Posted February 8, 2019
Animal waste and fertilizer runoff are two of the largest contributors to water pollution and contamination. Rising productivity on industrial factory farms is single-handedly impairing drinking water supplies across the country, polluting with key culprits like nitrogen, phosphate, insecticides and pesticides. In the Midwest, Iowa is the leader in U.S. corn and soy production and a major producer of hogs, eggs, cattle and chickens raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).1 Over 55 percent of the rivers and streams in the state fall short of federal water quality standards and in the greater Des Moines area, the water filtration system that cost more than $4 million to install in 1991, now costs $7,000 a day to run. Read more.