Factory Farming & Corruption By Michael Payan Delta-Peach Bottom Elementary April 21, 2009

Inspired Three years ago I had no clue what a CAFO was. Once I found out, I was inspired to fight because of how cruel and how inhumane these facilities are to animals. I knew it wasn’t right and I had to do something about it. And here I sit still fighting the good fight.

Animal Rights Factory farming is very cruel. The animals can be confined in cages and in buildings and are sometimes treated in the lowest manner of respect.

Smells and Sicknesses The smells are horrible. I'm sure you’ve smelled manure on local farms. This is far worse. The smell of hogs laid out without being buried is much worse. The smell is more horrendous than dead horse shoe crabs or decomposing animals.

MRSA MRSA is a horrible sickness. In the new US study it is said that MRSA comes from hogs. It cannot be cured because it has evolved the ability to survive the treatment of beta-lactam antibiotics. It is spread from surface to surface. It was spread to a man who touched his barbequed pig and then rubbed his nose.

MRSA study cut out We sampled the nares (noses) of 299 swine and 20 workers from two different production systems in Iowa and Illinois, comprising approximately 87,000 live animals. MRSA isolates were typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using SmaI and EagI restriction enzymes, and by multi locus sequence typing (MLST). PCR was used to determine SCCmec type and presence of the pvl gene. Usually all hogs come from Canada. The hogs from Canada have tested positive to MRSA. Source: Study from ST398.

Soil and Waste in Water Sometimes there is soil erosion behind storm drains and water. The polluted water comes from factory farms and flows into streams, which empty into ponds. This polluted water often contains chemicals that are used to clean tractors and run-off from a compost pile which contains chicken litter, partially composted dead chickens as well as growth hormones and antibiotics used to inject the chickens. Dead fish washed up on shore because of pollution

Sewage Sludge Sewage sludge can be treated, but usually is not. Sewage sludge is what’s left at the bottom of sewage pipes. When farmers spread this on the soil the birds eat it and it smells, and is dangerous to neighbors. It can contain harmful hospital waste, and slaughterhouse waste.

Not His Fault The government does not always tell farmers about the sewage sludge. They say it is treated (made safe), but it is not, except for in Illinois. where they burn the sludge.

State Agencies State agencies such as DEP and EPA are not always telling the truth. On DEP’s website they say that they have not inspected the hog facilities, but they are supposed to. On EPA’s website (which is head of state agencies) they say hog farms have been inspected yearly by DEP. I like to call the inspection test “lack of inspection test” because they do not inspect or do not complete the inspection test.

Friends and Foes The community has turned against each other during this fight. There has been tire slashing, throwing rocks at windows and we have a 12 month calendar for all the police reports. The battle is between those who don’t want CAFOs and those who do.

Why Fight for It? We activists fight because we can wake up in the morning knowing that we won’t sit around and do nothing while this issue is not solved. We WILL make a difference in the world. This is also a good excuse for the house being dirty!

The Factory Farmer’s Point of View The farmer says, “These aren't the same people that were here ten years ago.” Umm… yes they are. Well at least I am.” The farmer says, “I can make money from factory farming.” “Yeah, but you could do it in a more humane way and still make money.” He says, “I take care of it to the best of my abilities.” “Uh, then why didn’t check on your hogs which escaped for three days with no food or water and without you even knowing, Mr. Farmer?”

Head in the Sand Some people just don’t want to know, because if they don’t know, they don’t have to care.

Neighbor’s Rights In the PA Constitution it says that we have a right to clean air and pure water. These facilities violate that right and our township’s ordinance which says we have a right to good soil. Don’t tread on me!!!!

You Can Help If you'd like to help don’t buy “natural” or Hatfield or Smithfield. Buy organic ONLY!!! And don’t buy farm raised fish.

The Township’s Rights As I mentioned, we who live in the township have the right to good soil and what the PA Constitution states we have a right to.

How Can You Help? Food Shopping Buy at a local farmers market or buy organic food. Those are the best foods for you.

Up to You I've done my part by informing you. Now you have to do your part and help animals and our neighborhoods by fighting against these inhumane factories.