Despatches "Dirty secrets of american food"

[CrofterMannie]

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/explosion-an ... dairy-farm

Perhaps relevant to standards & attitudes towards food production.
Even big dairy farmers here have been double checking that there are no typos in this article as it's an unimaginable way of producing food for most of us.

The article appears to be correct and there are videos circulating on the internet. A single shed on a dairy farm in Texas caught fire this week and 18000 (yes, eighteen thousand) cows in the shed died (apparently another 2000 survived).

[Stinsy]

https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/explosion-an ... dairy-farm

Perhaps relevant to standards & attitudes towards food production.
Even big dairy farmers here have been double checking that there are no typos in this article as it's an unimaginable way of producing food for most of us.

The article appears to be correct and there are videos circulating on the internet. A single shed on a dairy farm in Texas caught fire this week and 18000 (yes, eighteen thousand) cows in the shed died (apparently another 2000 survived).

And there was only a single employee for 18000 cows!

[Marcus]

Actually i think there were 60 to be fair, but most of them got out without serious injury.

[Countrypaul]

They seem to be blaming an explosion with 1 person seriousy injured. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65258108

[CrofterMannie]

I guess one of the things about agriculture on this scale is there are hazards that don't affect small operations.
I have 10 cattle in a shed and have never considered the possibility of the shed exploding, it's naturally ventilated so why would it?

A rough calculation shows that 20k cows will produce about 9000m3 of methane a day. The LEL (lower explosive limit) of methane is 5% so that could result in a 180,000m3 explosive mix of gas having to be removed every day. I don't suppose a 50 acre shed can be naturally ventilated effectively enough so if the ventilation system isn't up to it then it becomes a giant bomb.

[Mr Gus]

+1 Crofter Mannie, nice fag packet math!

Wonder how much greasing money they have budgeted to keep this low key & out of the hands of folk like PETA ?

[renewablejohn]

Seems as though it was a diet feeder which caught fire which ignited the roof insulation producing toxic smoke which was quickly spread by the cross flow fans until the fire cut the electric supply to the fans. Its really horrific and thankfully we dont in UK have that style of farming despite Natural England trying to push UK farmers in this direction.

[Mr Gus]

Is it being utilised by farmers as a public reminder as to the toll of factory farming though?

[renewablejohn]

Is it being utilised by farmers as a public reminder as to the toll of factory farming though?

But this is not farming its the mass production of food in a glorified zoo.

[Mr Gus]

Do you not see the point in getting that fact across to consumers in order to avoid that being foisted upon people & having farmers follow / sell up though John?

"Fear of" ..advertising / campaigning.

The fact that we have the massive american battery chicken unit presence now in the uk should indicate palm greasing money plans to push for profitable (to them) change.