E. Coli and Factory Farms/CAFOs
JOE MILLER
Today's (9/21/06) South Bend Tribune has an article by Nancy Sulok on the Business page entitled "Farming a Growth Industry." It contains some really short-sighted reasoning by the Deputy Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture about the "opportunities" provided by concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs, i.e., factory farms) to communities. The article also includes a reference to an important lawsuit in Jackson County about a water company suing a CAFO "over concerns that huge quantities of hog manure will affect the groundwater." I would have included the link, but a search of the SB Tribune website by title, business page, and columnist did not yield the article. I've contacted Sulok about the omission.
Regulators Increase Likelihood of Manure Pollution
In recent months federal and Indiana regulators have proposed or enacted changes that make it even more likely that manure from CAFOs will pollute groundwater and surface water, and would make it even more difficult or impossible to successfully sue to correct such pollution. Even if such lawsuits are successful, the correction of such pollution, assuming that correction is possible, is a slow, difficult, and expensive process. Here are some links that document the changes that have been proposed or enacted, as well as an action link to speak out against such changes.
- EPA Places Foxes in Charge of the Chicken Coop
- Citizens and Public Health Officials Explain Why Congress Should Not Exempt Factory Farms from CERCLA
- Protect Air and Water -- Oppose S. 3681
E. coli, Spinach and CAFO Manure Runoff
Polluted water is one factor that is currently being investigated as a POTENTIAL cause of the E. coli contamination of bagged spinach that has produced food poisoning in 23 states. The following articles describe the contamination of various crops such as spinach and lettuce by water that has been polluted by E. coli from livestock manure runoff. To add a local analysis to the mix, I've included a link to an abstract from an article published by American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers in St. Joseph, MI, that indicates that "the survivability, persistence, and distribution of E. coli in soil [treated with dairy manure] raises serious water quality questions for rural communities."
- OCA Statement on Nationwide Outbreak of E. Coli Poisoning from Bagged Spinach
- NY Times Goes to the Root of the E. Coli Spinach Crisis
- E. Coli from Livestock Runoff Pervades Spinach Harvest Area in Southern California
- The Survival of E. Coli in Agricultural Soil Treated With Dairy Manure
Sustainable Alternatives
None of the above has to occur. Good sustainable agricultural options exist (see, for example, the links below). We need to embrace such options, and to reject the industrial, nonsustainable, and health, environment, and community destroying factory farm rules and practices that are increasingly being adopted in our county, state, and country. We and other counties need a moratorium on new CAFO applications until such time as local ordinances can be established to effectively and responsibly review and accept or reject such applications.
- Organic Consumers Association Resource Center on Farm Issues
- Community Food Security Coalition Links
- Land Stewardship Project
- The Cornucopia Institute
Joseph Miller
Dept. of Psychology
51 Madeleva
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Office Phone: 574 284-4532 (4534)
Fax: 574 284-4716
St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN