Living a Nightmare: Animal Factories

[Mike Clifford]

There is going to come a time when you'll find requests in this forum to become a part of something that hasn't been done in Illinois up until this year.

When I ask for your support in sampling streams in a pilot program, it won't be for the reasons you may think.

 

Specific streams with specific problems are the ones we'll be focusing on.

 

Take 24 minutes to stop whatever it is you're doing and watch this video.

Michigan has been blindsided by this industry, and Illinois is next.

The Apple River CAFO is just the tip of the iceberg, and gets the most attention because it is among the last "pristine" watersheds in the state.

It is far from the only one, as others are operating right under our noses on streams state-wide.

 

This is perhaps the most important lesson you'll ever learn about conserving streams.

Watch it, and decide if we're going to allow this to continue and prosper in the Land of Lincoln as it has been allowed to continue plaguing our neighbors upstream.

 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3...a+club+michigan

 

 

Many thanks to Dick Dragiewicz for finding and sharing this with me.

[Guest rich mc]

that is one fine video on the problems CAFOS are creating. copies should be sent to every county board member in the state. rich

[Guest TerryD]

Good vid. Well worth the 24 minutes. Thanks for the eye opener.

[Guest Don R]

Thanks to both Dick and Mike for getting this posted!

 

(CAFO) Confined Animal Feeding Operation

[Mike Clifford]

(CAFO) Confined Animal Feeding Operation

CAFO, Factory Farm, Industrial Agriculture.....they all add up to the same thing.

 

After we've completed our pilot program, I'll put everything together and give a powerful presentation at one of our membership meetings.

This is an issue that directly affects our fisheries and can wipe out a watershed in a flash.

 

To wit:

 

Dec. 12, 2003

 

FORMER OPERATIONS MANAGER AT INWOOD DAIRY REFERRED TO ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE FOR RECENT MANURE SPILL

 

IEPA alleges that a Peoria County Manure application company is responsible for manure spill and delayed action to contain it. According to IEPA, Dave Inskeep, former operations manager of Inwood Dairy Livestock facility in Peoria County failed to take action to remove or contain manure that was spilled Dec. 2 in Bureau County, Illinois.

 

According to IEPA, Inskeep failed to take action regarding the recent spillage in Bureau County spillage until Dec. 9. Neighbors downstream used earthmoving equipment to try and dam up the waterway to prevent contamination from moving farther downstream. The IEPA has referred this matter the Illinois Attorney General’s office to compel Inskeep to promptly address all environmental damages caused.

 

In recent years Inwood Dairy in Peoria County was responsible for numerous manure spills and other environmental violations. In February 2001, Inwood pumped millions of gallons of waste into a ravine against a court injunction. The manure then drained into the Kickapoo Creek, which flows into the Illinois River. The Illinois is a drinking water source for Peoria and other communities. In May 2002 Inwood Dairy was fined $50,000.00 by the Illinois Attorney General's office.

 

According to Karen Hudson of FARM, manure pollution from livestock facilities has become the leading cause of fish kills in the Unites States from agricultural sources.

 

“Manure contains pathogens which can be 10 to 100 times more concentrated than human sewage. There are more than 40 diseases that can be transmitted from manure to humans and disease organisms such as Salmonella, E.coli and cryptosporidium can contaminate water supplies,” said Karen Hudson.

 

"We commend the actions of the neighbors downstream for their attempt to protect our surface waters. As in many cases of livestock pollution events such as this it is the concerned neighbors who can make a difference." Hudson said.

[jude]

Wow. My blood is boiling.

[Michael T]

I won't stay on my soapbox too long, but 10 years ago people scoffed at free-range raised animals and organically grown groceries. But let's face it, the CAFOs are our own Corporate Culture of maximizing profits at the expense of human decency run rampant. For all you who find this story horrific and it is an atrocity, where do you buy your meat, on sale from the local grocery store? We’re all guilty of that from time to time, but doesn't this fuel the CAFOs and other irresponsible farmers?

 

Everyone should be incensed at the farming practiced in the video. But if you're not willing to change your shopping and eating habits, CAFOs are here to stay.

 

 

 

[Mike Clifford]

No question about it, Michael.

Most all of us purchase our meat from the cheapest venue we can find.

 

That isn't the final determination on whether or not these factory farms exist in Illinois, though.

Where we can change the status quo is by finding a way to transfer the final determination from the IDOA to local governing bodies.

When that is accomplished, the rest will flesh out to everyone's advantage.

 

I received an interesting email from this today, and I'll share it, as it cuts to the core of the subject.

 

The shame of it is that individuals have to spend so much of their own resources to protect themselves from this.

 

Government is supposed to protect the people from threats to health and safety via statutes that obstruct, not pave the way, for these industrial polluters

 

Heavy stuff there, and the reason the ISA is so closely wrapped up in all of this.

It can't happen here, plain and simple.

[Ed Buric]

Michael has hit the nail on the head with his view of this and I agree completely.

 

Ed B

[Mike Clifford]

I've been screaming about factory farms since the inception of Farm Aid back in 1985.

A decade before the internet became popular.

We still have a long way to go to change the legislative process even today.

 

[Fredmo]

When towns in Illinois got bigger and more populated, we required waste treatment plants and facilities. As industry got bigger, we made them clean up their act or close up. Our Illinois "dirty" coal is a problem, because we have so much of it. The announced facility at Mattoon, later canceled, was to be an effort to deal with that. What little furniture industry we have had in Illinois has left, due at least in part to requirements that they deal with the waste generated, including arsenic and other substances. Some of those businesses relocated to N. Carolina. It wasn't always the furniture mecca that it has become. That State had had it share of pollution problems, as well.

Factory Farming, as the video mentioned, generates waste in a volume comparable to that generated by many of our local communities. Why doesn't the Department of Agriculture impose the same treatment requirements that we impose on disposal of human waste? But it is a different state agency.

Maybe it's not the solution to turn control over to local bodies. Illinois already has too many bodies of local government. But we need to be consistent in dealing with pollution, whether it comes from cities, factories or farms.

[joshborton]

That's a good motivator, thanks for putting it up Mike. I have to agree with Michael T, the CAFO's are a product of the demand for cheap food down at the Jewel. There comes a time when you have spend your money (and sometimes extra money) in such a way that your consumption lines up with your ideals.