Earthwatch
Taking the Factory Out of Farming
by Jessica Mayo
Iowa likes to say that it feeds the world—never mind that the majority of corn produced in the state is animal feed and not fit for human consumption. As the top pork producing state in the nation, Iowa has earned some bragging rights.
Or has it? The amber waves of grain that have characterized America’s heartland are losing their picturesque appeal as ugly metal buildings mar the horizon. Between 1975 and 2005, the number of hogs raised in Iowa increased 14 percent while the number of producers fell 64 percent. Factory farming has taken off in full force, and the family farmers of yesterday are finding it harder and harder to compete with corporate agribusiness. However, a growing contingent of everyday people is beginning to be noticed for their refusal to accept this corporate takeover.
When Barb Kalbach found out that 7,000 hogs were moving in just a quarter mile down the road from her home, she started making calls. Within twenty-four hours, she had thirty people ready to do battle. Most people shy away from conflict. But factory farming poses a huge threat to the environment, the economy, and health standards. Thousands of animals kept shoulder-to-shoulder in a single building create a huge risk of disease. Most factory farms use antibiotics as a preventive, rather than therapeutic, treatment. Studies are finding evidence to validate long held fears that this practice is leading to antibiotic bacteria.
Check out these on-line resources:
www.ams.usda.gov
For a listing of farmer’s markets in your area
www.localharvest.org
Website of CommunitySupported Agriculture
www.eatwellguide.org
The Eat Well Guide and to find out how you can eat healthy, sustainable meat and produce near you.
Agriculture is also a huge contributor of nitrate pollution. Manure is actually a more sustainable fertilizer than synthetic versions, but factory farms treat it like a waste, rather than the valuable nutrient it is. Some spread manure in the middle of winter, when fields are frozen and cannot absorb the fertilizer. Others apply manure to soybeans—a legume that can fix its nitrogen from the air. Local residents also have to worry about increased algae growth and higher water purification costs stemming from this pollution.
In addition, factory farms store manure in huge pits or lagoons that hold thousands of gallons of this substance. This leads to an incredible stench that can decrease property values up to fifty percent. Air pollution is another concern. Safe health standards for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions are regularly exceeded, which can cause respiratory irritation and more significant problems for individuals with compromised immune systems.
After assembling her neighbors, Barb’s next step was to call Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), a community-organizing group that has made a name for itself by stopping over four-dozen factory farms. They sent in an organizer who helped over the next ten months. Residents of the surrounding four townships became involved in the fight as well.
Barb and her group couldn’t rely on Iowa law for support. A bill passed the state legislature in 1995 that opened the door to corporate farming, and few regulations have been passed since then to stem the tide. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reviews permit applications, and the local County Supervisors can appeal their decision to an oversight board called the Environmental Protection Commission (EPC). After that, the only recourse is the legal system. The Kalbachs and the CCI pursued regular media coverage in local papers, television and radio stations. They hosted public meetings with developer Gary Weighs, demonstrating strong community opposition to the facility. They worked with the County Board of Health to implement an air quality ordinance for the county. They went to surrounding city councils and asked them to sign resolutions against factory farming. And they collected 6,000 signatures on a petition that called for a moratorium on the construction of factory farms.
By preventing the takeover of commercial agribusiness, smaller operations prosper. Family farmers typically practice more sustainable techniques and avoid the antibiotics, hormones, and animal byproducts often used in large-scale corporate farming. Animals are given room to roam, decreasing the likelihood of disease and improper diet. And as the world wakes up to the reality of global warming, local food systems—which require much less energy for the processing and transporting of food—are becoming more and more important.
The DNR approved the factory farm’s permit application eight months after the Kalbach’s battle begun, but the fight was far from over. The County Supervisors exercised their right to appeal the factory farm approval to the EPC, so the group continued their weekly planning meetings, public hearings, and media work. On the day of the EPC meeting, supporters packed the hearing room in Des Moines, leaving only one row for the proposed factory farm’s investors. After ten months of fighting, the group organized by Iowa CCI became the first ever to win a permit appeal to the EPC. That was almost six years ago. Since then, Barb Kalbach has become the president of the board of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Her county remains one of the few in Iowa that has not had a single hog factory mar their idyllic landscape.
“It was a wonderful experience,” she says of her harrowing battle. “If a farmer can help stop industrial-scale agriculture from invading his community, he has brought justice to his own community and empowered the next community that seeks justice.”
And the next, and the next—creating a chain of justice that stretches across the nation.
For more information on the Iowa CCI, visit www.iowacci.org. Jessica Mayo is a freelance writer and communications specialist. She and her husband currently live in Ames, Iowa.