Instructions
Write a 4–5-page academic paper using the following instructions:
Select one environmental health risk created by food production or manufacturing, including details about its location and the number of stakeholders affected.
Analyze the release, exposure, and health effects of an environmental health risk, supporting risk analysis with two examples and research references.
Research the circumstances under which exposure takes place. Either document examples of releases that have taken place or describe plausible release scenarios.
Provide examples of the effects, specific exposures, and health-related incidents.
Evaluate how the attention-getting potential of two risk communications is based on their characteristics, using the features listed in the textbook that are likely to arouse outrage.
Refer to Page 47 of the textbook which lists the features of a risk that are likely to arouse outrage.
Evaluate the success of at least two risk management or harm reduction approaches for the risk. Support your evaluation with references from four resources.
These management or reduction efforts may include the following or others:
Laws that apply to limiting or regulating the activity.
Programs or laws that require cleanup related to this risk.
Costs of mitigation or treatment of effects.
The selected environmental health risk is the creation and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) due to the routine, non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in large-scale food animal production.
Location: This risk is global, but highly concentrated in regions with dense livestock production, such as the Midwest United States (e.g., Iowa, North Carolina) and major agricultural zones in Brazil and China. Specifically, the focus will be on the hog farming operations in Eastern North Carolina, USA.
Number of Stakeholders Affected: The number of affected stakeholders is vast and multi-layered:
Primary: Workers in CAFOs and slaughterhouses; residents living near CAFOs (exposed via air and water); consumers of meat products.
Secondary: The general public and the entire healthcare system globally, as antibiotic effectiveness is diminished, threatening the ability to treat common infections, surgeries, and cancer therapies. Estimates suggest ARB causes over 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone, making the entire population a stakeholder.
Sample Answer
Environmental Health Risk: Antibiotic Resistance from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
The following academic paper analyzes the environmental health risk of antibiotic resistance stemming from the widespread use of antibiotics in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), detailing its mechanism, risk communication challenges, and management approaches.
1. Selection and Scope of Environmental Health Risk