FAQ

CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), commonly referred to as “factory farms,” are intensive animal agriculture operations in which large numbers of animals are confined and/or a large amount of waste is created. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined this term to classify farms that pose a risk of water pollution.

A facility that confines more than 125,000 chickens raised for meat, more than 82,000 egg-laying hens, or more than 700 mature dairy cows is considered a large CAFO. A medium CAFO must contain the medium size range of animals listed by the EPA and also directly discharge animal waste into surface water, which no farms in Sonoma County are permitted to do. To learn more, read the EPA’s definition of CAFOs or check out their chart summarizing the CAFO definition.

There are an estimated 21 CAFOs, also called factory farms, in Sonoma County. They effectively market themselves as small-scale, family farms, but the reality is that these 21 facilities all meet the federal definition of a large CAFO and together confine around 3 million animals. Investigations into many of these facilities have found rampant animal cruelty. Learn more about factory farms in Sonoma County, or read What are CAFOs?.

CAFOs are bad for animals, the environment, local farmers, and public health. Despite bucolic imagery on their marketing, investigations into CAFOs in Sonoma County have found rampant animal abuse, including animals left to slowly die without food or water. Emissions from industrial animal agricultural operations are a significant cause of climate change, with livestock contributing 12 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, which worsens the drought and wildfires in Sonoma County. As factory farming corporations have entered rural areas of Sonoma County with giant, windowless sheds, local farmers have been put out of business and residents have lost the benefits of quality food and a truly local economy. Workers at CAFOs face health risks due to exposure to harmful substances and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as well as high rates of respiratory injuries, musculoskeletal injuries, and anxiety and depression. And finally, given that three out of four emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, CAFOs pose a serious risk to public health. Institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) are calling for action to protect against the harms of CAFOs. For all these reasons, the factory farming industry is one of the most destructive and harmful industries on the planet - an industry that is not in line with the values of Sonoma County residents.

The majority of the estimated 21 CAFOs in Sonoma County are operated by or supply to massive agricultural companies. For example, seven of the CAFOs are operated by a single company, Sunrise Farms LLC, which sells eggs to Costco, Safeway, Walmart and other large retail chains. Perdue Farms Inc, the fourth largest poultry company in the United States, also operates multiple CAFOs in Sonoma County. Three of the large dairy CAFOs in Sonoma County supply to a corporation that has local roots - Clover - but is now majority owned by a Colombian agricultural company, Alpina Productos Alimenticios, with annual sales over $700 million. Clover also supplies from multiple CAFOs in the Central Valley.

The Yes on J campaign is funded by individual donors and charitable organizations passionate about improving the welfare of animals and protecting the environment. These donors have nothing to gain personally from this campaign other than the betterment of our world.

The opposition, which has raised over $2.2 million dollars in order to keep CAFOs in Sonoma County, has received large donations from industry lobbying groups and factory farms across the country. They are set to outspend us 8-to-1.

Their funding includes over $500,000 from Western United Dairies based in the Central Valley, $85,000 from the California Farm Bureau, $50,000 from the Agricultural Council of CA Issues PAC and another $50,000 from an associated committee, over $100,000 from various Farm Credits such as American AgCredit, $120,000 between Weber “Family” Farms and Sunrise Farms (which operates several large egg CAFOs in Sonoma County), $100,000 from Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry, $49,999 from the National Pork Producers Council in Iowa and $25,000 from the Iowa Pork Producers Association, $60,000 from Clover Sonoma (which spent over an additional $50,000 on independent advertising), $25,000 from the Sonoma Marin Cattleman’s Association, and tens of thousands more from associated farm bureaus and CAFOs.

These entities are financially invested in the continuance of industrialized agriculture and are spending enormous amounts of money to quash the Yes on J campaign.

You can see all campaign finance reports for all committees on the county’s public portal.

Yes. While avian flu is often carried by wild birds, CAFOs are a perfect location for avian flu and other viruses such as swine flu to rapidly spread. In CAFOs, massive numbers of animals (sometimes hundreds of thousands) are confined in crowded, unsanitary conditions. This allows viruses to easily spread from one animal to another. These conditions also increase the chances for viruses to mutate, causing new strains to emerge which could be even more contagious or deadly and could have the potential to infect humans. Because workers at CAFOs are often in close proximity to these animals, they are at higher risk of becoming infected and could carry the viruses out to the broader population.

In the past few years, viruses such as avian flu have wreaked havoc across the country, including in Sonoma County. Outbreaks have caused massive economic losses, unstable food prices, and extreme suffering, as animals who are potentially infected are “depopulated” with cruel methods such as “ventilation shutdown”, where airflow is turned off in the barns, heat and steam is pumped in, and animals are left to die of heatstroke over the course of hours. In order to prevent the next pandemic and protect workers, animals, and food security, it’s imperative that we phase out CAFOs.

Regulatory agencies have failed to protect animals, the environment, and public health. They typically only give minor penalties, if any at all, when powerful factory farms pollute communities or spread disease. Whistleblowers have documented criminal animal abuse and dangerous, unhygienic conditions in Sonoma County CAFOs on dozens of occasions. They have reported this to local and state authorities, but no action has been taken.

The legislature has shown time and time again that they are unwilling to confront this powerful industry, but with a ballot measure, citizens can directly vote to change the law without any way for corrupt politicians or lobbyists to get in the way.

In fact, it would help small, local family farms. This ordinance would only prohibit industrialized factory farms that confine large numbers of animals, for example, farms with 82,000 or more egg-laying chickens, 2,500 or more pigs, or 700 or more cows, or farms that have been identified as significant contributors of pollutants. You can see the table of size limits in the initiative's text. These massive factory farms often hurt small family farms. Small family farms cannot compete with industrial farming because factory farms externalize their costs onto animals, society, and the environment. This ordinance will help restore the local diverse agriculture that existed in Sonoma County before the factory farms moved in.

Existing factory farms would be given a 3-year phase-out period to scale down or phase out their operations. While many of us want to see factory farming end immediately, we understand that it takes time.

The measure includes a provision that requires the county to provide a retraining and employment assistance program for people employed at CAFOs. This would ensure that they receive the training needed to work at another agricultural operation or in a different job sector. We hope to work with all relevant stakeholders, including labor groups, to ensure this retraining program meets the needs of workers and the community so that, together, we can evolve away from factory farming. Including workers in the transition plan is an important part of a just transition away from relying on factory farms.

Limiting or prohibiting CAFOs is not a unique idea. Legislation on this issue has been introduced or passed in states as diverse as Utah, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and North Dakota. Federally, Senator Cory Booker has introduced the Farm Systems Reform Act that would place a moratorium on large CAFOs across the country. And just recently, voters in the City of Berkeley collected the requisite number of signatures to qualify a CAFO ban for the November 2024 ballot.

Thanks to 150 volunteers who helped collect 37,000+ signatures, Measure J will be on the ballot November 5th.

The Coalition to End Factory Farming is a network of numerous animal advocacy, environmental, and social justice organizations including Compassionate Bay, FACES (Farm Animal Climate and Environmental Stewards) of Sonoma County, and Direct Action Everywhere - SF Bay Area. You can see a full list of supporters on our homepage. If your organization or business would like to be listed as a supporter, please email us at info@endfactoryfarming.vote.

Check out our volunteer page.

Email us directly at info@endfactoryfarming.vote