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CAFOs ... THE SMELL OF MONEY
We have recently heard a lot about CAFOs in Jefferson City. A CAFO – a confined animal feeding operation – is a factory farm where thousands of farm animals are kept in a small space.
How many times have you heard that the stench surrounding an animal feeding operation is just “the smell of money?” Truth is, it was the real “smell of money” from lobbyists that caused the Republican-controlled legislature to try to eliminate local control over where CAFOs locate in Missouri. The legislative supporters of CAFOs suffered a setback when the bill that would have eliminated the right of local jurisdictions to pass health ordinances to regulate large-scale factory farms was defeated.
Thousands of family farmers, land owners, and county commissioners from across rural Missouri made their position known this past legislative session: They support local decision-making. They support property rights. And they oppose the efforts of the Republican governor and Republican legislature to take away their right to control the location of factory farms.
According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the agency that grants permits to CAFOs, there were 529 animal feeding operations in the state as of January, 2008. Class 1-A CAFOs — the largest category and the biggest contributor to health and quality-of-life problems for their neighbors – are industrial feeding operations with more than 7,000 head of cattle, 17,500 hogs, or 385,000 chickens or turkeys.
We know from serious scientific studies that CAFOs present a public health risk for rural counties.
Thirty cities and counties in Missouri have adopted their own health and zoning ordinances designed to restrict CAFO location. That’s the most appropriate way to do it. Why would we want to leave local citizens out of a decision that so directly affects them — their health, their land values, and their quality of life.
But beyond the direct impact on their neighbors, unrestricted CAFOs contaminate our streams and raise bacteria counts that affect not only our health but the health of fish and wildlife that live downstream. With river flooding in 2008 at levels not seen since 1993, animal waste confinement lagoons spilled or were pumped out on the land, and magnified an already dangerous situation.
Many Republicans in the legislature think that local people have no business controlling the location of animal confinement operations in their own communities. Do they want a CAFO in their backyard? Well, maybe just in yours.
When I’m your state legislator, I will support the right of counties to regulate the location of CAFOs and other potential health and environmental risks. There are some limits to local control that make sense — but this is one area where restricting local control is nonsense.
Let me know your thoughts.
Keep the porch light on. I’ll be knocking.