Red Cliff Ojibwe explain opposition to 26,000-pig feeding operation
[Updated from 11:23 a.m., Sunday, March 20 and 3:48 p.m., Tuesday, March 22nd., with photos, text and video at this site.]
Those of you interested in the possible location of an outsized 26,000-pig feeding operation
in Bayfield County, Wisconsin that is within smelling distance of Lake Superior, Chequamegon Bay and its gorgeous clean waters - -
Because of the pdf format I can't grab the posted photos which show flooded barns and caged animals' 24/7/365 confined conditions elsewhere, but these text excerpts begin to tell the story:
Those of you interested in the possible location of an outsized 26,000-pig feeding operation
in Bayfield County, Wisconsin that is within smelling distance of Lake Superior, Chequamegon Bay and its gorgeous clean waters - -
Because of the pdf format I can't grab the posted photos which show flooded barns and caged animals' 24/7/365 confined conditions elsewhere, but these text excerpts begin to tell the story:
Red Cliff Resolution Opposes Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
On December 22 [2014], Tribal Council passed a resolution
stating that the Red Cliff Band stands in opposition to
the establishment of Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs) on the Red Cliff Reservation,
within Bayfield County, and within Ceded Territory...
A facility of this scale will impose a slurry of negative
stresses, strains, risks, and consequences upon the local community, economy, and environment. CAFOs
literally feed off of a broken national food system that
stands dependent upon unsustainable federal subsidy
programs, polluting and destructive technologies, imbalanced distribution, and unethical labor and animal
welfare practices.
Plus, everybody poops, even pigs. CAFO pigs poop over the grated floor upon which they spend their entire lives. The poop drains into what are called manure lagoons. A swine CAFO produces about 1.3 million gallons of animal waste a year. As people who already live beside CAFOs can attest, manure lagoons stink.
Plus, everybody poops, even pigs. CAFO pigs poop over the grated floor upon which they spend their entire lives. The poop drains into what are called manure lagoons. A swine CAFO produces about 1.3 million gallons of animal waste a year. As people who already live beside CAFOs can attest, manure lagoons stink.
Neighbors of existing swine CAFOs report noxious
odors cause headaches, diarrhea, runny nose, sore
throat, burning eyes, and reduced quality of life.
There are other problems with the manure. In an “ideal” system, manure is retained for six to twelve months to allow for residual antibiotics and pathogens to break down before the manure is spread on farm fields to be used as fertilizer. If improperly applied, the manure applications saturate storm-water runoff with nutrient levels in such excess as to be toxic to natural systems.
Even with the best intentions and most careful management practices, extreme precipitation events, as are predicted to increase with climate change, can cause the manure lagoons to overflow and contaminate groundwater. Great Lakes watersheds with similar large-scale livestock developments, such as Green Bay, Wisconsin and Toledo, Ohio, have experienced increases in algal blooms, beach closures, and the development of dead zones like that found in the Gulf of Mexico where agricultural runoff is concentrated in waters from the Mississippi River.
Pollution will affect local quality of life, and it will negatively impact the tourism industry that Bayfield County depends upon. “Sailing on the winds of swine stink” and “swimming lakes of poo” don’t quite cut it as slogans ripe with tourist appeal...
There are other problems with the manure. In an “ideal” system, manure is retained for six to twelve months to allow for residual antibiotics and pathogens to break down before the manure is spread on farm fields to be used as fertilizer. If improperly applied, the manure applications saturate storm-water runoff with nutrient levels in such excess as to be toxic to natural systems.
Even with the best intentions and most careful management practices, extreme precipitation events, as are predicted to increase with climate change, can cause the manure lagoons to overflow and contaminate groundwater. Great Lakes watersheds with similar large-scale livestock developments, such as Green Bay, Wisconsin and Toledo, Ohio, have experienced increases in algal blooms, beach closures, and the development of dead zones like that found in the Gulf of Mexico where agricultural runoff is concentrated in waters from the Mississippi River.
Pollution will affect local quality of life, and it will negatively impact the tourism industry that Bayfield County depends upon. “Sailing on the winds of swine stink” and “swimming lakes of poo” don’t quite cut it as slogans ripe with tourist appeal...
The Treaty Natural Resources Division prioritizes
maintaining access to sustainable traditional foods
such as wild rice, fish, game, and maple syrup. The
Red Cliff Community Farm promotes local production
and distribution of local, sustainably raised produce.
Red Cliff is enmeshed in a larger community that
thrives because of its commitment to small-scale, diversified, local agriculture. Red Cliff’s opposition to
CAFOs is a demonstration of our commitment to community and environmental resiliency built upon sound
ethics and agricultural practices.
1 comment:
Not to mention the city of Ashland's intake pipe for its municipal water supply is located within the same bay as the manure-tainted discharge. This is a totally BAD idea!!! How did it get so far, already?
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