The piercing sounds of shrieking animals. The pungent smell of ammonia, emanating from endless piles of animal manure. Rivers and streams polluted by animal waste, left full of green algae. People who live near a factory farm feel its presence every minute, every day of their lives.
The impacts of the industrial meat and dairy production can be felt far beyond the borders of neighbouring towns and villages. Factory farming fuels the climate emergency, with the massive amount of greenhouse gases
it releases. In every corner of the earth, it’s rivers and oceans have
become polluted with animal waste. Forests are clear-cut for the
cultivation of feed, causing a massive loss of biodiversity.
The dairy factory farm near the town of Caparroso, Spain © Greenpeace / Tània Garnica
People living close to factory farms
are standing at the frontlines of the struggle against an industry that
is destroying their communities, and impacting all of us. These small
communities, who live in the shadows of the farms, suffer, struggle,
fight and at times win against these factories.
Greenpeace went on a journey through
Europe to Spain, Denmark, France, and Italy to collect some of their
stories. We’re urging you to read them, then decide for yourself. If you
agree it is time to put an end to factory farming, and instead support
the transition to eco farming and veggie alternatives, sign our global call to action.
Spain
The dairy factory farm near the town of Caparroso, Spain © Greenpeace / Wildlight
The dairy factory farm near the town
of Caparroso in Spain has multiple rows where calves are kept, deprived
of any contact with their mothers, without the possibility to move
around. Green algae clogs the waters near the farm, probably due to the
high nutrient content of the disposed manure. The Valle de Odieta farm
is one of the biggest dairy farms in Spain. While industrial
installations are constantly getting bigger and bigger in Spain, small
local farmers fear for their livelihoods.
Ricardo Antón, aged 56, runs an organic horticulture farm in Caparroso © Greenpeace / Wildlight
This is Ricardo Antón, aged 56. He
runs an organic horticulture farm in Caparroso, the village is next to a
dairy factory farm. Ricardo caters to small clients, including two
school canteens. “All these big factory farms represent a threat to the
ecosystem in the area. Smaller enterprises can hardly sustain their
production. The traditional farmer is disappearing,” Ricardo says.
Denmark
Dead pigs dumped outside a Danish factory farm © Greenpeace / Wildlight
In Denmark, outside the Vandvaerksgaarden pig factory farm in the small village of Tingerup, locals regularly see dead pigs dumped in the trash. Denmark
produces around 33 million pigs annually. The country has the world’s
highest production of meat per capita. Like many other farms in the
area, Vandvaerksgaarden is owned by the family of Peter Kjaer Knudsen. The family has already been fined for poor animal welfare and polluting streams with manure.
Bente lives next door to a massive farm © Greenpeace / Wildlight
This is Bente Joergensen. For more
than 20 years the former high school teacher has been living in an old
rural house, together with her husband, only 100 meters away from the
industrial pig farm Vandvaerksgaarden. When the smell is strong, she has
to wear a face mask outdoors, “The smell is so awful, that it makes me
feel sick, my head aches and my eyes are red and swollen. The factory
farms surrounding our town have ruined my life.”
France
The egg-laying hen factory farm near Lescout, France © Greenpeace / Wildlight
The egg-laying hen factory farm Gallès SAS near
the French village of Lescout is farming 185,000 hens. The village
itself has only 700 inhabitants. Many locals have reported frequent
smells and noise, and some are worried that harmful substances in the
air could cause cancer. A court-appointed expert had started to
investigate the situation, but up to now the local governor refuses to
carry proper air quality measurements.
Nicolas and his family live close to the factory farm © Greenpeace / Wildlight
This is Nicolas Mougel, 31 years old.
He is a father of five. The family live close to the factory farm in
Lescout. When the air smells bad it becomes difficult for the family to
enjoy the outdoors, and Nicolas’ children sometimes cover their faces
when they play outside. Nicolas is concerned about the potential
toxicity of the air they’re breathing, especially for his three month
old child.
N. has survived eye cancer © Greenpeace / Wildlight
N., 62 years old, who prefers to keep
her name anonymous, is administering drops to her eye to keep it
hydrated. She has lived in Lescout for almost 30 years and is the only
survivor of two cases of eye cancer recorded in the village. It’s an
extremely rare form of cancer. Locals in the village have expressed
their concerns on what, according to their calculations, is an
extraordinary high rate of cancer in the area. Even though the malignant
disease is healed, N.’s vision remains affected. N. recalls: “My
doctors couldn’t identify the cause of my tumour, but they mentioned it
could be caused possibly by the factory farm.”
Italy
The pig factory farm in Schivenoglia, Italy © Greenpeace / Tommaso Galli
This pig factory farm lies in
Schivenoglia, a small village in Italy’s Lombardia region. The farm
holds around 4,500 pigs. In the area there is a high concentration of
intensive pig farms. A local committee is fighting against their
expansion and against the construction of new installations.
Maura is fighting against factory farms near her village © Greenpeace / Tommaso Galli
Maura Cappi, aged 50, leads a local
committee in the village of Schivenoglia. In 2017, Maura’s committee won
a municipal referendum against the construction of a new pig factory
farm in the area. The company then appealed the decision, but lost the
appeal. Maura, who owns a family farm herself, is happy. But she will
keep on the struggle. “This is an unhealthy industry that threatens our
environment and our economy.”
Nora Holzmann is the global communications lead for the Meat and Dairy Campaign at Greenpeace
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