Restore local control over corporate farms

Your Oct. 18 profile of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (Iowa CCI) member Jayne Clampitt (“Swine rue: Merits of large-scale hog operations hotly debated”) and her fight against factory farms demonstrates the urgent need for agricultural policy reform in Iowa. Factory farms are a public health threat that degrade our air, water and rural quality of life.

The problem started in 1995 when former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad signed a bill into law that stripped local control from rural communities, centralized decision-making with the state, and opened the door for corporate ag. Twenty-five years, 6,000 factory farms and 700 manure spills later, it's clear that the industrialization and corporate concentration of farming has been disastrous for our state.

That's why Gov. Culver needs to stick to his campaign promise to restore local control and return decision-making back to the rural communities most affected by factory farming.

Local control allows rural Iowans to have the final say on factory farm construction. Local communities are uniquely situated to make decisions on the issues that affect their lives.

If you care about these issues, write or call Gov. Culver and tell him you want local control, or contact Iowa CCI by going to www.iowacci.org to find out what else you can do to stand up for clean air and water.

Megan Felt

Iowa CCI member

Iowa City