‘Factory Farms’ Take Heat - Lincoln (D-AR) sponsors bill to exempt manure from Superfund

by Aaron Sadler, Times Record, Ft Smith: Large-scale poultry operations in Arkansas generate health and environmental problems that outweigh any benefits, an environmental group claimed in a report released Tuesday. The state ranks third in the number of farms with 500,000 or more broiler chickens sold each year. Two northwest Arkansas counties - Benton and Washington - are in the top 10 counties nationwide, according to USDA data analyzed by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch. The private group lambasted the “factory farm” structure in rural areas across the nation. It claimed manure from large livestock and poultry operation pollutes air and water and poses a significant health risk to neighbors. . . .

Factory farms rely on poorly educated immigrants as workers, he said. “They end up straining the social services of the local community,” he said. “When you drill down and really look at the economic impact of industrial agriculture, it turns out to be a bit of a mirage in that there are costs that are not captured when you look at crude employment figures or overall economic productivity.” Food and Water Watch called for the Environmental Protection Agency to place a moratorium on construction of new factory farms.

The group opposes an effort in Congress to prevent animal waste from being considered a hazardous material under the federal Superfund law. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) is sponsor of a bill in the Senate to exempt manure from Superfund. She maintains that without the exemption, family farms could be subject to damaging lawsuits, and that research and development of manure as fuel might be held back. . . . [Read More]

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