ABSTRACT
In the last 50 years, the livestock industry has grown substantially in almost all countries due to economic growth and technological advancements. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are animal feeding operations of at least 1,000 animal units, where animals are confined indoors for at least 45 days during a growing season in an area that does not produce vegetation. This chapter presents a study in which rural areas with high densities of CAFOs are compared to other rural areas to determine whether minority, low-income, and vulnerable populations (children and elderly) are unequally exposed to CAFOs. The study suggests that there is environmental discrimination with respect to the concentration of CAFOs and Hispanic populations and children. The Geographic Information System (GIS) and spatial statistics were used to examine the distribution of CAFOs in the state of Ohio and their relationship to socioeconomic population groups in an environmental justice analysis.
