factory farm coming to a town near you

[Guest guest]

" Factory farms " -- huge, mechanized corporate operations -- are a far

cry from the American pastoral image (that little red barn on the

hill). But such farms are becoming ever more common, and not just in

the Midwest. In Pennsylvania, for example, large-scale hog farms

have doubled in the last decade, provoking environmental,

agricultural, and legal battles across the state. Those battles are

coming to a head in southwestern Pennsylvania's Belfast Township,

whose prohibition on corporate involvement in farms has been

challenged in court. Belfast says it's acting in the public interest

to protect the environment and small farmers; the industry, which

says factory farms are a modern, efficient way to meet consumer

demand, clams the township has no right to regulate farm ownership

and is unfairly discriminating against corporations.

 

straight to the source: Philadelphia Inquirer, Tom Avril, 18 Mar 2002

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do good: Take action to stop dirty hog farming

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