Arts & Sciences Events
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Arts & Sciences
[PAST EVENT] Factory Farming Talks: The Destructive Impacts of CAFOs in Virginia and Beyond
September 30, 2015
7pm
Location
Sadler Center, Commonwealth Auditorium200 Stadium Dr
Williamsburg, VA 23185Map this location
This colloquium event examines environmental problems associated with CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), also known as factory farms. Los Angeles-based independent filmmaker Mark Devries is a leader in visualizing the environmental impacts of CAFOs today. Michael Shermer of Scientific American praised Devries's film Speciesism as "Brilliant and compelling" and The Huffington Post called it "Tremendously entertaining." Devries's Citizen Drone Project has documented environmental conditions at CAFO facilities operated by Virginia-based Smithfield Foods and other companies. Since 2014, Jeff Kelble has served as President of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, an organization dedicated to protecting clean water in rivers and streams in our region. Previously he worked for eight years building a smallmouth bass guiding business and bed-and-breakfast. After pollution damaged the Shenandoah River's fishery, he turned his attention to environmental advocacy, using legal enforcement and community action.
In 2006, the United Nations announced that world livestock production alone generates 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A 2008 report by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and Johns Hopkins University identified other major problems associated with CAFOs: "increase in the pool of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; air quality problems; the contamination of rivers, streams, and coastal waters with concentrated animal waste; animal welfare problems, mainly as a result of the extremely close quarters in which the animals are housed; and significant shifts in social structure and economy of many farming regions throughout the country." A 2014 report on factory farming by the William & Mary Law School noted that "Virginia ... is the largest contributor of phosphorus and sediment" to the Chesapeake Bay and CAFOs "contribute predominantly to this problem through their waste disposal methods." The presentations at this event will raise public awareness about one of the biggest environmental problems today.
In 2006, the United Nations announced that world livestock production alone generates 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A 2008 report by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production and Johns Hopkins University identified other major problems associated with CAFOs: "increase in the pool of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; air quality problems; the contamination of rivers, streams, and coastal waters with concentrated animal waste; animal welfare problems, mainly as a result of the extremely close quarters in which the animals are housed; and significant shifts in social structure and economy of many farming regions throughout the country." A 2014 report on factory farming by the William & Mary Law School noted that "Virginia ... is the largest contributor of phosphorus and sediment" to the Chesapeake Bay and CAFOs "contribute predominantly to this problem through their waste disposal methods." The presentations at this event will raise public awareness about one of the biggest environmental problems today.
Contact
acbraddock@wm.edu