Mega-farms in Ohio offer stench but little else to communities

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Mega-farms in Ohio offer stench but little else to communities

 

The Plain Dealer examines the effects of eight giant hog farms built

in Paulding County, Ohio, since 1994 and five mega-dairies since

2000, and comes away with a grim cautionary tale. A number of local

families have fled from their homes, some unable to live with the

stench from open manure pits, others because the hydrogen sulfide

emitted by the pits has caused brain damage, they and their doctors

say. Three of the massive dairies have also violated the Clean Water

Act, according to the U.S. EPA. And what do local communities get in

return for hosting these stinking factory farms? Not much. The

farms buy only 1 percent of their feed from local grain farmers.

They also provide few jobs, and the ones they do offer pay about

$7.50 an hour and are largely filled by Mexican migrants.

Nevertheless, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Fred Dailey

says the farms are welcome: " In Ohio, they're all family farms. "

 

straight to the source: The Plain Dealer, Fran Henry, 27 Nov 2004

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