Guest guest Posted March 18, 2006 Report Share Posted March 18, 2006 --- " Alison S. " <> > http://www.freecycle.org > > > www.foodnews.ca > > Editor's Note: The poultry business is a $30 billion > dollar industry in > the U.S. Its Rapid growth since the 1990s had > outpaced government > regulation to protect the environment as well as > the health, safety and > economic interests of labourers who find themselves > trapped in > contractual relations with major corporations with > little recourse to > address a lengthy list of grievances. Civil groups > are suing > corporations in the hopes of seeing them adhere to > higher production and > employment standards. Public regulation could play > an important role in > terms of increased standards and monitoring. > Historically, though the > impression is frequently that large corporations > have disdained > government intervention in terms of food quality > standards and > inspection, in fact they have supported such moves > (see for example > Levenstein's /Revolution at the Table/) because it > instilled consumer > confidence in their products and also gave a > competitive edge to > precisely those larger corporations who could afford > to adhere to > stricter standards. Today, given the trends toward > green consumerism, > the threat of avian flu and amid other instances of > " corporate > responsibility " in the face of public concern for > labour and > environmental standards, attempts to improve public > regulation of the > poultry industry could be effective at least to some > degree in curbing > some of the disastrous consequences of poultry > farming the southern U.S. > > > http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/02/21/parker/ > > > Finger-Lickin' Bad > > > How poultry producers are ravaging the rural > South > > By Suzi Parker > 21 Feb 2006 > > A person driving through the South might notice the > chicken houses > dotting the hills and flatlands. He might marvel at > the larger ones, as > long as a football field. He might react to their > gagging stench for a > moment, and then forget as he travels on. But those > who live near the > structures -- stuffed with as many as 25,000 > chickens each -- combat the > odor and health hazards daily. > > " There's a horrible odor, a stench, and I have flies > and rodents digging > in, trying to get into my house, " says Bernadine > Edwards, whose 39-acre > farm near Owensboro, Ky., is surrounded by 108 > chicken houses within a > two-mile radius. " It is unbelievable. " > > The 65-year-old school bus driver, who recently > bought a purifier to > help her breathe easier in her home, says the value > of her property has > plummeted since the chicken houses arrived in the > early 1990s. " I'm too > old to start over, " she says. " I can't afford to. My > house is paid for. " > > Edwards is not alone. Over the last 15 years, the > country has seen a > boom in chicken farming. Today, the industry is > serving a cocktail of > injustice and pollution to rural residents, and most > of them aren't in a > position to fight back. > > > *Growing Pains* > > Since the early 1990s, observers say, thousands of > chicken houses have > cropped up across the South as consumer demand for > poultry has grown. > Today, the U.S. is the world's poultry leader, with > production of > broilers, turkeys, and eggs valued at $29 billion in > 2004, according to > the National Chicken Council. Broilers -- chickens > raised for meat -- > generated $22 billion of that. The leading broiler > production states in > 2004 were Georgia, Alabama, and Arkansas, which is > home to the world's > largest poultry producer, Tyson Foods. > > Like chemical companies and industrial hog farmers, > poultry producers > don't tend to place these concentrated > animal-feeding operations, or > CAFOs, in ritzy neighborhoods beside multimillion > dollar McMansions. > Instead, chicken houses commandeer spacious rural > areas, where local > residents need the income and their neighbors won't > speak out against > them -- or are unaware of the factories' > environmental and health > consequences. > > " These companies seek rural areas where > unemployment, or > underemployment, is high and people are desperate > for ways to stay on > the farm, " says Aloma Dew, a Sierra Club organizer > in Kentucky. " They > assume that poor, country people will not organize > or speak up, and that > they will be ignorant of the impacts on their health > and quality of life. " > > The companies provide local growers, who work under > contract, with > chicks, feed, medicine, and transportation. Growers > take care of the > rest, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in > construction, > maintenance, and labor costs. When the company > requires upgrades, the > costs fall to the growers. The massive amounts of > manure, too, are their > responsibility. (In Arkansas alone, chicken farms > produce an amount of > waste each day equal to that produced by 8 million > people.) Payment is > results-oriented, based on measures like total > weight gain of the flock. > It's a system, says the United Food and Commercial > Workers, that leaves > 71 percent of growers earning below poverty-level > wages. > > If growers protest, companies can cancel their > contracts, leaving > farmers responsible for incurred debt, says Laura > Klauke, director of > contract agriculture reform at the North > Carolina-based Rural > Advancement Foundation International > <http://www.rafiusa.org/>. And that > debt can be substantial: since banks in the region > will more readily > loan money for poultry houses than other types of > agriculture, Klauke > says, some farmers put everything on the line, > mortgaging their property > to make a living this way. > > " If those contracts are canceled -- and they can be > if the farmer > doesn't do what the industry wants -- then that > farmer could literally > be homeless, " said Klauke. " I know farmers who have > been in that > situation. " (Industry representatives did not > respond to requests for > comments on this or any of the concerns expressed in > this story.) > > > Pecks and Effects > > More frightening than the economic balancing act may > be the health and > environmental hazards posed by chicken farms, from > the arsenic, ammonia, > and other chemicals found in feed and manure to > threats from diseased > animals. While traditional farming can carry similar > risks, CAFOs are > especially hazardous because of the tight > confinement that defines them. > " The fact is, you put hundreds of animals in a very > small area, that > creates problems that would not exist if these > animals were distributed > across the countryside, " says Barclay Rogers, who > successfully litigated > a pollution case against Tyson in Kentucky in 2003. > > In The Same Vein > Fine and Randy > <http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/01/31/3/index.html> > Bush admin deal exempts thousands of farms from > pollution fines > Rogers says the industry grew rapidly with little > regulatory constraint, > and has been " riding roughshod " over land and > people. While CAFOs must > follow federal environmental laws such as the Clean > Water Act and Clean > Air Act, he says, many growers try to " duck and > weave " regulations. " The > industry may stand up and say we are > over-regulating, and that we have > all of these permits, but the practical aspect is > that they have devised > many ways to avert pollution controls, " said Rogers. > " That's why we are > seeing the fouling of water and air. We just now are > coming to grips > with these consequences, as people are catching up > and realizing what > has happened to them. " > > Last year, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson > (D) filed suit > against Tyson, Cargill, and several other poultry > companies, seeking to > stop water pollution caused in his state by soiled > chicken litter dumped > in Arkansas. Polluted runoff, also known as > non-point source pollution, > is the biggest remaining water pollution problem in > the U.S., according > to the EPA, which cites agriculture as the largest > source of such > pollution. Edmondson described the problem as " an > economic development > issue, an agricultural issue, and a quality-of-life > issue. " Not to be > outdone, Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe (D) -- > who is running for > governor -- countered in November by suing the state > of Oklahoma > directly, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to prohibit > Oklahoma from > forcing his state's poultry farmers to adhere to the > stricter standards. > Both cases are still pending. > > This messy interstate situation is just one > indication of the many > unknowns at stake. " Some of the [environmental] > consequences of these > CAFOs are just not clear, " said Van Brahana, a > geologist at the > University of Arkansas who studies groundwater. > " What we do know is when > you have a lot of organisms living in close > conditions and you have a > buildup of chemicals, you might get a > cause-and-effect relationship. The > scary thing is we just don't know right now. " > > The effects on those who work directly with the > animals are clearer. " In > rural America, the poultry companies can get workers > for a song, and the > workers are so grateful to get the jobs, " says > Jackie Nowell of the > United Food and Commercial Workers. These workers -- > usually poor, and > often African American or Hispanic -- " are exposed > to feces [and] any > disease the chicken has, " Nowell says. " There are > also horrible levels > of dust and dander inside these houses. " > > Nowell adds that researchers in the region are > currently exploring the > possible crossover of various viruses from poultry > to humans, like avian > flu > <http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2005/12/08/avianflu/index.html>. > > " That's a real concern. These workers and people who > live near these > houses will be on ground zero of an outbreak. " > > Workers in poultry processing plants also face > serious dangers from > machinery, carpal tunnel syndrome, and health > hazards such as > contaminated microorganisms and dust. " There are > huge health and safety > violations in every plant, " says Jennifer Rosenbaum, > a lawyer with the > Southern Poverty Law Center > <http://www.splcenter.org/index.jsp> in > Montgomery, Ala. In 2004, for example, the > Occupational Safety and > Health Administration issued citations to Tyson for > alleged violations > after an employee was asphyxiated when he inhaled > hydrogen sulfide, a > gas created by decaying organic matter. OSHA fined > the company $436,000. > > Poultry companies " hire relatively low-income > people, immigrants who > have less of an understanding of rights and health > issues, " Rosenbaum > says. Simply put, she says, the companies are > hurting the South's small > towns while they fatten their own wallets. > > > Chicken Fight > > Katie Tillinghast lives in rural northwest Arkansas. > In early January, > she received a call from a neighbor who told her he > planned to put three > large turkey houses on his property, 200 yards away. > Tillinghast wants > to stop the project, but the only plausible choice > would be to buy her > neighbor out at $3,000 an acre -- and he owns 73 > acres. She can't afford > that, and knows it's highly unlikely that a rich > buyer will step in to help. > > Like other states, Arkansas does not yet have a law > to protect residents > from these operations, though several states have > considered such > legislation. So Tillinghast can't do much but worry > -- about her > drinking water, about avian flu, about noise and > light pollution, about > air quality. " I agree someone should be able to do > what they want to do > on their land, " Tillinghast says. " But I don't think > you should be able > to do something that hurts your neighbors. " > > Many others agree with her, but local dynamics can > make it hard for > activists to issue a battle cry. " Often these plants > are the only major > industry in town, " says SPLC's Rosenbaum. " Everyone > goes to church > together or went to high school together. Everyone > knows everyone, and > it's hard to fight that. " > > Groups like the Sierra Club have fought the poultry > industry for many > years, but only recently have they begun to > collaborate with people on > the ground. In 2004, a group of growers, workers, > and environmental, > public-health, religious, and social-justice > organizations created the > National Poultry Justice Alliance. > > Do Good > Learn more <http://www.sierraclub.org/factoryfarms> > from the Sierra Club > and help stop factory-farm pollution. > The idea came from the Glenmary Commission on > Justice in Ohio, a group > of Catholic brothers and priests who have worked in > the South since > 1939. Marcus Keyes, the commission's director, says > he was inspired by a > statement from the Catholic Bishops of the South in > 2000 about workers' > rights. " These are moral issues -- the rights of > workers, conditions of > workers, pay and benefits, " said Keyes. " These are > human rights issues, > and environmental [issues, but] in the end they are > all moral issues. " > The group's members are working to strengthen the > alliance before > launching a major campaign. > > Meanwhile, a lawsuit may come to trial in early > April that could up the > ante. While previous suits have dealt with pollution > and workers' > rights, this one tackles the issue of health effects > on residents. In > 2003, a group of citizens from Prairie Grove, Ark., > a town of 2,500, > filed a lawsuit against several poultry producers. > Citing a connection > between the community's high cancer rates and > arsenic contamination from > chicken litter spread as fertilizer, they are > seeking damages from the > companies that own the birds (not, it should be > noted, from the local > growers). Their lawyers say cancer rates in the > small town are 50 times > higher than the national average. > > The Prairie Grove effort has grown to include about > 100 plaintiffs in > multiple suits, each of which will be tried > separately. Supporters say > that legal action may be the only way to bring these > issues to light and > hold the industry to higher standards. If the court > rules in Prairie > Grove's favor, the decision could provide ground for > others to stand on. > Until then, the only ones winning in this > despair-filled industry are > the mammoth corporations. > > - - - - - - - - - - > > /Suzi Parker is a freelance journalist whose work > focuses on politics > and Southern culture. She lives in Little Rock, > Ark., and is the author > of /Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt/./ > > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > WHO WE ARE: This e-mail service shares information > to help more people > discuss crucial policy issues affecting global food > security. > The service is managed by Amber McNair of the > University of Toronto > in partnership with the Centre for Urban Health > Initiatives (CUHI) and > Wayne Roberts of the Toronto Food Policy Council, in > partnership with > the Community Food Security Coalition, World Hunger > Year, and > International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture. > > Please help by sending information or names and > e-mail addresses of > co-workers who'd like to receive this service, to > foodnews. To or , please > visit http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/food-news. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > > _____________ > food-news mailing list > food-news > http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/food-news I have decided to do the 2006 CN Tower Climb for World Wildlife Fund. This link should take you to the 'sponsor a climber' page, where you can search my name (alison syer) and you should be able to find it; or the name of any other climber you know and choose to sponsor. https://wwfcentral.ca/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx? & pid=232 & srcid=232 & tab=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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