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Factory Farms - Destroying Communities

Factory Farms - Destroying Communities

 

Factory Farms – Destroying Communities

Residents of Cass County, North Dakota are alarmed over the state’s plans to allow the establishment of a 9,000 pig factory farm near Buffalo. In a series of letters to Inforum, North Dakota residents have raised concerns ranging from compromised air quality, increased pollution, impact on local economy and health, and animal welfare. As one citizen put it, “The environmental impact and the health and well-being of North Dakota will be forever compromised if approved.”

People living in Cass County are right to be worried. Large factory farms, like the one proposed, are detrimental to local communities. According to the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, people living near factory farms report high levels of illness from toxic fumes produced by decomposing animal waste. Their quality of life suffers, as they are forced to stay indoors and keep their windows shut due to the smell. Leakage from huge manure lagoons on factory farms contaminates lakes, streams, and groundwater. Residents face risk of infection when bacteria from animal feces reach their drinking water.

Community members also raise questions regarding the ethics of factory farming. Pigs are highly intelligent and social animals, but sows on factory farms are held in pens too small for them to stand or turn around. They are confined in crowded, poorly ventilated sheds for their entire lives. As one North Dakotan states, “No true animal lover would ever be OK with the torture pigs endure on factory farms.”

According to Curt Stofferahn, sociologist at the University of North Dakota, counties with factory farms had higher rates of poverty and income inequality. Large corporate farms bring in laborers willing to work for minimal wages and benefits. Because of the environmental contamination and poor air quality, property values plummet. Communities face rising infrastructure costs as large trucks from the farms break down roads. Local businesses suffer as factory farms purchase their feed and supplies more cheaply elsewhere. Factory farm owners and shareholders are often not even residents of the states in which their farms are located, making them even less interested in preserving and protecting local communities.

You can help preserve rural communities and decrease the need for factory farming by eating a plant based diet. Learn how here.

Read about the controversy in Cass County, North Dakota here.

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