Kopi Luwak unusual process contributed to its rarity and subsequently, its high price. More recently, growing numbers of intensive civet "farms" have been established and operated across Southeast Asia, confining tens of thousands of animals to live in battery cages and be force-fed. Concerns were raised over the safety of civet coffee after evidence suggested that the SARS virus originated from palm civets. '"The conditions are awful, much like battery chickens", said Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director of the conservation NGO, TRAFFIC south-east Asia. "The civets are taken from the wild and have to endure horrific conditions. They fight to stay together
Electronic waste in the United States of which has been documented to cause significant health problems in the surrounding area. Open burnings are the most common means of 'disposing of' e-waste and occur primarily in rural areas with low incomes of developing countries. Communities use open burning for a variety of functions: For direct disposal, it takes the least amount of man-power and is the cheapest option. For precious metal extraction, it can be an effective method to extract certain valuable metals, such as gold. The combustion of burning e-waste results in ash that contains fine particulate matter; a measure of pollutants that has been linked