Food Regulations

This story is featured in our election coverage.
Have you ever heard of a CAFO? Well, you should. It stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. It’s a type of farming, often called factory farming, in which hundreds or thousands of animals are packed into a small area in order to get the most bang for your buck. There are chickens that have never seen sunlight, pigs that can’t stand up because they don’t have the muscle capacity and cows that suffer diseases from eating a food they were never designed to eat—corn. Everyone has a passion, and this is mine. I think about it everyday and the lack of sustainability in this practice. How long until everyone else realizes that this isn’t going to last? Who is going to do something about it?

I wish I could change the world, but that isn’t going to happen right now.  But, I’ve sworn off all red meat that is not free-range in an effort to protest CAFOs, and I’m in the process of cutting out chicken (It’s hard to do in college…). I know, how is that going to help? Sure, it’s only one person and one small action, but it’s my action and my voice.

I also vote in order to get my voice heard. I know which candidates support Big Agriculture and which do not. Besides the occasional small farmer, only four to five companies handle all of the beef in the U.S. These people have a lot of money and enjoy sharing it with candidates.  Knowing who has taken funding from such companies and who hasn’t allows me to make the right choice on my ballot. Find your passion, and whether through an absentee ballot or in a booth on November 2, share your voice about it. It’s an action, no matter how small, that can make a difference.