CAFO ruling prioritizes Big Ag

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that “protecting and promoting livestock production is a legitimate state interest … “ and that the livestock industry should be shielded from nuisance lawsuits.

Is it therefore a legitimate state interest for mega hog confinements — whose profits often go to out-of-state investors — to be allowed to continue spewing toxins into Iowans’ environment? Those toxins, such as methane, ammonia, and hydrogen sulfide, cause asthma in 50 percent of kids unlucky enough to live or attend school nearby. Air pollution from CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) also doubles your chance of contracting MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) if you live in the vicinity. Hundreds of scientific studies have documented those health effects.

This can’t be my Iowa! I grew up shoveling hog manure on a small southern Iowa livestock farm that was profitable enough to help my parents put me and five brothers and sisters through college. My high school friends were envious of my “wheels,” which often meant the pickup truck with a lingering aroma from the load of hogs Dad had just hauled to market.

Progress? No! The industrialization of agriculture is killing rural Iowa — and Iowans! It’s time for voters to choose legislators who will recognize the importance of our communities and our health, rather than giving still more power, privileges, and profits to Big Ag.

Larry Stone

Elkader