A Growing LULU

Economics may transcend 'the yuck factor and the chuckles,' as the U.S. has a major manure problem on its hands.

1 minute read

October 15, 2003, 1:00 PM PDT

By Connie Chung


"'Production' of the inevitable byproduct of meat, eggs, and milk runs to about 160 million tons per year. And as the family farm has given way to industrial agriculture, the humble dung heap has morphed into vast manure lagoons, lake-size impoundments of excreta that can threaten the environment and offend suburban neighbors. 'We've concentrated animals so much that we simply don't have enough room in nearby fields to use it all as fertilizer....With a new Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring feedlots to control their manure more effectively now on the books, [experts] hope that economics will win out over the yuck factor and the chuckles--and that industry will, ahem, jump in."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Monday, October 20, 2003 in U.S. News And World Report

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