The U.S. doesn't regulate industrial agriculture and hasn't for years.  The result has contributed significantly to a host of environmental problems although few people generally think of agriculture as being one of the prime culprits.  Will Allen, writing at Alternet, provides an overview of why and how it is.  I am providing just an overview of his article.  Read the entire piece.

Carbon Foot Print: When fertilizer, energy requirements, equipment and emissions are counted, all legitimately key to agribusiness functioning, agriculture's share of the U.S. carbon footprint is 25-30%.  The impact may actually be larger that that, even, since methane emissions from animal waste and nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers are 21X and 310X more damaging respectively to our atmosphere than carbon dioxide emissions.  Unlike small-scale, sustainable agriculture, industrial agriculture is a very energy-intense, greenhouse gas emitting business. 

Fertilizer Pollution: As Allen says, "Factory farming is polluting the ground, river, and ocean water with high amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other fertilizers."  High levels of nitrates and nitrites have been found in the drinking water of two-thirds of the nation's population.  Runoff from the fertilizers flows into our waterways, ending up creating oxygen dead zones in oceans and, here, in our beloved Puget Sound.  By 2008, there were 405 such oceanic dead zones, up from 60 in 1995.  Although there were regulations on the amount of allowable agricultural fertilizers established by the Clean Air Act, those regulations are not enforced.

Pesticides: Pesticides from industrial farms seep into wells and rivers and enter the drinking water at an alarming rate.  This includes far higher levels of lead and arsenic than EPA-recommended minimums and dioxins and other deadly chemicals left over from previous DDT use.  None of this is tracked by any federal or state agency except in California where, given the recent economic collapse in that state, even that is likely to be coming to an end.  Here's a piece of what we know from what has been collected in California:  "Factory farmers continue to use enormous quantities of the most toxic poisons. In 2006, four of the six most used farm pesticides in California were among the most dangerous chemicals in the world. Farmers applied more than 35.7 million pounds of four pesticides: Metam sodium, Methyl bromide, Telone II, and Chloropicrin."

Allen makes two urgent recommendations in regard to pesticides: 1) Collect data and 2) Begin reducing use of these pesticides immediately, as much as 50% per chemical every five years.  We are killing our farm-workers and damaging soil and water sources in our rural agricultural communities across the country.  "Cancer and birth defect clusters are now common in most U.S. farm communities and people are being exposed to multiple pesticide residues on their fresh and processed food and on their clothing."  We are also not doing ourselves any favors by eating pesticide-drenched foods.  

Here's more on how pesticides are impacting our local waters.  Here and here.

Factory Farming: Also, called Confinement Farming, these huge farms are not well regulated and pose a number of risks including the imminent risk they pose to a more severe swine flu epidemic.  Factory farming has grown swiftly to the point where 95% of our pigs are raised in confinement along with the bulk of our laying hens, meat chickens, turkeys and both beef and dairy cows.  Animals raised in confinement are given far more antibiotics and hormones than animals raised on real family farms.  Ever wonder how it is that we as a population are becoming resistant to antibiotics?  That's a huge piece of it. In addition, factory farms use way more fertilizer and pesticides than they need, "just to be sure", and the excess goes into our waterways, as discussed above.   

As long as Congressional Agriculture Committees are in the control of those, both Democrats and  Republicans, who are firmly in thrall to industrial agriculture, it will be difficult to regulate these industries - until some major disaster occurs.  Speaking of the Congressional Agriculture Committees, I believe that not one of Washington State's Senators or Representatives are on any of the relevant committees, despite the fact that Agriculture is Washington's #1 industry.  I am going to be looking into why this is.