Applied research proposal / 2023
CAFOs and environmental justice communities
An applied research proposal connecting industrial animal agriculture, spatial analysis, public health, and environmental justice in North Carolina.
A map, field photograph, or landscape image that helps situate industrial animal agriculture and nearby communities.
The proposed study
This exercise asked me to design an applied research project rather than complete the full spatial analysis.
The topic I am proposing for my applied research exercise is an investigation into the various environmental and health impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on environmental justice communities, looking specifically at spatial data to try to map whether proximity to CAFO facilities is linked to higher rates of illnesses directly or indirectly caused by these operations.
Building from prior research
The proposal centered North Carolina because of its concentration of facilities and its importance to the history of the environmental-justice movement.
In expanding upon this paper, I hope to use mapping data for both CAFOs and environmental justice communities to look more specifically at whether health impacts in these communities can be correlated with proximity to these feeding operations.