behalf of the people across the Americas suffering at the hands of this destructive industry, we hope the commission will hear our call and investigate these human rights abuses.”
The hearing would focus on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in the Americas, specifically the U.S., Mexico, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina.
The groups claim negative human impacts from CAFOs have spread from the U.S. to the rest of the hemisphere. Some of the impacts, they say, include impacts on health, water, air and the environment; concerns regarding access to information and public participation; attacks on environmental defenders; and respect for Indigenous people’s rights.
“We will highlight how many States in the hemisphere have failed to adopt appropriate regulations or measures to effectively protect human rights from CAFOs and the lack of attention that States and international organizations have given to this industry despite evidence of numerous, repeated human rights violations,” the petition read.
The petition further reads that CAFOs “threaten human health and the environment,” “pollute surface water and groundwater, foul the air, and spread dangerous pathogens.” The groups contend “Inadequate management of waste and animals, lax government oversight, and weak regulations all conspire to leave communities’ rights and the environment vulnerable to CAFOs’ toxic impacts.”
The coalition writes that storage and disposal of CAFO waste threatens surface water, groundwater and well water. The groups point to dairy and hog operations in particular, and the use of manure spreading on fields. They claim CAFOs apply more nutrients to the fields than plants can utilize, allowing the excess to run off into surface water or groundwater.
The petition also says CAFO waste decomposes and releases hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, volatile organic compounds, and methane and nitrous oxide, which the coalition says also contributes to climate change. “Exposure to CAFO air pollutants can cause nausea, headaches, dizziness, runny nose, scratchy throat, burning eyes, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath,” the groups wrote.
In addition, the coalition said, CAFOs allow for the spread and mutation of diseases, “putting the health of CAFO workers and community members at risk.”
The petition also claims CAFOs have impacts on the food chain by consuming “an enormous amount” of drinking water, soybeans, corn and other cereals to feed and water animals. The groups also allege genetically modified soybeans have “serious impacts on health and the environment.”
“CAFOs entail a setback in the advances of food sovereignty and sustainable food production required by communities, by depriving producers and consumers of a choice in how their food is produced and by favoring large-scale industry to the detriment of local production,” the coalition wrote.
They also wrote that affected communities across the hemisphere “have limited or no access to prior information on the potential social and environmental impacts of CAFOs.” The coalition claims CAFOs operate “with secrecy,” particularly in the U.S., where there are laws limiting photographing or recording operations, which the groups say “severely restrict access to information and the ability of communities to defend their rights.”
The petition alleges CAFOs also affect the territory of Indigenous peoples, especially in Mexico and Argentina, where some CAFOs were “authorized without adequate consultation processes” or the communities’ consent.
Finally, the coalition wrote that those who have spoken out against CAFOs have suffered harm or threats. Throughout the rest of the petition, the coalition details accounts of harm throughout particular countries. In the U.S., for example, the petition notes “ag-gag laws,” governmental regulations that “fall short of protecting communities and the environment.” In addition, the groups say scientists and researchers writing against CAFOs have been harassed or intimidated.
For the above reasons, the groups request a hearing on the “human rights situation of persons and communities affected by CAFOs in the hemisphere.”
Some of the groups involved in the petition from the U.S. include Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Waterkeeper Alliance. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
