Hogs, Hogs, Hogs Again
A
public health emergency needs to be issued for the state of Iowa.
Industrial-strength hog lot confinements are getting a strangle hold on
our air.
If you live in one of the medium to large cities in IOWA and step
outside one snowy morning and are slapped in the face with the stench
of HYDROGEN SULFIDE or AMMONIA, it's too late for you. The time
will have passed for you to do anything. So get educated now
because the request for new and expanding hog confinements is exploding.
According to a September 19th article by Perry Beeman of the Des Moines
Register, “Construction permits for new livestock operations through
August – 137 – already were up 59 percent over last year's
record. For the third straight year, IOWA – the nation's top hog
producer – has issued a record number of permits for new livestock
operations, MOST OF THEM CONFINEMENTS FOR MORE THAN 2,500 HOGS.”….
“…'People need to be greatly vigilant about what is going on in their
neighborhoods,' said Hugh Espey of IOWA Citizens for Community
Improvement, which opposes large-scale hog confinements. 'We
think IOWA has too many factory farms as it is. There are bound
to be problems.'”
“The risks are documented. Studies by the University of IOWA, the
University of North Carolina, Duke University, the state of Utah and
others have associated hog confinements with neighbors' complaints of
nausea, respiratory problems, headaches, depression and diarrhea.
The University of IOWA estimated HOG CONFINEMENTS EMIT MORE THAN 100
CHEMICALS AND COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING HYDROGEN SULFIDE AND AMMONIA.
“Manure applied as fertilizer to crop fields sometimes runs into
streams, killing fish, and into lakes, which is one reason state park
swimming areas are unsafe at times.
“Espey's group successfully pushed for tighter controls on hog
operations, but IT STILL IS PUSHING FOR A MORATORIUM ON CONSTRUCTION.
The group also wants the state to give local authorities control over
the construction. As it is, county boards of supervisors can only
ask for a state hearing and rate confinement proposals on a state
checklist intended to promote operations that pollute less and cause
fewer area disruptions….”
For the entire article go to www.desmoinesregister.com
We must all honestly take a look at what we do to contribute to the big
demand for pork. Have you asked at a restaurant if the meat they
serve is free range or confined? Do you think the average server
knows or cares? So, ask next time and ask at the grocery
store. Find restaurants that use local growers. Then also
watch the IOWA Department of Natural Resources website www.iowadnr.com
or call their office to see whether anyone has requested an animal
confinement construction permit recently in your area.
Just a reminder: CRP – CONSERVE/RECYCLE/PARTICIPATE
Blog For Iowa 