The following is a presentation recently given by Karen Hudson on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

My name is Karen Hudson. My husband and I farm in Peoria County Illinois, home of one of Illinois’ largest dairies. I am also a neighbor of a Smithfield hog factory in Knox County. The Illinois Attorney General has sued both of these CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation) for environmental violations.

I was appointed to the Illinois House Senate Joint Livestock Advisory Committee in 1997. I am also President of FARM (Families Against Rural Messes), a consultant for the GRACE Factory Farm Project, and board member of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. We are organizations that educate the public regarding the social, environmental and economic impacts of industrial food production. Our goal is to provide science-based data and information to the public and elected officials in regarding the impacts of CAFO’s. We also educate the public about sustainable livestock production, marketing, and public policy.

Smithfield- Knox County

Approximately nine years ago local citizens in our community became concerned when we learned that a Murphy livestock factory (now Smithfield) was to be built in our community. The facility cancelled its plans for its proposed Elmwood operation; however it was eventually built in an adjoining county (Knox) in Williamsfield, Illinois. The Knox County State’s Attorney and concerned citizens fought the construction of this facility all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.

We were assured that the Highlands LLC Murphy Farms livestock factory would be “virtually odorless” and “state of the art”- words that are commonly used by industry supporters to encourage their acceptance. We were told the facility would be so “modern” that we would not even notice its presence. Our community was presented with an abundance of “empty promises” that were broken. The neighbors continue to suffer from an onslaught of odors, gases, and particulates. We have even witnessed manure and urine from its lagoons being pivot irrigated in 40 mph winds. Neighbors’ cars been covered with this effluent when driving on nearby roads.

In December 1999, the Illinois Attorney General sued the Highlands LLC for alleged ongoing odor violations since its construction in 1997. There was also a private civil suit filed against this operation. This was recently settled out of court and the neighbors are under a gag order.

In June of 2002, the Highlands LLC overapplied manure and killed fish on a 1-½ mile stretch of a tributary of French Creek in Knox County. The operator claimed he just “misjudged” how much manure the soil would hold. Over 10 species of fish were killed due to this action of our local CAFO. To sum it up, everything we predicted about this CAFO occurred in our community from gagging stenches to manure polluting and killing wildlife.

Odor violations such as this have prompted citizens in Illinois to rename our state from Illinois Land of Lincoln to Illinois, Land of Stinkin’. Throughout the past three years, citizens opposing this and other livestock factories have been the targets of vandalism, trespassing, and intimidation. Grassroots farmers and citizen coalitions have even experienced the ultimate in intimidation- death threats over the opposition to livestock factories in Illinois.

Inwood Dairy Peoria County (now called New Horizons)

In 1998, the 1,600 head Inwood Dairy factory was constructed in Elmwood in Peoria County. The same false promises were made to the residents nearby about state of the art technology and good stewardship. Nearly every promise earnestly made to our community has been broken.

In the past, residents have suffered from intolerable levels of odors and gases from Inwood. Neighbors in homes near the dairy factory have had to burn candles in an attempt help quell the stench that often permeates the walls. In the past, relatives of neighbors stopped visiting because of these stenches. One resident told me she considered “sending the candle bills” to the operator as a message of their suffering. During a visit, this same resident displayed to me perfume bottles they are compelled keep in the bedroom nightstand. They routinely “spray the perfume” in an attempt to mask the stench that often becomes worse in the early morning hours.

An increase in fly populations has also become a serious problem for the neighbors. Flies can transport many potentially deadly diseases including meningitis, typhoid, anthrax, cholera, dysentery, and diseases that cause food poisoning. The American Society for Microbiology recently announced that flies are also a vector for Cypotosporidium, a parasitic diarrheal disease. It has been found that flies can carry oocysts for three weeks on their bodies and deposit them on visited surfaces.

At one point, another neighbor to the dairy factory was forced to tear out his carpeting and some draperies that routinely absorb the stenches. Carpets and drapes act like a “sink” and absorb the volatile organic compounds, which then are released for hours after the winds shift. An Illinois state official once informed me the factory farm is considering offering a buyout of this particular residence. Is this the type of growth rural communities want?

Residents have maintained proof of violations, which include graphic photos of dairy waste runoff from field application standing in public roadside ditches. These ditches eventually flow into area recreational lakes. In November 2000, we received an anonymous call following a substantial rainfall regarding a possible waste spill from the mega dairy. We were told to inspect the creek that flows downstream from the facility. We witnessed foam 1-2 feet tall and brown scum in a stream near application sites. When contacted, the EPA never showed up. We took water samples of our own to an independent lab for testing and discovered fecal coliform counts at 81,000 units per 100 ml when the threshold for safety in surface waters in our state run at just 100 to 200.

When filing our own FOIA requests, neighbors found missing and late monitoring well reports to DOA from Inwood Dairy. Neighbors policing the operation from their own property discovered the applicators applying waste past the designated setbacks. These neighbors now have a severely polluted well contaminated with high levels of fecal coliform and e coli bacteria. As warned by the local health department, they are unable to drink or take baths in their only water supply.

In winter of 2001, Inwood deliberately pumped between two and ten million gallons of waste from its brimming lagoon into dry dams on the property resulting in the largest waste spill in Illinois history. Despite its relatively short existence, the Elmwood milk factory boasts a sorry history of pollution problems. The milk factory’s poor environmental record earned it national exposure in “Spills and Kills,” a report released by the Isaac Walton League and Clean Water Network in August 2000. <www.cwnorg

The Illinois Attorney General eventually fined the Inwood Dairy (now named New Horizons) $50,000.00 for environmental violations. The original operator of the Inwood Dairy currently operates manure hauling company and spilled at least 5,000 gallons of hog waste into Bureau County stream (Pond Creek) in Dec. 2003.

These two cases are a snapshot of the negative impacts that CAFO’s have caused in Illinois and across the United States. These problems are addressed by a slow and complaint driven regulatory process. Neighbors are forced to shoulder the burden of proof in order to address the problems caused by CAFO’s. Residents in Peoria, Knox, Henderson, Woodford, Hancock, and other counties have had to police operations and report to the IEPA on violations that occur on a regular basis.

Impacts of Hog Factories- Odors Gases and Particulates

Odor is usually the most obvious impact of hog livestock factories. Odors from livestock factories typically come from four areas: The buildings that house the animals, waste storage and treatment procedures, land application of the waste, and carcass disposal. The swine buildings can contribute to about 35% of the odor emissions. The land application of manure contributes to about 40% of odor, and waste storage facilities can account for about 20% of swine odors. A swine facility of 1,000 hogs typically produces about 40,000 pounds of dead animals per year. The decomposing bodies can produce odors during storage and transport periods. Hog lagoons and manure also disperse as many as 160 compounds that are created from the aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of waste.

A recent field study on downwind odor transport from swine facilities published in the Journal of Environmental Science and Health found that swine buildings have the potential of generating more odor than manure storage facilities such as lagoons and tanks and thus could be the major odor sources causing downwind odor nuisance. The study also concluded there were no advantages of using lagoons over concrete (or steel) manure tanks in terms of reducing downwind odor problems.

The primary gases produced that are of major concern include Hydrogen Sulfide, Carbon Dioxide, Ammonia, and Methane. Each produces its own range of symptoms. New studies show that emissions from livestock factories can be dangerous and cause negative physiological responses if present in high enough concentrations.

An initial study by Dr. Kendall Thu and Dr. Kelly Donham at University of Iowa examined health impacts on residents living near a 2,500 head swine facility and discovered that many of these people exhibited respiratory problems similar to swine confinement workers. These problems included bronchitic and occupational asthma symptoms. Some researchers feel that while odors are a source of problems for nearby residents, specific gases including hydrogen sulfide, methane, and ammonia, from livestock factories can also contribute to severe human health impacts.

In Renville County, Minnesota, an area of the country with many livestock factories, hydrogen sulfide gas measurements have exceeded the level for human safety. These measurements were recorded because families living near livestock factories there had complained of a multitude of symptoms including dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and even blacking out. One family became so violently ill that they were forced to evacuate their home. As soon as they left the area, their symptoms subsided. This particular family was forced to spend the worst nights in a hotel. In a 1995 survey, 58 Renville County residents that lived within a five-mile radius of hog livestock factories reported health problems similar to hydrogen sulfide poisoning.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) confirmed through a testing program that half of the livestock factories tested were exceeding the state standard for hydrogen sulfide- some by up to 50 times. This toxic gas can also be expected to violate Minnesota State standards as far as five miles from livestock facilities according to the MPCA. New studies show that this gas is a potent neurotoxin and even low ambient levels can cause irreversible brain and nervous system damage.

Children are more vulnerable than adults to hydrogen sulfide for various reasons and are extremely vulnerable during their prime learning years because the impairment of mental faculties in a child amounts to a lifetime of harm. In 2003, a family settled out of court with a CAFO operator regarding alleged physical damages to health from exposure to CAFO contaminants. A child in the family was diagnosed with permanent neurological damage from Hydrogen Sulfide exposures.

Scientists now confirm that particulates generated by livestock factories can also be a serious health threat. A 1995 Iowa State study confirmed that at least 95% of the dust particles in swine confinement are smaller than three microns, which is in the respirable range. These small invisible particles, which consist of animal dander, feed, manure, molds, saliva, and bug parts not only harbor odor, but also can also carry dangerous compounds and viruses and irritate the lungs just as cigarette smoke does. The generation and dispersal of these particulates from large, concentrated animal feeding operations pose a potential public health threat for nearby residents.

The presence of microbes in the air environment inside of housed swine-production facilities is well documented. Research in Ohio verified the presence of microbes from swine growing-finishing facilities and in areas downwind from such operations. A series of bioaerosol studies were conducted around two Midwestern operations that assessed bacteria and fungi numbers and types released in air emissions. Many of the staphylococcal isolates from area near the swine barn were antibiotic resistant. Air fungi identified were species of Alternaria, Aspergillius, Monilia, Mucor, Penicillum, and Rhizopus.

Significant levels of staphylococci and fungi were also found in the nearby residences. In early summer, high numbers of aerosolized staphylococci at one downhill station constituted 54% of the total bacteria recovered downwind of the facility. This study concluded that facilities should be sited with consideration of the location of human habitation. Another important study by the USDA concluded “aerial transfer of antibiotics and antibiotic- resistant bacteria from swine confinements may represent an important, and previously overlooked mechanism for the transfer of antibiotic resistance to humans and the environment.”

In 2004, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that humans could be exposed to antibiotic resistant bacteria after being exposed to air from swine CAFO’s. Researchers detected multidrug resistant bacteria (bacteria resistant to antibiotics) in air samples within swine confinements. These bacteria are associated with a variety of human infections. The researchers believe that workers at swine CAFO’s could be carriers of drug resistant bacteria which could be passed along to family and community members. The study also raised questions regarding ventilation fans circulating air from CAFO’s and manure application on nearby fields. The researchers stated that the presence of high concentrations of multidrug resistant staph and other bacterial pathogens amidst endotoxin containing dust from animal and human waste could pose unique health concerns to people living near land application areas.

University of Iowa published research in October 2003 which revealed that children who live on hog farms have a much higher incidence of asthma than those who live elsewhere. This preliminary research showed an association between hogs and asthma. Follow up research released in 2004 demonstrated children living on swine farms had higher rates of asthma and even higher rates on swine farms where antibiotics are added to feed. According to researcher Dr. James Merchant, “We believe that some of the increase in asthma risk is related to occupational and bystander exposure.”

Other studies in Iowa and North Carolina have shown that neighbors of hog confinements have higher rates of respiratory problems. Similar results have been seen in Milford Utah, where a government study recorded a tripling of hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses after a 600,000 hog farm was built in Milford, Utah.

Water Quality Impacts

Water pollution from CAFO’s is the result of large numbers of animals on relatively small amounts of land. Manures generated simply overpower local ecosystems’ ability to absorb the nutrients. While nitrogen and phosphorus can be a valuable fertilizer, excess amounts will run off and damage water quality. Agricultural runoff from hog and other factory livestock operations continues to be the number one source of nutrient pollution throughout much of the country. It is the largest contributor to pollution in impaired rivers and lakes in the United States. It constitutes 70% of river pollution and 49% of lake pollution.

Tests of 1600 drinking wells near livestock factories, including hog factories, revealed that 1/3 of the wells were polluted and 10% had dangerously high levels of the specific types of nitrates that leach from lagoons and sprayfields. In fact, research from North Carolina shows that if you live near a large livestock operation you are three times more likely to have a polluted well than someone who does not. In Iowa, over 45% of the rural wells tested by the state were contaminated with coliform bacteria, with one area exhibiting a 75% contamination rate.

A 2003 USDA study, “Manure Management for Water Quality Costs to Animal Feeding Operations of Applying Manure Nutrients to Land,” revealed that CAFO’s routinely cut corners with irresponsible manure management. The research emphasized that CAFO’s have been overapplying their wastes to surrounding land with significant environmental consequences. It also concludes that factory farms have been shifting over 2 billion in environmental costs to rural communities.

In August 1999, Federal Health investigators discovered potentially harmful bacteria and other pollutants associated with hog manure in wells and waterways near Iowa hog confinements. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said contaminants including pathogens, metals, antibiotics commonly fed to hogs, bacteria, nitrates, and parasites were found in manure lagoons and in surrounding wells, drainage ditches and underground water. The study also reported that some of the bacteria discovered were resistant to antibiotics.

In a groundbreaking study released from the University of Illinois, microbiologists discovered that bacteria in the soil and groundwater beneath farms are showing tetracycline resistant genes (tet genes) from bacteria that have been traced to pigs’ guts. These genes can survive in soil and water-borne bacteria. They can then be passed on to other bacteria in the environment or to humans who come into contact with or ingest the water. The scientists tested samples from manure lagoons and from groundwater reservoirs under the lagoons at two hog farms that routinely use tetracycline as a growth promoter. The researchers also discovered that people at both sites were drinking the affected groundwater. They concluded that this is a practice that may be contributing to antibiotic resistance and that the problem could be very widespread since groundwater is a major part of the water supply in the United States. The scientists called for an end to the practice of using antibiotics as growth promoters. Findings of antibiotics in our waters raise a red flag. It is the real danger that waters laced with these drugs can breed super bugs, which will be resistant to antibiotics that are commonly used to treat human illness. It was announced in March 2001 that Federal and state researchers plan to check Iowa waterways for antibiotics and other drugs after a preliminary check of 30 streams raised questions about pollution. The U.S. Geological Survey's Iowa City office, reported that in 1999 check of 30 Iowa streams turned up antibiotics and other unnamed substances. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is now in the process of analyzing 140 streams in 32 states in an attempt to document antibiotic residues in surface waters. Many samples are from the Midwest and will focus on urban population centers and watersheds with CAFO’s.

Groundwater supplies can be threatened when manure is spread around karstic areas, uncapped wells, sinkholes or shallow or well—drained soils. In Iowa for example, hundreds or agricultural drainage wells exist where early settlers began to convert wetlands to cropland. Spills from lagoons or overapplication of wastes could spill into these wells and contaminate drinking waters in the entire northern section of Iowa, according to state officials.

Although the total number of abandoned wells in Illinois is unknown, estimates range from 50,000 to 150,000. Abandoned wells pose an immediate threat to human safety and provide a direct route for contaminants to pollute a water supply. This is a hazard that affects both urban and rural residents, according to University of Illinois Extension.

In October 2003, Illinois residents identified water quality as the most important issue in their communities, according to a survey by the Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Property Values

At a recent public informational hearing CAFO proposal in Woodford County Illinois, the proposed operators and Illinois Department of Agriculture prompted citizens to believe that “property value reductions were largely unfounded”. Research and data collected around the Unites States soundly disagree with this claim.

A study by the Missouri Extension service found staggering land devaluation near CAFO’s. Bottom line--2.68 million in loss of land value for the county. 99 property owners within 3 miles of CAFO’s saw a reduction of an average of $112 per acre. For the full report, go to the Saline County Study web site at http://www.cares.missouri.edu/salinecounty/

The Appraisal Journal has published information on property value decreases near CAFO’s. The article, entitled "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Proximate Property Values" finds that property located next to a CAFO is devalued by 50% to 90%. It finds, as other studies have, that value loss is an inverse function of distance, that newer, nicer residences lose more value, and a that value loss is a function of property use. It says that a farm that located close to a CAFO will “lose value due to diminished productivity and comparative marketability to other farm lands." It goes on the say that "when appraising a property located proximate to a CAFO, the appraiser needs to consider seven issues:"

An Iowa State university Study shows the hardest evidence to date regarding declining property values downwind from CAFO’s. According to a study by ISU’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, a study of 1,145 homes found property values dropping up to 11% within a quarter mile of confinements. Property values dropped 3% for homes more than a mile away.

Litigation

As it stands in Illinois and across the nation, it seems as if the only relief citizens can seek from impacts of CAFO’s is through litigation. Recently Iowa courts have ruled in favor of neighbors suffering from nearby CAFO’ on two separate cases. A jury awarded $76,400 in damages to neighbors near a 4,000 head hog CAFO and $100,000.00 in damages to neighbors of a CAFO in another community. Both recent cases reflected a diminished property values for nearby residences.

Even CAFO operators have had their values of their homes reduced. The Lincoln Nebraska Star Journal reported that a hog producer in Nebraska appealed to have his own property taxes lowered due to the close proximity of his house to his own CAFO barns. He won the reduction in appeals court.

Another recent case is a 75 million dollar class action suit in Mississippi filed by 160 separate families who claim that pollutants released by concentrated animal feeding operations have made dozens of people sick. A 57 year old cotton farmer spoke about his health problems in a recent Reuter’s news article.” Sometimes when I walk outside, I end up vomiting.”

According to the National Law Journal there is a revolution occurring America and family law attorneys are winning and sustaining on appeal judgments. Factory farms now reside in 36 states Individual class actions against some of these farms “contend nuisance, negligence, property damage and trespass.”

Illinois Issues

The Isaac Walton League has issued a report on Feedlot pollution in Illinois. It states “low rates of inspection, combined with inadequate enforcement of water quality regulations and state livestock facility programs are contributing to the increased feedlot pollution problems in our state. Chronic low fines are inadequate deterrents for continued poor manure management practices in the state.”

There are few individuals on staff at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to conduct inspections of the 34,000 to 37,000 livestock feedlots in the state. The Isaac Walton League concludes, “Proper assessment of facilities with compliance problems is not as complete as is should be to prevent pollution problems.” ”

In 2001, the Pike County Illinois Board submitted their non-binding public informational hearing vote to the Illinois Department of Agriculture regarding a proposed CAFO near the town of Pleasant Hill, Illinois. According to the Pike County News on Wed. August 15, 2001 the board decided to oppose the facility based on the first, seventh and eighth criteria points outlined by the DOA. According to the county board member Al Seiler, “The letter should be factual, convincing, persuasive, contain fervor and zeal. It should be written in the same spirit that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence when he was trying to protect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of his fellow countrymen. We have the same obligation to the people of Pleasant Hill.”

Proposed CAFO operators are touting the sugar- coated title of a “family farm” to sell their idea to the public. Unfortunately, marketing this mega operation as a “family farm” does not in any way diminish the magnitude problems that will follow in its wake. Thousands of “family pigs” will generate the same impacts as 12,000 “corporate pigs.” A CAFO marketed as a family farm in Woodford County Illinois was proposed in the fall of 2001 and now the “stench is starting”, according to the neighbors. Old Prairie Pork operators promised that the odors would be barely detectable beyond ¼ or a mile away.

Now neighbors in Woodford County say CAFO odors are sometimes so strong they can barely stand to breathe. Neighbors say they cannot predict when the smell will fill their homes- mostly at night and early morning. Neighbors have abandoned gardening projects or enjoying a cookout when nausea sets in. Moving is not an option anymore since prospective buyers would not purchase a home next to this operation. Many of the folks complaining live a mile or more away.

The neighbors feel betrayed by the operators, who promised not to interrupt their lives with ongoing stench, with the County Board who only gave a cursory examination, and with state lawmakers who failed to protect them, according to a news report in the Peoria Journal Star.

Resolutions and Opinions

A white paper was issued by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 7, 1998 regarding health impacts from odors produced by hog farms. In this white paper, it was stated, “the State Health Director considers hog farm odor to be a public health problem in Eastern North Carolina”.

In 1997, the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference called for a moratorium on CAFO’s. They based this opinion on the negative health, environmental economic and social impacts of CAFO’s. In spring 2001, the Catholic Bishops of Illinois issued their statement on perspectives of rural life. “Today we are seeing the industrialization of farming which threatens to undermine the cherished institution of the family farm. It also poses a new threat to the critical natural resources in Illinois. These operations raise serious concerns for the quality of land, air, and water in our state…”

In November 1999, the Mississippi State health Department of Health (MSDH) released its review of available scientific and health information concerning the health risks associated with large confined animal feeding operations to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. (DEQ) This report details a review of over twenty studies related to odor and dust, water quality, lagoons and spray fields and the existence of human pathogens in animal waste.

The review found studies of the effects of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia on asthmatics and the impacts of odors on the performance and mood of non-asthmatics. New studies were also cited which have shown elevated levels of Salmonella, antibiotic resistant bacteria, the oocysts of a protozoan parasite (Cryptosporidium) and nitrates in swine sewage lagoons, monitoring wells and/or surface water. Finally, the report outlines concerns about the presence of and potential for spread of human pathogens such as hepatitis E, influenza and non-pathogenic bacteria carrying genes for antibiotic resistance that could lead to evolution of resistance in bacterial populations that affect humans. Cryptosporidium is of concern due to the fact that this parasite is resistant to a number of environmental stresses. It will survive exposure to chlorine at 90ppm for over 90 minutes, exposure to freezing temperatures for over 21 hours, and river water for 176 days, and moistened manure for 33 days.

Utilizing facts presented in these studies, MSDH made 13 recommendations to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. One of the most significant includes regular monitoring of hydrogen sulfide at livestock factories. Monitoring standards and enforcement of these standards to protect air quality are also recommended, as well as monitoring of sprayed lagoon waste for pathogens and goals to establish safety levels of these pathogens. Also recommended is monitoring of nitrates in surface and drinking water to assure safety of water supplies.

On May 14 2002, the Michigan State Medical Society called for a moratorium on CAFO’s. The group concluded that animal factories pose significant public health and environmental risks to communities and the general public. Threats range from hastening the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria to contaminating ground and surface water to releasing ammonia gas and must impose an immediate moratorium until public health and environmental risks are addressed.

In February 2002, The University of Iowa released a joint air quality report from a team of scientists at U of Iowa and Iowa State. The report concluded that “emissions may constitute a public health hazard and that precautions should be taken to minimize… exposures arising from CAFO’s.” The report stated that hydrogen sulfide and ammonia measurements near livestock operations have been high enough to be harmful to humans. The report recommended air quality standards be enacted for CAFO’s.

A National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study released in July 2002 concluded that airborne pollution from CAFO’s is as much of a concern as the animal waste that ends up in our streams. The report, requested by Federal EPA and Department of Agriculture, recommended regulators find better ways of measuring airborne pollutants and the manner that they are dispersed. The study made it clear that these pollutants from factory livestock facilities are a serious environmental and health concern.

In January 2003, a statewide poll conducted in Iowa revealed that 74% of Iowans support a moratorium on hog confinements while their effects are being studied. The numbers were “startling and dramatic, according to a joint press release from five Iowa organizations. 89% indicated local control of hog farm issues was important to them. 73% felt that humane treatment of animals should be a voter concern. 62% thought stopping Iowa from becoming another North Carolina” offered a convincing reason for the moratorium.

In January 2004, the American Public Health Association (APHA) called for a precautionary moratorium on the construction of new CAFO’s until more research is completed regarding their impacts to public health. The Association also called for federal and state governments to initiate and support research on the air pollutants, water and soil emissions, as well as investigate the greater vulnerability of infants and children to such pollutants.

Ohio State University research reports that multitudes of studies spanning different time periods and regions of the country tend to find that large-scale industrial farming caused detrimental community impacts. A Cornell University study also reveals that states with anti corporate farming laws experienced more agricultural diversity and healthier rural communities. In our own state of Illinois recent research “rejects the hypothesis that large hog farming contributes to the vitality of local economies.” Over 1000 rural Illinois communities were examined and it consistently found that large hog farms tended to hinder economic growth in local communities." The report goes on to discuss public policy implications. Here is the web address, for your interest, http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/aaea00/sp00go03.pdf.

Precaution

In the rush to produce cheaper meat and maximize profits, methods are often utilized without regard for the possible consequences. Our recommendation is that the Precautionary Principle be utilized to ensure a sound food production system. This principle is based on the concept that preventative measures are taken when threats of harm to human health or the environment are at risk. The Science Environmental Health Network and outlines the key components of this principle that include:

In summary, the Precautionary Principle states that in the presence of scientific uncertainty, it is important to err on the side of caution. This principle should be used when locating and regulating livestock factories.

Conclusion

County Boards must recognize that economic growth and economic development are two different things. Growth focuses on sort term impacts like job creation and investments, whereas development focuses on long term positive changes including sustainability and quality of life. Elected officials should be cautioned not to rely on “desperation economics” whereupon they are apt to grab and approve whatever growth comes their way without serious consideration on the long-term impacts on their rural area. County boards in Illinois should express a desire to protect the health, economy and welfare of their communities when faced with the influx of CAFO’s.

The real solution, in fact, the only solution is for all Illinoisans to support sustainable alternatives in livestock production, marketing, and related public policies. Check out factoryfarm.org and www.themeatrix to get started.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen L. Hudson
FARM President www.farmweb.org
GRACE Factory Farm Project www.factoryfarm.org
Board of Directors, Illinois Stewardship Alliance
Farmer
Illinois House Senate Joint Livestock Committee member (1997)
22514. W Claybaugh Rd.
Elmwood, Illinois 61529
309-742-8895

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