Factory farming takes a big, hidden toll on human health and the environment, is undermining rural America's economic stability and fails to provide the humane treatment of livestock increasingly demanded by American consumers, concludes an independent, 2 1/2 -year analysis that calls for major changes in the way corporate agriculture produces meat, milk and eggs.

No matter what you call it, it adds up to the same thing. Millions of animals are crowded together in inhumane conditions, causing significant environmental threats and unacceptable health risks for workers, their neighbors and all the rest of us.

The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) was formed to conduct a comprehensive, fact-based and balanced examination of key aspects of the farm animal industry.

Antibiotics that are critical for human health should not be licensed for use as growth promoters in livestock, physician and human rights advocate Robert Lawrence said at a lecture Monday at Iowa State University.

“For millions of people threatened with malnutrition, improving access to nutrient-rich animal source foods is an easy way to improve nutritional status,” said Walker. “But meat is also high in saturated fat. In light of the high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and some cancers in high meat-consuming countries, an important public health challenge is to provide adequate amounts of protein and essential nutrients without also causing over-consumption of saturated fat.”

Anaerobic digestion is a method of manure processing during which methane-producing bacteria break down America's drinking water, rivers and lakes are at risk from giant, corporate- owned animal factories. These Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) create one of the nation's most dangerous water pollution problems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hog, chicken and cattle waste has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.

Animal feeding operations (AFOs) are farms or feedlots where animals are kept and raised in confined areas for at least 45 days over a 12-month period. AFOs cluster animals, feed, manure and urine, wastewater, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing in pastures, fields, or on rangeland. There are approximately 450,000 AFOs in the United States. Common types of AFOs include dairies, cattle feedlots, and poultry farms.

VegHaven.org is dedicated to providing a place for compassionate people to come together and make a difference! Imagine if all the money MySpace made went to help animals! That's what we're doing here. All the money generated from this site goes to help promote compassion and a plant based diet.