"WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU"This is the title of a flyer being distributed by a group of people who live close to Reynolds, Illinois. Seems there is someone who wants to build a HOG CONFINEMENT near their town, and they are not happy about it.
On Monday, September 26th at 6:30 PM there will be a public meeting regarding this. ANGIE LITTERST is one of those neighbors. Angie and 11 others have brought suit against the farmer, arguing that this confinement will smell up their air and make them sick, pollute their water, and cause too much traffic for their small area to handle. Angie has written letters to the editor and has been on at least one local radio station in the past several weeks.
One of the speakers at the public meeting will be KAREN HUDSON OF THE GRACE FACTORY FARM PROJECT www.factoryfarm.org. She is also president of FARMS (FAMILIES AGAINST RURAL MESSES).
Karen, a farmer from Elmwood, Illinois, is also a board member of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance and is a member of the Illinois House/Senate Joint Livestock Committee. She happens to live next to a SMITHFIELD HOG FACTORY IN ADJOINING KNOX COUNTY.
The state of Illinois does not have a MASTER MATRIX implemented by their Department of Natural Resources like the state of IOWA does. Even though our Master Matrix is flawed, we do have something basic to start with.
According to Karen Hudson, neighbors close to a Highlands LLC Murphy Farms livestock factory have had problems. "Empty promises 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 (have) been covered with this effluvium when driving on nearby roads."
An over-application of manure in 2002 by the Highlands LLC killed at least 10 species of fish on a 1 ½ mile area of French Creek in Knox County, Illinois. Also according to Karen, INWOOD DAIRY, of Elmwood in Peoria County (now called NEW HORIZONS - give me a break) "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 ISSUED BY THE ISSAC WALTON LEAGUE AND CLEAN WATER NETWORK IN AUGUST, 2000."
Hopefully this meeting will continue the public discussion that needs to be going on IN EVERY COUNTY WHERE ANIMALS ARE CRUELY CONFINED FOR CORPORATE PROFIT. While speaking in front of the Scott County Board of Supervisors this past summer about 2 requested expansions, I was reminded of several important things.
One, we need to spend time with lawmakers in IOWA to fix the MASTER MATRIX. The IOWA DNR has too much control over placement of confinement buildings. Local public input doesn't seem to matter yet. It is just a formality, and no matter how your county officials vote, yea or nay to the permit request, the DNR is still the final authority.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO KILL OURSELVES LOCALLY TO FEED THE WORLD. Our economy is important but not if IOWA is going to become like North Carolina with no clean lakes, rivers, or streams.
So find out in your county where there is discussion about CAFO's (CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS), do your research, and PARTICIPATE.
YOU KNOW THE DRILL…CPR = CONSERVE/PARTICPATE/RECYCLE
