Missouri legislators plan to protect those enormous hog factories (Kansas City: insurance, attorney)

[Linn County MO neighbor]

Senate Bill 187 (introduced by Senator Lager), Senate Bill 278 (introduced by Senator Munzlinger) & House Bill 209 (introduced by Rep. Guernsey) would limit the rights of Missouri's family farmers, landowners and communities to protect their properties through the court system from the negative impacts of corporate-controlled Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This represents a "taking" or "condemnation" of personal property rights without just compensation and discourages factory farms to be good neighbors.

Senators & Representatives should not support these bills because they jeopardize the majority of citizens, farmers and landowners. SB 187, SB 278 & HB 209 are clearly CAFO Protection Bills that take away the property rights of the thousands of independently owned and operated family farms and rural landowners.

Brad Lager is showing that he's not truly seeking the best interests of the residents of this district but rather is serving wealthy agribusiness donors. Ask folks who have had a concentrated animal feeding operation near them as I had. CAFO's pollute the air and water in a large area and we're better off without them around but Brad want's to protect these unwelcome corporate interests in preference to working families. I enjoy livestock and normal farm smells are actually pleasing to me but a CAFO isn't a farm, it's an unnatural flesh factory.

Here's the truth about Premium Standard Farms:

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/mediacenter/assets/reports/premium.pdf (broken link)

Hog farm operators ordered to pay $11M for odor | St. Louis Business Journal

Why Boycott Premium Standard Farms by Paul Sturtz/Scott Dye - Rural America/In Motion Magazine
Premium Standard Farms' expensive litigation fails to score the stinky pork producer a courtroom victory - Page 1 - News - Kansas City - The Pitch

Update: More than 4,000 pigs perish in blaze at PSF facility - Kirksville, MO - Kirksville Daily Express (http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.com/news/x1179514726/Hogs-perish-in-blaze-at-PSF-facility - broken link)

Please let these folks and all your neighbors know what you think.
Governor Jay Nixon, Office of the Governor, Jefferson City, MO 65102
Attorney General Chris Koster,
Office of Attorney General, Supreme Court Building, P.O. Box 899, Jefferson City, MO 65102
Rep. Casey Guernsey,
201 W. Capitol Ave., Room 406B, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101
State Sen. Brad Lager,
201 W. Capitol Ave., Room 429, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101

Pork's dirty secret: the nation's top hog producer is also one of America's worst polluters.

[GraniteStater]

Rural Missourians need to stand up and fight against this! The corporate ag lobby is a big money vested interest!!! Unfortunately, it is creating an enormous fissure in rural America that is detrimental to the quality of life for many. This is a prime reason why I tell people to research CAFO's before moving anywhere in rural Missouri.

[misplaced1]

Anyone know how many jobs are provided to nw Missouri directly or indirectly because of the hog operations?

[cyrano]

This guy doesn't think many jobs are created. Nor do these folks. Or these. She thinks they're good, but then her family owns one.

But if some major business interest wants them, then count on the Missouri Legislature to do what it can to help them. They do a fine job of representing the interests of lobbyists.

[latetotheparty]

Originally Posted by cyrano

This guy doesn't think many jobs are created. Nor do these folks. Or these. She thinks they're good, but then her family owns one.

But if some major business interest wants them, then count on the Missouri Legislature to do what it can to help them. They do a fine job of representing the interests of lobbyists.

our esteemed legislators think dog factories are alright... why would they be opposed to hog factories??

[linicx]

I lved in rural MO for many years and spent considerable time in rural MO, rural NWA, and rural NEOK. There is no doubt that Animal production and its evil twin animal processing causes odor and methane and poluted run-off water into our streams. The Legislators have ignored it for 20-years while surrounding states have sceamed bloody murder about the problems. The production companies have been sued and lost. No one enforces final judgement. No one. Missouri taxpayer is left with one very large slice of Swiss Cheese that has a lot of BIG holes that need to be fiXed before even one of these operations is allowed to grow larger.

There is a flip-side, too. .

Yeah you can ban livestock operations and send it overseas but when you do your pound of sausage is going to cost $10.00 The folks in NYC will pay it, but the folks in MO will look at it and realize that pound of pork sausage costs more than the wage earned for one hour of work.

It is better to collect the state tax money from these operations and fight the constitutional issues in court. A large organized group of angry farmers can bring a lot of pressure on Jeff City and DC, too. It would not be very difficult to do as there are nearly 200,000 farming families in IA and IL alone. However, somewhere between This and That is a solution and a compromise. It is up to the people and the government to work together to find it. and the law to enforce the letter of the law to its conclusion. .

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by linicx

I lved in rural MO for many years and spent considerable time in rural MO, rural NWA, and rural NEOK. There is no doubt that Animal production and its evil twin animal processing causes odor and methane and poluted run-off water into our streams. The Legislators have ignored it for 20-years while surrounding states have sceamed bloody murder about the problems. The production companies have been sued and lost. No one enforces final judgement. No one. Missouri taxpayer is left with one very large slice of Swiss Cheese that has a lot of BIG holes that need to be fiXed before even one of these operations is allowed to grow larger.

There is a flip-side, too. .

Yeah you can ban livestock operations and send it overseas but when you do your pound of sausage is going to cost $10.00 The folks in NYC will pay it, but the folks in MO will look at it and realize that pound of pork sausage costs more than the wage earned for one hour of work.

It is better to collect the state tax money from these operations and fight the constitutional issues in court. A large organized group of angry farmers can bring a lot of pressure on Jeff City and DC, too. It would not be very difficult to do as there are nearly 200,000 farming families in IA and IL alone. However, somewhere between This and That is a solution and a compromise. It is up to the people and the government to work together to find it. and the law to enforce the letter of the law to its conclusion. .

That hits the nail on the head right there. Follow the money in political contributions and big AG donates much to Missouri elected state and federal representatives.

Most of the truly AG counties in the state have so many living at/below the poverty level that they cannot afford to drive out large producers such as these hog operations, or think they cannot get them to change practices.

These folks should have significant input but I don't see anything on their website: Welcome To The Missouri Pork Association

Does anyone know where Missouri Farm Bureau sits on this one? They seem to have some political muscle.

[linicx]

I don't know if you are aware of this, or not. Most of the county Farm Bureau offices I am familiar with are in bed with the insurance industry - which does wield a large hammer. If you can get farmers and the Farm Bureaus in MO involved, you have some heavy hitters.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by linicx

I don't know if you are aware of this, or not. Most of the county Farm Bureau offices I am familiar with are in bed with the insurance industry - which does wield a large hammer. If you can get farmers and the Farm Bureaus in MO involved, you have some heavy hitters.

My thought exactly, yes. It would seem if one had the Pork industry, Farm Bureau and the state water and soil conservation agencies on the same page that compromise and improved hog production methods could be reached.

[pdm_ad]

Originally Posted by linicx

I lved in rural MO for many years and spent considerable time in rural MO, rural NWA, and rural NEOK. There is no doubt that Animal production and its evil twin animal processing causes odor and methane and poluted run-off water into our streams. The Legislators have ignored it for 20-years while surrounding states have sceamed bloody murder about the problems. The production companies have been sued and lost. No one enforces final judgement. No one. Missouri taxpayer is left with one very large slice of Swiss Cheese that has a lot of BIG holes that need to be fiXed before even one of these operations is allowed to grow larger.

There is a flip-side, too. .

Yeah you can ban livestock operations and send it overseas but when you do your pound of sausage is going to cost $10.00 The folks in NYC will pay it, but the folks in MO will look at it and realize that pound of pork sausage costs more than the wage earned for one hour of work.

It is better to collect the state tax money from these operations and fight the constitutional issues in court. A large organized group of angry farmers can bring a lot of pressure on Jeff City and DC, too. It would not be very difficult to do as there are nearly 200,000 farming families in IA and IL alone. However, somewhere between This and That is a solution and a compromise. It is up to the people and the government to work together to find it. and the law to enforce the letter of the law to its conclusion. .

It's not just an either/or situation so the scare tactic of "imagine a $10 sausage" doesn't hold water. There is plenty that can be done without a ban on anything