F.a.r.m. fights hog factories

Cowboy hat By Jim Hightower - Tue., 2/1/00

Illinois prides itself as "The Land of Lincoln," but it's fast becoming "The Land of Stinkin"

The stink is coming from gigantic hog factories located throughout the countryside-factories housing some 80,000 hogs each and generating more waste than a city of 300,000 people. Yet while cities must treat human waste, the corporate owners of these hog factories are allowed to simply funnel the raw hog excrement into huge ponds, which they delicately refer to as "lagoons."

The stink from a hog lagoon is simply unimaginable. It drifts for miles, and you can't hide from it. And with the stink comes disease. That's why Kdren Hudson, an Illinois grain farmer, has joined with others to create F.A.R.M. Families Against Rural Messes. F.A.R.M. is a grassroots group that opposes hog factories and wants the legislature to stop the corporate owners from foisting their stink and disease causing sewage on everyone else.

For daring to stand up to these profiteering polluters, Karen and others have received death threats, and she has experienced the joy of having hog waste dumped on her front porch. But Karen and company are not backing down, despite the thuggish tactics of her corporate enemies.

To learn more about this great grassroots effort contact F.A.R.M. at 309- 742- 8895.
Filed Under: Agriculture, Campaign finance, Civil rights, Common good, Constitution, Corporate greed, Corporate responsibility, Democrats, Elections, Environment, Food safety