The Fishy Connection Between Factory Farms and Our Oceans

Did you know that industrial animal farming harms not only the land but our oceans too? It’s true! Human activity, including intensive farming practices, is the main cause of excess nutrients in our waters. 

In fact, slaughterhouses and meat-processing facilities are top industrial sources of phosphorus and nitrogen pollution. These nutrients are notorious for promoting algae blooms, which create oxygen-deprived zones that cause aquatic animals to flee or die. They can also harm shore birds and marine mammals who depend on fish for survival. 

What Are Algae Blooms?

Each year, slaughterhouses dump millions of pounds of feces, blood, and growth-promoting drugs into U.S. waterways—as well as high nutrient loads that cause algae blooms. 

As the algae decays, it can clog the gills of fish, smother coral, and leave stinky scum or foam piles on beaches. Algae blooms can also release toxins that contaminate drinking water and cause illnesses in animals and people.

An EPA study found that of all industrial categories, the meat-processing industry discharges the highest levels of phosphorus and second-highest levels of nitrogen—nutrients that are directly linked to algae blooms.

Algae Blooms Lead to Dead Zones

Algae eats up oxygen in the water, creating hypoxic “dead” zones. Without sufficient oxygen, aquatic animals cannot survive. In 2017, one of the biggest-ever dead zones along the Gulf Coast was linked to factory farming. Since then, a federal deadline was set to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf by 20%. With the deadline mere months away, success is unlikely.

Between 2010 and 2021, the USDA invested $14.2 billion in voluntary conservation efforts, but these opt-in programs are not working. Over the past five years, nitrogen levels have barely changed, and phosphorus loads have worsened. 

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-supported scientists, last summer’s dead zone was bigger than four million acres of habitat. That is an area roughly the size of New Jersey that was largely unavailable for aquatic life. 

Hypoxic zones can occur naturally, but they are generally caused by an overabundance of nutrients. They’re associated with large-scale fish kills and loss of aquatic bottom fauna, an important food source. This creates a ripple effect through the entire food chain, affecting the population, size, and overall health of aquatic life.

A Better Future on Land and at Sea

Our industrialized and corporatized food system was built to prioritize profits over overall environmental health. Under-regulation and voluntary measures have done little to protect our oceans and waterways. It’s time we focused on true climate solutions, like farm transitions.

The Transfarmation Project^® works directly with farmers to convert their industrial animal operations into specialty-crop farms. In doing so, we explore creative ways to make farms more sustainable, including repurposing and reusing materials, incorporating renewable energy, helping farmers source sustainable packaging for their produce, and providing resources for farmers to compost on-site.