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ALERT! April 23, 2006: Let’s Talk Turkeyby Jeanne MelchiorSometimes it seems that Indiana stops at Bloomington and everything South of that is another planet, especially the southeast and south-central parts. Many people think of southern Indiana as a place of forests and wide open farmland. Much of the Hoosier National Forest is located here, as is Patoka Lake, and many small Amish farms dot the area. But over the last two to three decades, rural southern Indiana has been developed almost beyond recognition. Larger animal feeding operations, as well as ubiquitous corn and soybeans as far as the eye can see have become an all too familiar sight along the many byways that lace the area. AK Steel made Spencer County one of the most polluted in the state in just 25 years, and air quality in Vanderburg and Dubois Counties doesn’t lag far behind. A behemoth of a casino is totally altering the once sleepy town of French Lick, and has already destroyed its old-world charm. Most of the property in the town has been sold or is for sale, and once the casino opens, there will be little left of what was once a nice little off the map tourist destination. So it’s no surprise that even more development is headed in that direction. Dubois County will be especially hard hit. Recent news items in local newspaper, The Herald described a proposed multi-million dollar expansion of Farbest Foods, Inc., a turkey processing plant located in Huntingburg, Indiana, highlighting many presumed benefits to the community. According to the article, this expansion would create 198 jobs, and would necessitate construction of over 50 new confined turkey housesin the region. The latest news item upped that number to 150-200 houses. No mention was made of any study that validated these supposed benefits, and no mention was made of the dark side of this proposed expansion, of the negative impacts to the community. In fact, no mention was made that these 198 jobs would be mostly low paying. Several important questions remain unexplored. First of all, no additional low paying jobs are needed in this community, much less the large number promised by this proposed expansion. According to recent statistics, Dubois County has one of the best unemployment rates in the state. In addition, already over 22% of the workers in Dubois County commute here from outside. More jobs would simply lead to increased air and water pollution, increased need for services, and loss of rural community. Not only are these jobs low paying, they are also some of the worst kinds of jobs anywhere. A 2005 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concluded that “US meat and poultry processing plants had ‘one of the highest rates of injury and illness of any industry.’” They cited exposure to ‘dangerous chemicals, blood, fecal matter, exacerbated by poor ventilation and often extreme temperatures.’ Workers typically face hazardous conditions, loud noise, must work in narrow confines with sharp tools and dangerous machinery.” In addition, according to a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) report entitled "Injury and Injustice--America's Poultry Industry" poultry industry profits have increased more than 300 percent while worker’s wages have remained flat, despite giant gains in productivity, with “real” wages the same as they were in 1979. No wonder statistics show that the average poultry worker supporting two children qualifies for food stamps, low-income energy assistance and the like. Secondly, this proposed expansion plan would also not be in the best interests of local farmers. As the UFCW points out, “Contract poultry growers work under a system that leaves over 71 percent of all growers earning below poverty level wages.” No one subsidizes infrastructure for farms. In fact, since typically turkey growers are independent contractors, they have to mortgage their farms to build the houses. Because mortgage payments are high and growing and selling conditions risky, farmers often wind up in financial trouble. When they don’t lose the land outright, they work basically as serfs on their own land. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average net cash farm business income for farm operator households in 2004 was $15,603. This report also noted that most farmers must work second jobs off the farm to make ends meet. Dubois County is already number one in turkey production in Indiana. And it has the highest number of (Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s) in the state. Often confinement houses are sited on land that is much better suited to other uses. Much of the agricultural land in the county is high quality, designated as prime farmland, suited to growing crops. The marginal areas are hilly, and best suited to forests. The county is already becoming overbuilt, and air and water quality are becoming increasingly big issues, in large part, due to animal waste. The fact is, that while manure is good in small quantities , in large quantities it is deadly. According to a report by the the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Patoka River, source of Jasper’s drinking water, has six times more E. coli (Escherichia coli) bacteria than the state allows. An Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) report entitled "Patoka River Basin 1996 Statistical Analysis" confirms that. Other pollutants also contaminate rivers. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report found that increasingly, antibiotics and hormones used in animal feedlots are showing up with other pharmaceuticals in the nation’s waterways. Although other studies have linked the rise of antibiotic resistant organisms in humans to antibiotic use in animal feedlots, the long term risks to human health from all this are still being calculated. According to a report entitled Water Quality Issues in Poultry and Processing, 2001-2005: “Nonpoint source pollution from animal waste runoff can reduce surface and groundwater quality by introducing excessive levels of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, and pathogens into the environment. In 114 watersheds studied throughout the U.S., excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphorus were derived primarily from excessive or irresponsible animal manure applications. With more and larger poultry operations confined to smaller areas of land, the likelihood of water contamination increases.” As for air pollution, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) reports: “Dust, pathogens, and flies from animal operations are also airborne emission concerns. Dust, a combination of manure solids, dander, feathers, hair, and feed, is very difficult to eliminate from animal production units.” A University of Kentucky (UK) study found that even when best management practices are used, these airborne contaminants are human health hazards. Dubois County air quality has recently been over the limit for particulates and according to many sources, has some of the dirtiest air in the United States. Given the probability of bird flu in the not too distant future, would it not be wise to limit the region’s reliance on poultry production? Do we really need new or expanded industries that foul our drinking water and stress our natural resources as well as threaten human health? Finally, the idea that all this will bring in more taxes that will “trickle down”, isn’t going to work either. According to the Herald articles, part of the financing for this expansion will come as a result of creating a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) zone. This is where the county designates an area, in this case, about 71.3 acres, into a “redevelopment” zone. Then any new taxes that the development generates go into paying for infrastructure in that zone. In essence, corporations get tax breaks in that the tax money they pay benefits them. Only the zone itself benefits—not the rest of the community. None of that tax money would be available for local schools, medical services, police, cleaning up the water, and the like. This is a conservative community. Yet plans for this expansion have gone largely unchallenged. And the pitfalls have gone unreported. Instead of offering a 1.4 million dollar incentive to an industry that offers no benefits and many problems to the county’s residents, the community needs to look all the ramifications of this before blindly accepting such a misguided plan. If an industry wants to expand, it should do so only after it has taken steps to insure that no harm will come to the community and its resources. And it should pay for any increased costs of infrastructure and services. We need leaders who will expect and demand this. Several years ago, then State representative Dennis Heeke made the claim that the future of southern Indiana lay in “turkeys, trash, and tourism”. He certainly seems to have been on the money on that one. Unfortunately, along with those things, because of those things, the quality of life is deteriorating. New highways, more and bigger industries, corporate farms, and overdeveloped tourist traps will destroy the way of life that makes southern Indiana a good place to live and visit. It’s time we begin to question the tactics of a few that would significantly reduce the quality of life for the people in this community and destroy a part of the state that is vital to those who don’t live here. --- Jeanne Melchior is president of Protect Our Woods, a Southern Indiana environmental advocacy group. She can be contacted by clicking her name, or via the Protect Our Woods website. RELATED LINKS: America's Animal Factories: How States Fail to Prevent Pollution from Livestock Waste (INDIANA) Bird Flu and Chicken Factory Farms: Profit Bonanza for US Agribusiness Environmental Assessment of Proposed Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products Industry Point Source Environmental Issues Affecting Poultry Production Mercury in Stream Ecosystems—New Studies Initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey Pharmaceuticals, Hormones, and Other Organic Wastewater Contaminants in U.S. Streams Restoring Economic Health to Contract Poultry Production South Fork of the Patoka River Watershed is the most heavily impacted watershed in Indiana Speech by Texas Farmers Union President Wes Sims on Family Farms and Contract Production USGS's National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Protect Our Woods
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