Hot, Crowded and Legal
A Look at Industrial Agriculture in Brazil and the United
States
David Cassuto
Professor of Law, Pace Law School
Director, Brazil-American Institute for Law & Environment
(BAILE)
Why CAFOs?
• Global Climate Change
• Air and Water Pollution
from Waste
• Animal Abuse
• Deforestation
• > ½ World’s cow, pig,
fowl, eggs
A Climate Change Feedback Loop
• Increased global demand for meat spurs conversion of
forests to pasture and fields on which to grow feed
crops.
• This requires more fossil fuel-based fertilizers and
increases manure production. This in turn exacerbates
carbon, methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
• Emissions accelerate climate change, causing a
positive feedback loop for the CAFOs.
• Elevated temperatures negatively impact animal feed
crops, facility climate control costs and pesticide
efficacy.
• These increased costs require more volume, which
requires more demand, which requires more
conversion of forests to fields, etc.
Why the U.S. and Brazil?
United States
Production &
Consumption
Factory Farm Model
Legal Regulation
Production & Consumption
• 10 Billion per Year
Slaughtered
• 1 Million per Hour
Slaughtered
• 9 Million per Year
Milked
• 67% Protein from Meat
(World Average: 34%)
• > ½ lb of Meat per Day
• 1 lb of Dairy per Day
• 200 lbs Meat per Year
• 30 lbs Cheese per Year
Consumption
110 Grams of Protein per
Person per Day
Obesity
Meat as Social Status &
Cultural Significance
Increased Disposable Income
Government Programs and
Subsidies for Meat and Dairy
75% Vegetarians Resume
Meat-Eating
Factory Farm Model
Economic Model:
Massive Production
Weight > High Attrition
Rate
Achieved By:
Space
Feed
Antibiotics
Waste Lagoons
Hormones
(Non-Enviro)Legal Regulation
• FDA
– Food Drug and Cosmetic Act
• USDA
– Humane Method of Slaughter Act (HMSA)
– Twenty Eight Hour Law
– Practice Guidelines & Standards
• NOT the Animal Welfare Act!
Factory Farm Model
Pillar:
• Space
• Feed
• Antibiotics
• Waste Lagoons
• Growth Hormones
Regulating Body:
• USDA
• FDA
• FDA & USDA
• USDA
• FDA
Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act
• Feed
– Bans Feeding Ruminants Mammal Tissue
• Hormones
– Approved for Beef & Dairy Cattle
– Banned for Chickens & Pigs
• Antibiotics
– Approves Safe Drugs
– Maximum Residue Limits at Slaughter
USDA
• Humane Method of Slaughter Act
– Express Goals: Industry Interest
• Twenty Eight Hour Law
– Transport Requirements for Mammals
• Practice Guidelines & Standards
– Poultry Best Commercial Practices
– Lagoon Standards
FDA & USDA
Covers:
Do Not Cover:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• Antibiotic Levels preSlaughter
• Most Feed
Slaughter
Transport
Antibiotics at Slaughter
Limited Feed Regulation
Allows Hormones
Allows Minimal Space
Lagoon Structure
FDA & USDA
Covers:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Do Not Cover:
• Antibiotic Levels preSlaughter
Slaughter
Transport
• Most Feed
Supports
CAFO Economic
Model!
Antibiotics
at Slaughter
Limited Feed Regulation
Allows
Hormones
Massive
Production Weight > High Attrition Rate
Allows Minimal Space
Lagoon Structure
United States
Consumption Increasing
Laws and Regulations Reinforce the CAFO Model
Brazil
•
•
•
•
Trends in Developing World
Production
Regulatory Regime
Good Agricultural Practices
Trends in Developing World
• Meat Industry
Movement:
From US & EU to
Developing World
• Embracing Meat
Industry:
Perceived Indicator of
Economic & Social
Progress
• Increases in Meat
Consumption
Brazilian Production
Largest Cattle Herd in the World
Leading Global Exporter of Cow, Poultry, Pig
Government Investment & Credits
Regulatory Regime
• Federal Anti-Cruelty Decree # 24,645 of 1934
– Mandates standards of cleanliness, personal
space and access to air & light;
– Sets standards for “humane” slaughter;
• Permanent Technical Committee on Animal
Welfare of 2011
– Propose and Coordinate Good Practices
“Good” Practices
Include Welfare before Slaughter
Voluntary Programs
Industry Leads with Government Support
Battery Cages & Gestation Crates Still Used by the Millions
Brazil
Embracing Status as Global
Leader
Welfare Protections Systems
are New
Limited Protections Support
CAFO Model
US & Brazil
• Exemptions
• Narrow Regulations
• Bovine Growth
Hormone
• Industry Lobby AntiWelfare
•
•
•
•
New Area of Law
Covers More Animals
No Growth Hormones
Industry Leading in
Establishing Standards
So What?
• Myths Make Reality
• Prevailing Myth of Costs and Benefits is
Wreaking Havoc
• Externalized Harms, Statistical Lives etc. 
• Neither animals nor the environment can ever
count
• It’s Not Just Ethics – It’s Math
dcassuto@law.pace.edu