Incremental harm can creep up on you, its damage barely discernible until it reaches a point of no return — like the proverbial frog in a pot of cold water that’s gradually heated to a boil.
That seems to be the case with Big Ag’s consolidation of ownership over Iowa’s hog and poultry industries. As our health, environment and animal welfare have declined precipitously, and small and medium-size farms have been squeezed out of the picture, the industry boasts of lower pork prices. But at what cost?
I learned some of those costs attending the Harkin Institute’s conference on Industrial Farm Animal Production and Public Health late last month. Over two days, some four dozen speakers — experts on health, agronomy, environmental sustainability, economic justice, climate change, and more — offered a wake-up call.
Iowa now has a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in every one of its 99 counties. Cumulatively Iowa’s hogs produce as much waste as 120 million to 160 million people every day. And for all the advanced management plans, that waste can reach and pollute rivers and streams. As chemical fertilizers and pesticides do their bit to foul the air, water and soil, state environmental enforcers respond with inconsequential fines.