Pig Odor causing Big Stink between GOP and Iowa

[firedupdem]

I have to say I would have laughed at this before I smelled it myself! Phew!!



DES MOINES, Iowa - On Capitol Hill, a $1.7 million earmark for pig odor research in Iowa has become a big, fat joke among Republicans, a Grade A example of pork. But the people who live cheek by jowl with hog farms in the No. 1 pig-producing state aren't laughing.

They're gagging.

"You hold your breath and when it's really bad you get the taste in your mouth," said Carroll Harless, a 70-year-old retired corn-and-soybean farmer from Iowa Falls.

In Iowa, where the 20 million hogs easily outnumber the 3 million people, the rotten-egg-and-ammonia smell of hog waste often wafts into homes, landing like a punch to the chest.

"Once, we couldn't go outside for a week," said Karen Forbes, who lives near a hog feedlot outside Lorimor. "It burned your eyes. You couldn't breathe. You had to take a deep breath and run for your garage. It was horrid."

snip

Despite the ridicule from Sen. John McCain and other Republicans, Iowa and the federal government have been studying how to control hog odors for years. The latest grant continues efforts under way at the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture labs in Ames, Iowa.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, inserted the earmark.

"While we will likely hear about it on Jay Leno or the Letterman show, where they will be yukking it up, it's a profoundly serious challenge," he said. He said the idea is to help the pork industry go about its business "in an environmentally friendly way and be good neighbors."

snip
Come take a whiff, Harkin says
To those who make light of the smell, Harkin extended an open invitation: Come to Iowa and take a whiff.

"We could probably quadruple the money going into research if we got some of these people to tour areas where these large hog confinements are going up," the senator said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29534876/wid/18298287/?Gt1=45002

[KamaAina]

1. Repukes can't smell pig odor

for the same reason you can't smell your own B.O. They've acclimated to it. :P

[firedupdem]

Even with a tour, they would feel right at home!

I moved here to Nebraska last summer from the burbs of Detroit. One of those trucks with pigs on it was at a stop light next to me. I actually became physically ill. The smell is something I never want to experience again. I was truly sick from it. I can't imagine being near it everyday. Awful...but they love their GOP around here.

[alarimer]

2. It's an air quality issue.

It's not just the smell; it's whatever pollutants they also produce (methane is a greenhouse gas).

And certainly people who ever smelled pig farms (they seem to smell worse than cows do) will say this is no joke.

[opihimoimoi]

3. Answer is simple...but has a cost....which explains why its not solved yet...

have all waste go into tanks for processing = methane gas to run hot water/cooking/electricity/and burn off excess

viola, no smell and more cheap energy....

WTF is taking so long??

and the left over is fertilizer for the corn crops to keep the pigs fed.

[MineralMan]

4. Too expensive. Such systems make pig farming

uneconomical. The answer is to move pig farms away from residential areas.

[notadmblnd]

10. If I'm not mistaken, it's the neighborhoods that go up around farms

people just don't take up farming in the middle of a suburb. Maybe the answer is to not develop farmland and let people make do with the cities and suburbs that already exist?

[MineralMan]

26. True enough. Pig farms and airports. Then, the newbies

whine and complain about the smell and noise. Hmph!

[Obamanaut]

28. Removed - same thing was posted whilst I was typing. nt

[MattBaggins]

43. Pure shit doesn't compost

it needs an aggregate to be mixed in. Sticking something in a sealed tank just gets you a dangerous toxic sludge.

[eleny]

5. I'm glad the pig poop is hitting the GOP fan...

[DoBotherMe]

6. Hog farmers carry the smell with them

Iowan here. You know what they do cuz the smell permeates their clothes and wafts in their wake. It'll make you gag and your eyes water. It is truly a toxic odor. Dana ; )

[ddeclue]

8. Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about the B.O. in Jerry's car.nt

[Canuckistanian]

32. I knew a pig farmer once

He always used special clothes to work with the pigs. And those clothes were NEVER allowed in the house.

He even had a special shed that he used to get changed in.

[ddeclue]

7. I'll see you your pig farm and raise you one chicken farm

I used to live in rural TN where they had these huge chicken "farms" and OMG did it smell bad...from hundreds of yards away going down the road with the windows up and the air OFF.

:puke:

[Critters2]

40. Yep. I lived 6 miles from an egg mega-farm...12 million laying hens.

Six miles away, and when the wind was out of the South in the summer, I couldn't be in my backyard for the smell.

[Kalyke]

9. Rush Limbaugh moved to Iowa?

I didn't know that!

:think:

[notadmblnd]

11. I know there's a joke in here about Rush somewhere?

:shrug:

[ComtesseDeSpair]

12. They should put that money towards vegetarian education...

Why cover-up the smell? That stink might make people realize the crime that we're committing against our fellow animals. Mass murder isn't pretty. It doesn't smell nice. It isn't supposed to.

[jwirr]

13. Just a little background. This was not such a big issue when small

farmers had a hog or two for their own use or even raised a few for sale. What has caused this problem is farming solely for the market. Many farmers have a lot of hogs confined in smaller areas and that is causing a smell that makes life for anyone who lives near that area miserable. It is not an earmark to help the farmers only - we buy that pork at the market. The smell also attracts bugs that create a very unhealthy situation.

[SmileyRose]

14. Let the GOP stop it and see if they ever win another IOWA caucus

In the meantime, it would seem simple to scatter a whole bunch of little pig farms around rather than have one huge pig farm. ????

[DoBotherMe]

16. It's an industry supported by big Ag

we're trying to help the small farmer, but big Ag runs the show. Most Iowans are happy with the cutoff of farm subsidies from the fed ... we're hoping big Ag will decline and we have a return to family farming on a sustainable scale. It's doable, we've done it before. Granddaughter of family farmers, Dana ; )

[Tashca]

15. Based on the responses

It would appear most of you agree with the GOP on this one??

I guess Democratic Senator Harkin was grabbing too much PORK????

Just trying to understand based on the article.....

[DoBotherMe]

18. I'm for the study...if it proves hog feedlots

are definitely a public safety issue, we might be able to regulate the industry more easily (and into extinction). These factory farms are immoral. Dana ; )

[Tashca]

22. I don't disagree

But the funding was targeted toward reducing smell.

Most of the hogs raised in this area are large family farmers. You are probably right....they will be regulated out of business. Instead I suspect in the future much of the hog production will be moved out of area's people live in and into open areas.. or more likely south of the border.

[DoBotherMe]

30. Doubt it. It will be too expensive

to transport commodities such long distances in the future, nor will Americans trust food safety standards of poorly run corrupt countries. Most food production will have to be local and sustainable. Iowa is a central bounty of land, water, sunshine, able agrarians and progressive thinkers. And if the study finds that reducing the smell means reducing the concentration of hogs, the factory farms will have to comply. Dana ; )

[Tashca]

33. I should have been clearer

What makes the hog market or most any agricultural market go is supply and demand.
Much of our pork is exported....

South America already is the worlds leader in soybean production and is now ramping up corn production. They will be a major grain leader.......and the way you add value to grain is feeding it too livestock.

besides.....isn't most of our fast food beef now from Argentina???....I know a good percentage is. No reason they can't do the same with any other type of meat. There is no country of origin labeling here.....how would we know? I think most Americans care less where their food comes from.

Now if you want to talk about country of origin labeling for all food....I'm all about that. Then we can talk about changing agriculture in Iowa or anywhere in the country. But the way the system currently is if this is not addressed the industry will perish here and thousands of jobs with it. That is what this Harkin amendment is about.

[flvegan]

17. Wonder what their drinking water is like.

Simplest solution, really would be to stop eating them. But then, bacon does taste good, so fuck 'em.

:popcorn:

[Karenina]

21. What? No mention of the groundwater contamination

from the HUGE waste pits? GERMS!!!! :puke:

[radfringe]

19. step 1 - get a small sample of pig poop

step 2 - put it in a jar

step 3 - go to your favorite NOPer

step 4 - open jar

[Pharlo]

20. I would never mock something like this

As has been stated, pig refuse stinks. It's right up there with chicken refuse. I have never lived near a corporate chicken or pig farm, but when local farmers cleaned out pig stys or chicken coops, you could ALWAYS tell - for miles around. From a rural agrarian standpoint, only one odor was worse - spreading of human waste. Fortunately, that is now injected (minimum of six inches) into the fields and only during small windows in the spring or fall - at least around here.

Personally, I sympathize with the individuals who live near corporate farms. Keep in mind, not everyone living near one of these facilities moved there after the 'farm' went up. Quite a few people lived there before the corporations moved into the area.

[orwell]

23. As someone who used to work in a pork processing plant...

...I gave up eating pork years ago.

If people saw what went on in those "FDA inspected" plants they would no longer eat any factory meat.

[firedupdem]

38. After I smelled that truck I didn't eat pork for a couple of months...

I am back on the bacon now but I'm sure you could tell me something to make me stop again...:(
:scared:

[wackywaggin]

24. Pig odor as an energy alternative!!

They are studying the collection of pig odor as a natural energy source along with their poop, so this is really part of an alternative energy plan.

[Tashca]

25. This has everything to do...

With the city cousins being able to live at peace with their country cousins. Smell is the biggest issue right now. If this issue isn't resolved their will be thousands of jobs on the line. Even though this is about pork....it is not pork barrel spending and is a very serious issue.

[Critters2]

41. It isn't about city vs country. It's about big ag versus family farms.

Most of the CAFOs are in rural counties, away from cities...Wright County, Franklin County, Hamilton County, etc. The issue is letting people who do not work in the CAFOs breathe fresh, safe air. Big ag forces these CAFOs on small communities, insisting there is no other option for the continued economic life of these areas. But those communities are fighting back, with health regs to attack the CAFOs and small family farms, organic farms, and CSAs. Thanks to Republicans like Terry Branstad and Stewart Iverson, these counties are forced to live with the smells and pollution from the CAFOs.

Most people in cities, even in Iowa, have no idea what effect the factory farms have on rural communities.

[Tashca]

44. The article is about hog odor and

funding to help try and eliminate this pervasive problem.

I absolutely do not want a city versus country to happen. This would be destructive for the state of Iowa. I believe this is what Senator Tom Harkin is attempting to do. I think he is trying to help prevent potential problems down the road. I'm not sure it can be done.

Now.....on the other hand. I completely agree with your assessment of Former Governor Braindead. His idea of economic development in the eighties and nineties was prisons and massively expanding hog production with little or no regulation. It was an utter disaster. I do think things have been very much improved the last ten years with regulation and enforcement improving and still a long way to go. The north central part of the state you mention was hit hardest because of it's ability to produce large amounts of quality grain, also some of the cheapest grain in the state, and lower population. I have only worked in Eastern Iowa, Southeast Iowa, Western Illinois, and Central Illinois. I can not speak for the situation in the area you mention. I just know that in all these other areas I am only familiar with family farms.....granted they are large. I'm not sure of your definition of Big Ag. Maybe some of these families fit that.

Even if we can regulate these Big Ag people out of business with things like eliminating vertical integration......we will still have an odor problem to deal with.

[Critters2]

45. Any CAFO is a bad CAFO.

The purpose of factory farms is to concentrate as many hogs (or chickens) in as small a space as possible for the purpose of employing as few people as possible in running the "farm". This effort to employ few people, and underpay them whenever possible (hence the epidemic employment of undocumented workers) undermines the local economies of rural communities. Smaller farms using more natural methods (like the wacky idea of letting animals outdoors once in a while) would be better for everyone--neighboring communities, workers, animals and the environment. Of course, people who insist on eating meat at every meal would have to actually pay what it costs to raise those animals, but that would be good, too. Less meat would be eaten, and/or workers would be paid a living wage, which would bring more money into the communities that have been damaged by your friends' "family farms".

DeCoster and Sparboe both claim to be "family-owned businesses". I have trouble calling a 12-building laying hen CAFO a "family farm". But that's me.

[Tashca]

46. Believe it or not

I'm pretty much in agreement with you on some of these issues.

Like i said.....the article is about odor and Harkin trying to help control it....and the GOP using it as something to make the Democratic party look stupid....I'm just trying to defend Tom for what he is doing. Obviously I do not agree with the GOP on this.

As far as my friends....yes some have been family friends for more than a couple of generations...so yes I find myself defending my friends.....they really are not bad people. But that's me...

[Critters2]

47. They are evil. I've seen what your friends are doing to animals,

workers, the environment and rural communities. All for the love of money. Factory farms are indefensible.

[Tashca]

48. evil???

WOW!!!!.....and you ma'am are a very judgmental person.

Goodnight...

[Critters2]

49. Yes, evil. Anyone who cares so little for their fellow living creatures

is, by definition, evil.

[malletgirl02]

27. Republicans and the Heartland

You know how Republicans are always saying Democrats are out of touch with the heartland? With this situation it seems the Republicans are the ones out of touch.

[damntexdem]

29. As bad as pig macrofarms smell, the GOP smells worse.

Hopefully not just Iowans but many others in the 'heartland' will take that to heart in their land.

[Canuckistanian]

31. Can't they process it and extract the methane for fuel?

I hear farmers in the EU are doing it and generating electricity at the same time.

[Fleshdancer]

34. Perhaps this is natures way of saying 20 million hogs shouldn't live in one state

:wow:

My condolences to the people of Iowa. This sounds brutal. :scared:

[HillWilliam]

35. There is nothing on this great, green earth worse than

pigshit. Magnify that by commercial, industrial-sized hog farms. That's a monumental problem. NC has already had some disasters with pigshit lagoons breaking loose and polluting fields and streams.

I was raised in the country. I live in the country now. We had a chicken house and we had a hog. I'll take a chicken farm any day. An industrial beef operation is bad enough. An industrial pig operation is mindblowing, gut-wrenching, ear-exploding, megastrength STANK. Odor control is no laughing matter. The waste is more than plentiful, not terribly useful for anything, and a bigger problem than most folks realize.

Cowshit can make useful fertilizer. Pigshit isn't the same and it's a million times more vile-smelling.

[Critters2]

42. Chicken shit is WAAAAY worse. Trust me. nt

[smiley]

36. From the title of this post...

I thought this was going to be another Rush Limbaugh thread.:rofl:

[firedupdem]

37. Ha ha!

:spank:

[Critters2]

39. I once complained to my IA state senator about the state's dependence

on factory farms, and the problems they create. He replied, "Look, people in New Jersey want their bacon and eggs...a LOT of bacon and eggs."

I wish people in New Jersey and Washington, DC would think about where their meat comes from, and the effect the meat industry has on rural states.