
Some of our chiefs made the claim that the land belongs to us. It is
not what the Great Spirit told me. He told me that the lands belong
to Hi, that no people own the land; that I was not to forget to tell
this to the white people when I met them in council.
Kannekuk,
Kickapoo Prophet, 1827, I have Spoken
Farmers often have a sense of entitlement. They've received subsidies from taxpayers for a long time (another issue) and consider themselves to be grandfathered in regards to pollution. Problem is that the farming operations of yesteryear are nothing like what's going on today and can't be compared. The odor from these CAFO's are not typical ag. odor. It makes you retch and fumes are proven toxic and detrimental to human health. Due to the unhealthy conditions at these CAFO's the animals have to be kept on antibiotics and their feed is loaded with growth hormones. Typical ag? I think not. The antibiotics they are fed are unleashed into the environment contributing to resistance rendering them useless to modern medicine. The animals are crowded indoors, forced to live in an unnatural, wretched, dirty environment. Pigs have a social order and are unable to comply with basic instinct in these conditions. Why is it dogs are treated so well by humans and pigs tortured? Pigs are intelligent. Liquid manure applied in large quantities is too susceptible to run off and pollution. Compost does not have that vulnerability and odor is not a problem.
Some will say CAFO's are an improvement over past practices. Depends on which past practices you're speaking of. I've visited hog farms with no odors at all. The pigs are romping around happy and playing and sleeping in straw which becomes compost. They are soaking in the sun and breathing fresh air. They're not being filled with a toxic brew of chemicals. Too bad some feel all animals don't deserve to be comfortable for their artificially shortened life. I guess anything goes for a quick profit.
No one has suggested taking away land owned by others. When your money making venture infringes unfairly on your neighbors you're taking away their rights. In this case it's the right to clean fresh air and clean water not fouled unnecessarily. Love of the land and polluting it aren't compatible.