Local Commentaries
(2011-07-11)
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Heather McIlvaine-Newsad
The proposed construction of Shamrock Acres, a large concentrated animal feeding operation or CAFO in rural McDonough County has resulted in a democratic renaissance like no other.
Proponents of CAFOs argue that the animals are treated ethically, communities benefit economically, and that CAFOs pose no significant health risk to the environment or the people who live nearby. CAFO owners and operators claim that their arguments are based on "sound science," pointing to "the support of the USDA, state departments of agriculture, and the agricultural universities as clear and compelling evidence that science had validated the legitimacy of CAFOs."
At the same time, these corporations label the opponents of CAFOs as emotional, unscientific, and uninformed.
Rural residents of McDonough County should be relieved to know that to the contrary their concerns are in fact "confirmed by the predominance of scientific evidence." Scientists not directly involved in industrial agriculture have been studying the public health impacts of CAFOs and sociologists and anthropologists have been documenting the detrimental social and economic changes that result after a CAFO is established in a rural community.
On Tuesday, July 12th at 5:30pm a "public information" meeting will be held in the Sandburg Theatre at WIU. Those attending the meeting should be aware that proponents of Shamrock Acres will probably not "go so far as to deny the possibility of risks associated with CAFOs" but instead "will most likely claim there is no credible scientific evidence linking CAFOs directly to specific environmental or public health risks." They will most likely claim that the incidents brought forth by concerned citizens are the result of a few rouge operators and in no way reflect the industry as a whole.
Ultimately, the responsibility for protecting the health of the environment and rural peoples falls on the backs of rural communities themselves. Without the rise in political activism big corporations are going to be free to do as they please.
You see, CAFOs are not an isolated event. They are indicative of the challenges facing our entire nation. Whether you live in the South Bronx or Industry, Illinois big corporations are attempting to dictate what your community will look like.
As John Ikerd, Emeritus Professor from the University of Missouri writes, "in this time of crisis, rural people must reclaim their fundamental rights to self-defense and self-determination and join in a new revolution to restore grassroots democracy."
Let's not let our elected officials mirror the mindset of those in neighboring Iowa, when in October 2010 Gubernatorial Candidate Terry Brandstad argued "that the state will never allow local governments to decide whether large-scale animal confinement operations can be built in their areas."
Let's see if our elected officials have the backbone to stand up to big industry and represent their constituents.
In the words of Bob Dylan,
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call,
Don't stand in the doorway,
Don't block the hall,
For he that gets hurt,
Will be he who has stalled,
There's a battle outside and it is ragin,
It'll soon shake your windows,
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin."
Heather McIlvaine-Newsad is a Professor of Anthropology at Western Illinois University. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of WIU or Tri States Public Radio
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