Community and occupational health concerns in pork production: a review

Public concerns relative to adverse consequences of large-scale livestock production have been increasingly voiced since the late 1960s. Numerous regional, national, and international conferences have been held on the subject since 1994. This paper provides a review of the literature on the community and occupational health concerns of large-scale livestock production with a focus on pork production. The industry has recognized the concerns of the public, and the national and state pork producer groups are including these issues as an important component of their research and policy priorities. One reason large-scale livestock production has raised concern is that a significant component of the industry has separated from traditional family farming and has developed like other industries in management, structure, and concentration. The magnitude of the problem cited by environmental groups has often been criticized by the pork production industry for lack of science-based evidence to document environmental concerns. In addition to general environmental concerns, occupational health of workers has become more relevant because many operations now are employing more than 10 employees, which brings many operations in the United States under the scrutiny of the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In this paper, the scientific literature is reviewed relative to the science basis of occupational and environmental impacts on community and worker health. Further, recommendations are made to help promote sustainability of the livestock industry within the context of maintaining good stewardship of our environmental and human capital.