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Factory farms have come under the scrutiny of public health professionals and environmental groups for the pollution and disease associated with the 2.7 trillion pounds of manure they produce each year. The Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md., launched a program Sept. 9 to study and evaluate the effects of breeding large numbers of food animals in concentrated lots in other words, factory farms. "The way that we breed animals for food is a threat to the planet. It pollutes our environment while consuming huge amounts of water, grain, petroleum, pesticides and drugs. The results are disastrous," David Brubaker, the project's director said in a statement. Manure from factory farms has been linked to diseases such as E. coli, listeria, and cryptosporidium. A hog farm with 5,000 animals produces as much fecal waste as a city with 50,000 people, yet the disposal methods are primitive and lead to disease, said Brubaker. VIEW ARTICLE AT EarthSave

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