:Sierra Club info on loss of local control over factory farms
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Last month more than 550 million shelled eggs were recalled in what the Centers for Disease Control are calling the largest salmonella outbreak since tracking began in the mid 1970s.
The outbreak is one of many public health and environmental problems linked to the practice of confining thousands, and even hundreds of thousands, of animals in enclosed livestock and poultry facilities critics say are unsanitary and inhumane.
The FDA traced last month’s salmonella outbreak to two massive egg producing facilities in Iowa. But today we go to Ohio, where residents are fighting to have a say over how factory farms there are regulated. Tom Over begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting reports.
Reporter Script :
Located about 35 miles northwest of Columbus, the state’s capital, York Center Township is like other rural communities where many have broken away reluctantly from their families’ tradition of farming.
Some of the remaining small to medium-sized family farmers here work other jobs as their primary source of income, supplementing that by growing conventional monoculture crops which they sell to cartels that dominate consolidated agricultural markets. Others lease out parts of their farm properties to people who can afford the costs of farm machinery.
But there are other signs of how much farming has changed over the years. Among monoculture fields of soy and genetically engineered corn, long white buildings the size of football fields confine hundreds of thousands of egg laying hens in cages so small they can barely move. York Center has a total of 3 million chickens in a 3 mile-radius, generating thousands of tons of manure.
(In-person audio) “On any day you can come outside and just have this horrible reek in the air that burns and makes you squeeze your eyes shut and tears roll down your face,”
Local resident and activist Cheryl Johncox.
(In-person audio) “Your nose will run. Your throat will prickle and burn and you cough and are driven back into your home. So, on any given day, we can be a prisoner in our own homes.”
Residents here say so much chicken manure is spread and sprayed on local fields some of it runs off into creeks and streams which leads to algal blooms and a depletion of the aquatic ecosystem. They also say the manure generates airborne pathogens and toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.
Earlier this year, the US Egg and Poultry Association referred to one of these facilities as a ‘family farm’ when it conferred upon New Day Farms— a company that owns two egg facilities here York Center—- the industry’s own award for environmental stewardship.
But many residents here call these facilities ‘chicken factories.’ Such are the words on yard signs in front of modest two-story homes of residents who oppose the long-pending proposal to permit Iowa-based Hi-Q Egg Products to bring in yet another mega egg farm.
(In-person audio) “I can’t imagine living here with that many chickens. It’s bad enough with 3 million. If we get 6 million more, it’s going to be bad.” Wary of being sued by one or more of the companies that own factory farm here in York Center, this resident did not want to give his name.
A deal between Ohio and the Humane Society of the United States may nix the Hi-Q proposal if the company doesn’t get its permit by the end of the year. Ohio’s deal with the Humane Society would ban–starting Jan 1st– any new factory farms that propose to confine animals, such as chickens, in cages. But it would not ban factory farms that crowd thousands of chickens into hanger-sized sheds.
Residents say if Hi-Q sets up shop here after all–by way of Ohio’s agreement with the Human Society falling through or by way of getting its permit before the end of the year–it will result in the highest concentration of egg laying hens in a 3-mile radius anywhere in the country.
People in this community seem comfortable with opposing the Hi-Q proposal. But some of them are wary of speaking out against the existing factory farms such as this resident who also did not want to give his name.
(In-person audio) “We’re a bit under the gun here in York Center and we’re afraid of lawsuits really–lawyers and fees– and that can add up for us little folks who don’t have deep pockets.”
Residents here have good reason to fear retribution for speaking out. In November of 2008, New Day Farms, which has more than 2 million chickens in or near York Center, sued resident Pam Williams, claiming she and township officials violated the company’s constitutional right to engage in interstate commerce.
Shawn Organ, one of the lawyers defending Williams, said New Day’s action is a strategic lawsuit against public participation, known in the legal community by the acronym SLAPP.
(In-person audio ) “Basically, the cost of litigation is what the corporation that files the SLAPP suit is banking on. They, essentially, know that for a private citizen to defend themselves or hire council, you’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars…A SLAPP suit is no different than the playground bully.”
The owner of New Day Farms has not responded to FSRN’s request for an interview.
Lawsuits are only one of many challenges residents here face. With or without implementation of Ohio’s deal with the Humane Society, the existing factory farms here won’t go away any time soon because they’ll be grandfathered in.
And one of the reasons it’s not so easy to get the existing factory farms to clean up their act is that they are not owned by local family farmers who residents can have over for dinner or talk with at the township hall, says Johncox.
(In-person audio) “So, this big factory farm who is a corporation, and is not a member of our community—as soon as those thousands, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of tons of manure leave their property, they’re no longer responsible for it… If they had to look their neighbors in the face everyday, maybe they’d feel some kind of guilt or responsibility…but that’s not the case.”
Though the owners of factory farms are often aloof from the communities affected by the air and water pollution their facilities cause, they are part of an industry that is very much connected with officials in state government.
This creates an obstacle for people in Ohio who are fighting to reign in the abuses of factory farms, says Richard Sahli who served as Chief Council for the Ohio EPA from 1987 to 1991.
(In-person audio) “If you’re an Ohio citizen living beside a factory farm, you have virtually no protections. You’re dependent on the state to do anything, and the state agencies are under the thumb of the agribusiness lobbies here.”
Sahli said companies that own factory farms have over the years misused Ohio’s right-to-farm law which was enacted in 1982. The stated purpose of the law was to protect family farmers from lawsuits filed by people in suburban subdivisions that had encroached upon rural communities where they found to their unpleasant surprise the noise and odor of nearby farms.
Sahli said companies owning factory farms have been able to misuse Ohio’s right-to-farm law because the law did not stipulate restrictions on the size of the farm.
Ohio’s right-to-farm law is only one part of what causes difficulties for residents of the state seeking to hold factory farms accountable for the air and water pollution they cause. Sahli says for many years Ohio’s zoning laws have prevent
ed Ohioans such as those in York Center Township from having local control over factory farms.
(In-person audio) “Most states that control factory farms do it through local zoning. But in Ohio, agriculture is completely exempt from zoning controls. It doesn’t matter how big the operation is, there’s absolutely no zoning controls. Local officials can’t do a thing about it.”
Right-to-farm laws vary from state to state, but the loss of local control over factory farms is a national trend, says Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch.
She says residents in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Missouri have ALSO lost local control.
“There are groups in Missouri that, every year, have had to go to the state legislature to fight bills that would take away their local governments’ control in siting factory farms… This is sort of the standard procedure for this industry to try to make sure the most accountable level of government–the local government–doesn’t have a say.”
Another challenge that York Center residents and Ohio’s other proponents of factory farming reform face is the state’s current attempt to get the EPA to approve its transfer of Clean Water Act authority over pollution permits for factory farming from the Ohio EPA to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Some environmentalists say if EPA approves this, it could be a set-back for national efforts to protect waterways from factory farm pollution in that other states may follow suit.
But Ohio’s bid for EPA approval has drawn criticism for its appearance of conflict of interest between regulating and promoting agriculture. Ohio’s attempt also comes as EPA moves toward tougher regulations of factory farms, as indicated in its settlement in June of a lawsuit filed against the agency last year by the National Resource Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and Water Keepers Alliance.
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Tarah Heinzen is with the Environmental Integrity Project, a not-for-profit that advocates for more effective enforcement of environmental laws.
“Some states have given some authority over to their agricultural departments but they haven’t gone as far as Ohio in that they haven’t tried to get the (US) EPA to officially transfer the program. I think if EPA approves this transfer, other states will follow suit and try to get authority to do the same thing.”
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In June, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and the Humane Society of the United States
brokered a deal to avoid a contentious and costly ballot referendum on farm animal welfare and food safety.
The agreement calls for a ban, starting Jan 1, on any new facilities that use battery cages. But the ban would not apply to chicken factory farms that cram thousands of chickens into buildings without the use of cages such as those that raise broiler chickens–those raised for meat, instead of egg production. [CK: CAN YOU SEND ME A LINK TO THIS INFO?]
[<—CK: CAN U EXPLAIN THAT IN LAYPERSONS TERMS? IS THIS MULTIPLE HENS PER CAGE?] Implementation of the deal is uncertain as the Ohio governor faces a tough bid for re-election. And even if Ohio's deal with the Humane Society holds, the agreement allows existing factory farms here in York Center Township and other parts of the state to continue to operate.
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A 2008 Government Accountability Office study said some factory farms can generate more waste than some US cities. (Include PDF)
But no federal agency collects accurate and consistent data on the number, size, and location of factory farms, according to the GAO study.
But that may change. As part of a settlement of a lawsuit initiated last year by National Resource Defence Council, the Sierra Club, and Water Keeper’s Alliance, the US EPA announced in May it will identify and investigate thousands of factory farms that have been avoiding government regulation for animal waste pollution. Environmental groups involved in the lawsuit against EPA say the move is step in the right direction.
The agreement between Ohio and HSUS///] THE AGREEMENT calls for a ban, starting Jan 1, on any new facilities that use battery cages. [<—CK: CAN U EXPLAIN THAT IN LAYPERSONS TERMS? IS THIS MULTIPLE HENS PER CAGE?] But implementation of the deal is uncertain as the Ohio governor faces a tough bid for re-election. And even if Ohio's deal with THE HUMANE SOCIETY [DELETE:////HSUS////] holds, the agreement allows existing mega egg farms here in York Center Towship and other parts of the state to continue to operate.
A federal court in Ohio dismissed New Day’s suit against Williams, but the company never expected to win say lawyers for Williams. They say the company’s strategy has been to use the costs of litigation to discourage residents from speaking out.
“Basically the cost of litigation is what the corporation that files the SLAPP suit is banking on. They, essentially, know that for a private citizen to defend themselves or hire council, you’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars…A SLAPP suit is no different than the playground bully.”
About a thousand feet from one resident’s home, a company called New Day Farms confines 1.6 million chickens at a facility about the size of a small college campus. The US Egg and Poultry Association referred to this facility as a ‘family farm’ in February when it conferred upon New Day the industry’s own award for environmental stewardship.
But to many of the 740 families of York Center, the factory farm owners are strangers, not neighbors. And that’s part of the problem, when it comes to getting them to clean up their act, says Johncox.
“Basically the cost of litigation is what the corporation that files the SLAPP suit is banking on. They, essentially, know that for a private citizen to defend themselves or hire council, you’re talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars…A SLAPP suit is no different than the playground bully.” The owner of New Day Farms has not responded to FSRN’s request for an interview.
For more than 15 years Sahli has been a lawyer representing citizens, local governments, and environmental groups in suits against owners of factory farms. He says says Ohio is noteworthy in a bad way when it comes to factory farming.
(In-person audio )”We have a study by the University of Nebraska which determined our rules were the weakest for factory farms. Then we have a study by the Environmental Integrity Project which says our enforcement of those weak rules is virtually nonexistent by the state of Ohio. Then you have the fact that local controls have been totally removed by preemptions on zoning. Then you finally get to the last ditch defense for a citizen which would be a private nuisance suit…and there you have the laws coming out of the Right-to- Farm movement which severely restricted the ability of a neighbor to sue a farm of any size.”
Ohio’s right-to-farm law was enacted in 1982. Sahli said the law was supposedly intended to protect family farmers from encroaching suburban sub-divisions. But he said the law didn’t stipulate restrictions on the size of the farms. As a result, right-to-farm laws in Ohio have protected factory farms from litigation regarding odor and other nuisances.
(In-person audio) “In 2002, a law was implemented in the state of Ohio that said in no uncertain terms that there will be no local authority administered by any county commissions, any health commissioners…or any towns
hip trustees.”
Joe Logan of the Ohio Environmental Council.
(In-person audio)”The agricultural powers that be decided they didn’t want a fight of a thousand cuts out in the countryside and in the small communities throughout the country. They wanted to fight just a few fights. So they’ve managed to pass laws within the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin that have actually eliminated the local authority to intervene in the development of agriculture infrastructures. They’ve moved that into the state level so they can control the process more effectively.”
Some activists seeking tougher regulations on factory farms call for a better balance between local and state control. But as far as state regulations are concerned, Lovera says states should use their departments of environmental protection to address factory farming issues instead of shifting that responsibility to their departments of agriculture.
“Typically, agriculture departments are there to promote agriculture and they’ve tended in most parts of the country–and I don’t think Ohio’s any exception– to be places that are very tolerant of very large-scale production and they often even promote it in some places.”
In 2002, state legislators took permitting control over factory farms from the Ohio EPA and gave it to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. But that transfer did NOT apply to Clean Water Act POLLUTION PERMITS.
The Ohio EPA currently has control over Clean Water Act POLLUTION PERMITS for factory farms. But in December of last year, the state approved handing that control over to its OWN department of agriculture.
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