How Industrial Meat Production Disrupted the Natural Manure Cycle and Created a Waste Crisis

For most of human history, cow poop or other animal manure was not considered 'waste' in the modern sense.

Animals grazed near farms, their manure fertilized crops, crop leftovers fed animals again, and nutrients moved through local ecosystems in relatively small loops.

Modern concentrated animal feeding operations, often called CAFOs or factory farms, produce enormous quantities of manure in concentrated areas.

Instead of being naturally distributed across land in manageable amounts, cow manure no longer follows the traditional cycle.