Living with Livestock: Dealing with Pig Waste in the Philippines

As livestock production increases worldwide, livestock waste is becoming a serious environmental hazard. In some cases, the damages have been spectacular and even tragic. In June 1995, the artificial waste lagoon at a hog farm in North Carolina burst. The sudden release of nearly 100 million litres of hog urine and feces polluted neighbouring communities and killed millions of fish in nearby rivers (Worldwatch, March/April, 2001). In 2000, drinking water contaminated by livestock waste led to several deaths in the small Canadian town of Walkerton. In other cases, livestock waste causes continuous and pervasive damage to people's health and the environment. This study investigated a number of solutions and highlighted those that could mitigate the problem - given adequate support from policy makers. To find out the actual situation on the ground, the study looked at both the on-site and off-site impacts of hog farming in Majayjay. 176 households were surveyed, including 82 households of swine raisers and 94 households that live within a 20-meter radius of a hog farm. An additional comparative survey was made of 50 households that were not affected by air pollution from the farms.