Swine Industry Practices Need Change

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The swine industry’s response to concerns that swine concentrated animal feeding operations like the one now operating near the Buffalo National River is these concerns are “what-if” scenarios. This response is like the cigarette companies’ long denial in the face of evidence that smoking causes lung cancer.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency states, “The sources of drinking water for an estimated 43 percent of the U.S. population have experienced pathogen contamination associated with industrial animal agriculture.”

North Carolina is the second largest hog producing state in the U.S. After numerous and massive fish kills, fish with sores on them, sores on fishermen and a decline in tourism on several rivers in North Carolina, the state Legislature declared a 10-year moratorium on the building of any new swine concentrated animal feeding operations that employed the manure lagoon and spray field method. The moratorium became law in 2007. Unfortunately, fish kills and violations continue there because the North Carolina Legislature did not phase out the existing 2,500 swine operations with manure lagoons and spray fields.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources documented the source of 259 of 329 spills from livestock (mostly swine) facilities in Iowa from 1992 through 2002. Confinements caused 69 percent of the spills.

Seventy-four were manure storage structure failures or overflows, 73 were equipment failures, 56 were incidents of uncontrolled runoff from open feedlots, and 43 spills were due to improper manure application and transportation accidents. In that same period more than 2.6 million fish were killed in Iowa, due to 108 of the 329 manure spills. (Iowa Public Policy Project, 2005)

An extensive 2½-year examination conducted by the Pew Commission on Industrialized Animal Production, released in 2008, clearly outlines the dangers of confined feeding operations. The current industrial farm animal production system “often poses unacceptable risks to public health, the environment and the welfare of the animals themselves.

Commissioners have determined that the negative effects of the … system are too great and the scientific evidence is too strong to ignore. Significant changes must be implemented and must start now. And while some areas of animal agriculture have recognized these threats and have taken action, it is clear that the industry has a long way to go.” (www.ncifap.org.) In 2013, Pew reasserted that the industry has along way to go.

These swine feeding operations are not good for our Natural State. The cost of monitoring, enforcing, and cleaning up after these operations, not to mention the ill affects on the nearby residents’ health and quality of life (also easily documented) is high.

These lagoon /sprayfield operations need to be phased out and new ones not allowed anywhere in our state and especially in sensitive watersheds such as the karst terrain of the Buffalo River Watershed.

GINNY MASULLO

Fayetteville

Opinion, Pages 5 on 01/07/2014