Pig Odor In Iowa No Laughing Matter
Salon.comConservative politicians looking for pork in the latest omnibus spending bill got one pretty literal example handed right to them: a $1.79 million appropriation for “swine odor and manure management research” in Iowa [Iowa State University]. Not ones to look a gift horse – or any other kind of livestock – in the mouth, they've been running with it.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Twittered about the money. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla, called it “$1.7 million to take the stink out of manure.” And Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., took to the floor of the Senate to say, “Now, I'm a veterinarian by profession. I understand that pigs smell and pig farms smell worse than almost anything else, but when did it become the responsibility of the federal government to control pig odor?
Of course, if any of these people actually bothered to go back and do a little research about what they were discussing, they'd know it's not really funny after all. Pig odor is more than just a smell; it's dangerous stuff that cause serious health problems, both physical and mental, in people. It can even contribute to asthma in children.
And here are the conclusions from one study, from Iowa no less, that compared people living near pig farms (CAFOs) with a control group not exposed to livestock odor:
[N]eighbors of the swine operation reported significantly higher rates of four clusters of symptoms previously documented to represent toxic or inflammatory effects of the respiratory tract among confinement workers. One cluster reported by swine CAFO neighbors includes symptoms such as coughing, sputum production, breath shortness, chest tightness, and wheezing. A second cluster includes symptoms of nausea, weakness, and feelings of dizziness. A third cluster consists of headaches and plugged ears, while a fourth cluster encompassed symptoms of a runny nose, scratchy throat, and burning eyes.
Most notable is the fact that for the first time the configuration of respiratory symptoms among neighbors was documented to be consistent with the scientifically well-established pattern of respiratory health problems among swine confinement workers.
Most notable is the fact that for the first time the configuration of respiratory symptoms among neighbors was documented to be consistent with the scientifically well-established pattern of respiratory health problems among swine confinement workers.
Blog For Iowa 
I oppose government funding for cleaning up after private industry. If this is pure research, that may make sense. But I would like to see Iowa's dirty water cleaned up by the people responsible. And if I could smell animal manure at my home, I would like to see it cleaned up by the people responsible. This is not a Republican versus Democrat issue, doesn't Patty Judge have a nickname of “Sludge Judge” due to her support for polluting factory farms?
If corporate farms had to pay to maintain themselves the way good farms already do, the cost difference between bad farms and good farms would be decreased.
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