Before the livestock can be sold at markets, they are transported to slaughterhouses and meat processing factories when they are at their optimal weight. These factories not only utilise large amounts of resources, but they also contribute to environmental pollution.
“The necessity for hygiene and quality control in meat processing results in high water usage and consequently high levels of wastewater generation” (IEEP, 2005). In poultry processing, water is used for scalding, feather removal, bird washing, chilling, cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and facilities (Jayathilakan et al., 2012). From a study, the “wastewater flows ranged from 4.2 to 23 gallon per bird with a mean value of 9.3 gallons per bird” (USEPA, 1975 cited in Anderson et al., 2014). Water bodies were found to contain high concentrations of faecal indicator bacteria in effluent released from a poultry processing plant into a headwater stream in Greenville, South Carolina in 2010. “pH and temperature of the effluent were higher than that of the stream. Turbidity and concentrations of phosphate, fluoride, ammonium, nitrite, and usually sulfate were higher in the effluent than in the stream by up to three orders of magnitude, especially in 2010 and 2011” (Anderson et al., 2014).
Moreover, poultry processing facilities and poultry abattoirs also utilise large quantities of fossil fuel and electricity for its processes (Gerber, Opio and Steinfeld, 2008). Energy is used to heat water and produce steam for cleaning and the operation of mechanical and electrical equipment (ie. refrigeration and air compressors). The burning of fossil fuel results in the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and other toxic gases. These pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere and can be transported to far distances or be deposited in soils and water bodies.
In recent years, there has been new technology to reduce energy use and emissions such as wastewater and greenhouse gases, the same amount of chicken today as 1965 has 50% less impact on the environment today (Chicken Check In, 2019). However, the pollutants released from decades ago may still be found in our environment, such as the deposition of pollutants on seabeds. There has been some progress, but we should still continue to urge food companies to engage in more efficient processing practices to ensure environmental sustainability and food security in the long run.
In the next post, we will find out what goes on behind the scenes of other processing factories!
Trailing off,
Jade and Ridzuan
References
Anderson, B., McCauley, S., Lewis, G.P. and Min-Ken Liao (2014). Impacts of a Poultry Processing Plant on the Diversity of Escherichia coli Populations and Transferability. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 225(7). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2030-x
Chicken Check In. (2019). Sustainability: How does chicken production impact the environment? [online] Available at: https://www.chickencheck.in/faq/sustainability/ [Accessed 14 Sep. 2020].
Gerber, P., Opio, C. and Steinfeld, H. (2008). Poultry production and the environment – a review. [online] Available at: http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/home/events/bangkok2007/docs/part2/2_2.pdf.
IEEP. (2005). The environmental impacts of trade liberalization and potential flanking measures. Stage 1 of a Report to DEFRA. London: Institute for European Environmental Policy.
Jayathilakan, K., Sultana, K., Radhakrishna, K. and Bawa, A.S. (2011). Utilization of byproducts and waste materials from meat, poultry and fish processing industries: a review. Journal of Food Science and Technology, [online] 49(3), pp.278–293. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614052/
