Animal waste from factory farms is poisoning our drinking water and killing our lakes, rivers, streams – even the Gulf of Mexico. Animals raised on factory farms generate more than 100 times more waste than humans. Yet this raw waste, unlike human waste, is not treated in sewage systems – even though, according to a study conducted by Minnesota agricultural extension engineer, John Chastain, “the pollution strength of raw manure is 160 times greater than raw municipal sewage.” The waste from factory farm animals is contaminated with antibiotics, growth hormones and disease-carrying pathogens and bacteria. It also causes dangerously high levels of nitrates in drinking water. Most of it is stored in open lagoons, where it’s prone to spills and leaks, or spread on fields as fertilizer.