Unneeded ‘industry’ that smells, literally
The word obviously reached southern Idaho’s Cassia
County in time about what a nuisance hog factories can be. A major hog
farm’s application to open operations there has been rejected.
But the rest of Idaho is on notice: Big Sky Farms LLC hasn’t
given up on finding a place in the state, which, according to national
reports, is being targeted along with Indian reservations by hog factory
operators for new farms.
Why Idaho? Because hog farms are being spurned in other
states as undesirable.
North Carolina, second only to Iowa in hog farming, is a
laboratory example of why hog factories are unwelcome and a source of
chilling testimonials.
In the Tar Heel state, experiences with hog farms are a
nightmare. They’re environmental disaster areas, literally.
One study, for example, claims that 5,000 hogs produce the
same amount of manure as a city of 100,000 humans.
So calculate what Big Sky Farms’ proposed hog farm in
Cassia County would’ve meant for residents¾ 595,000 hogs would’ve
potentially produced manure equivalent to the population of an area of
11,900,000 people.
The fecal waste of an estimated 10 million hogs in North
Carolina has become such a health and environmental menace that the state
has appropriated millions of dollars to buy out large hog factories and
close down their operations.
And politicians who once gladly and eagerly solicited
campaign donations and influence of hog farmers have fled their embrace.
Siding with hog farmers in North Carolina these days is tantamount to
political hara-kiri.
Hog factories are not the same as small, family
operations. Factories involve thousands of hogs crammed into low-ceilinged
buildings, machine-fed and ripened for slaughter.
The turning point in North Carolina came in 1995 when a
25-million gallon lagoon of hog waste ruptured and spilled into the
surrounding land, creating health and environmental crises.
Forget about the ugly prospect of hog manure seeping into
rivers and streams and the public water supply. The smell of ammonia
generated by manure and wafting in the air for miles has enraged
communities, and resulted in the revolt against Carolina hog factory
operators.
Before other Idaho counties fall prey to the blandishments
and oily promises of economic prosperity by hog factory entrepreneurs,
they should brush up on the real consequences documented in North
Carolina.
And until the industry can produce far better methods of
managing and disposing of vast lagoons of hog waste, the observation of
one North Carolina environmentalist quoted in The Charlotte Observer
is worth remembering: "Everything looked pretty rosy for the hog
industry until the public got wind¾ literally got wind¾ of environmental
problems associated with this industry."