Re: Industrial Agriculture and sustaining increase carrying capacity of the ...

[Human...@aol.com]

Don't forget to say "sweet dreams" just before you kill little Porky.  And while you are grilling the pork chops don't forget to remember Porky growing up and all the times you feed it and patted it on the head and said "good boy".  And all them times that Porky followed you around the place like a dog.

 

J.

 

Hi y'all - some good stuff there. I have thought of keeping pigs. I
guess it comes down to the free range versus factory farming issue. I
know which chicken/turkeys I like best, but the price must be paid - I
think it is one that we can (should) afford.

On Nov 19, 1:26 pm, Tom <ssoitg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Besides the main court case information I guess I should have included
> something on why industrial hog farming can be a negative thing and what are
> the alternatives.
>
> First off, if your neighbor put 65,000 pigs in next door, the first thing
> you might notice is a certain smell.  A clothespin attached to the nose may
> help a bit :-).
>
> *Current industrial agriculture practices are temporarily increasing
> the carrying
> capacity <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrying_capacity> of the Earth for
> humans while slowly destroying the **long term carrying capacity of the
> earth for humans necessitating a shift to a sustainable
> agriculture<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_agriculture>form
> of industrial agriculture. This is a continuation of thousands of
> years
> of the invention and use of technologies in feeding ever growing
> populations.*
> from Wikipedia
>
> The major challenges and issues faced by society concerning industrial
> agriculture include:
>
> Maximizing the benefits:
>
>    - Cheap and plentiful food
>    - Convenience for the consumer
>    - The contribution to our economy on many levels, from growers to
>    harvesters to processors to sellers
>
> while minimizing the downsides:
>
>    - Environmental and social costs
>    - Damage to fisheries
>    - Cleanup of surface and groundwater polluted with animal waste
>    - Increased health risks from pesticides
>    - Increased ozone pollution and global warming from heavy use of fossil
>    fuels[10]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_agriculture#cite_note-society-9>
>
> (From Wikipedia)
>
> My premise is that while I am a huge proponent of science and technology, I
> think some industrial scale agribusiness has abused technology (eg huge
> numbers of animals in unhealthy toxic condition, constantly shot with
> antibiotics to keep them alive) while ignoring the environmental impact and
> leaving others to pick up the long term costs.
>
> Regarding industrial scale hog farming in particular, there are many
> problems in putting huge numbers of pigs in a very small and unheathy
> environment.  I will mention two very important ones:
>
> 1.pound for pound, pigs general 5 times the excrement of a human being.
>
> So putting tens of thousands of pigs in a small area requires a great deal
> of care in sewage treatment, ventilation, etc. Industrial farms have huge
> lagoons of this stuff that, if not adequately protected can leach into the
> local groundwater, just like an unprotected toxic waste dump could.
>
> A safe system that would protect the health of the pigs and the environment
> around the farms would cost a lot of money.  Human nature being what it is,
> most farmers are more concerned with short term profitability, and allow
> their neighbors and country to pick up the tab for the long term
> environmental costs.
>
> *In 24 states in the U.S., isolated cases of groundwater
> contamination<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater_contamination>has
> been linked to [Factory Farms]. For
> example, the ten million hogs in North Carolina generate 19 million tons of
> waste per year. The U.S. federal government acknowledges the waste
> disposal<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_disposal>issue and
> requires that animal
> waste <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_waste> be stored in
> lagoons<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manure_lagoon>.
> These lagoons can be as large as 7.5 acres (30,000 m2). Lagoons not
> protected with an impermeable liner can leak waste into groundwater under
> some conditions, as can runoff from manure spread back onto fields as
> fertilizer in the case of an unforeseen heavy rainfall. A lagoon that burst
> in 1995 released 25 million gallons of nitrous sludge in North Carolina's
> New River. The spill allegedly killed eight to ten million fish.
> See:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_agriculture#Criticism_of_fact...
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_agriculture#cite_note-17>
> 2. Pigs are very close to humans including the ease of disease transmission
> between them.*
>
> H1N1 is thought to have come from an industrial hog farm outside of Mexico
> city.
>
> Alternatives:
> Spread out the pig population to the point where the environment can absorb
> the excrement and the health of the pigs can be naturally maintained.
> See also:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_agriculture
> Tom
>
> On Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 4:10 PM, Clogtowner <clogtow...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi y'all - did you miss out a link to this? I'm interested in what
> > alternatives were proposed.
>
> > On Nov 17, 3:59 pm, Tom <ssoitg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Don't know if any of you are concerned on environmental issues, but we
> > had a
> > > win in court yesterday concerning industrial hog farms in Western KY.  Of
> > > concern is 16 million+ gallons of pig excrement a year.  These farms are
> > > literally right on the TN border and could potentially affect the West TN
> > > aquifer.
>
> > > The game is played as follows:
> > > This millionaire Tosh subcontracts the pig farms to other farmers under
> > an
> > > very exacting agreement.  What happens is that Tosh gets the money, while
> > > assuming none of the responsibility for whatever environmental disaster
> > > there is long term.
>
> > > Sweet deal.  And with  the state environmental cabinet protection head
> > and
> > > former Gov as friends..
>
> > > Luckily many individuals came together to fight it.  Many have
> > contributed
> > > thousands of dollars to the legal costs to bring this suit.  Of course,
> > > there are millions of dollars being made so it's an uphill battle.
>
> > > Tosh WILL be responsible
> > > It nice to see some people get together and have a real impact on their
> > > homes and the environment...
>
> > > Of course the State's environmental cabinet will appeal.. even the
> > > Democratic administration wants a "business friendly" environment.
>
> > > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > > From: nandgnett <nandgn...@bellsouth.net>
> > > Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 12:17 PM
> > > Subject: Fw: Courier Journal article about the river county hog
> > lawsuit/win
> > > To: Undisclosed recipient <nandgn...@bellsouth.net>
>
> > > Cc: Mike Tierney <mtfurnit...@cs.com>
>
> > > Subject: Courier Journal article about the river county hog lawsuit/win
>
> > >  http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009911160372
>
> > > > --
> > > > Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is.
> > > > -   Anonymous
>
> > --
>
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