Lombardy, a region symbol of Italian productivity, hides an open wound: nitrate pollution. An invisible enemy who it seeps into the soil, poisons the water and threatens the health of citizens. Greenpeace Italia denounces this environmental emergency and in its latest report, “Public funds fed to pigs”, reveals the link between intensive farming and nitrogen contamination.
“Intensive pig, cattle and poultry farming is putting the soil and water of 165 Lombardy municipalities at risk,” reveals Greenpeace. The reason? “Releasing triple and quadruple levels of nitrogen than permitted by law.” An alarming fact that places Lombardy, with its very high concentration of farms – which is home to 48% of the pigs, 26% of the cattle and 17% of the poultry raised in Italy – at the center of an environmental crisis of vast proportions.
But how did we get to this point? The origin of the problem lies in the enormous quantities of sewage produced by intensive farming. These wastewaters, rich in nitrogen, they are used as fertilizers on agricultural land. However, when their accumulation becomes excessive, nitrates, highly soluble nitrogen compounds, infiltrate the soil, contaminating aquifers and ecosystems.
This nitrate contamination compromises the quality of drinking waterputting human health at risk, with possible effects on the thyroid and neurological development of children. Additionally, excess nitrogen fuels algae blooms in lakes and rivers, a process known as eutrophicationwhich takes away oxygen from aquatic fauna and compromises the balance of ecosystems, resulting in the death of fish and degradation of habitats.
As if that wasn’t enough, Intensive livestock farming is responsible for 75% of ammonia emissions in Italya gas that transforms into fine particles (PM2.5), causing serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, with an estimated impact of 50,000 premature deaths every year in Italyconcentrated above all in the Po Valley.
A dramatic picture, which the European Union did not hesitate to sanction. “Due to high levels of nitrogen contamination, Italy is violating the Nitrates Directive and risks having to answer for it before the Court of Justice of the European Union,” warns Greenpeace. The consequences? Very high fines for failing to protect the environment and the health of citizens, which could amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
Yet, despite the emergency, European CAP funds continue to finance intensive farming. In 2023, in Lombardy, livestock companies received 284 million euros, 44% of the total CAP funds allocated to the region. Of these, approximately 40% (112.9 million euros) were awarded to companies located in municipalities that exceed the permitted nitrogen limits.
A contradiction that Greenpeace strongly denounces, calling for an immediate moratorium on new intensive farming and a change of direction towards a more sustainable farming model, as proposed in the bill “Beyond intensive farming“, currently awaiting discussion in Parliament.
The data collected by Greenpeace, based on the Nitrate Bulletins of the Lombardy Region, show a worrying picture: 40% of the Lombardy municipalities in the zone vulnerable to nitrates exceed the legal limits. The most affected provinces are Brescia (36% of illegal municipalities), Cremona (26%), Bergamo (17%) and Mantua (12%)where lowland agricultural areas pay the highest price for nitrate pollution.
