Field Trip

Progressive journalists Steven Higgs and AMber Kerezman over at The Bloomington Alternative have been traveling around CAFO land of late, and are sending back dispatches. First stop is local CAFO central, Randolph County:

Kathryn Petry and Loretta Miller are Randolph County farm citizens who, like Allen and Judy Hutchison, live daily with the byproducts of CAFOs, most significantly but not exclusively, the vast quantities of manure that these “factory farms” produce. Seated on her plush sofa next to Miller, a CAFO visible just outside the window, Petry explained the factory farm system.

Surrounded by factory farms

Amber is blogging her experiences:

There is a lot I’ve yet to learn about Indiana’s environment and the government’s role in it all. But my naivete doesn’t frighten me. Hopefully, it affords me a clear perspective. I hope environmental veterans and newcomers alike will join the “Indiana Environment Revisited” journey with Steve and me as I become disheartened, angry, numb or whatever my reaction is ultimately.

I can say I’ve already begun to size up the farms I pass on State Road 37, though there is only one CAFO in Morgan County and none in Monroe. I’m also working toward keeping my pork consumption to an all-time low, though it rarely graces my plate as it is. Without having a knee-jerk reaction, I want to be more aware of the products I consume and where they come from. It’s a good exercise for me. But I can’t help thinking about the permanent infringement CAFOs represent for the Rex and Brenda Jones’s of rural Indiana. Talk about an invasion.

CAFOs in the morning, CAFOs at night

Amber talked about meeting local water advocate Barbara Sha Cox, among many other local folks. Be sure to stay tuned.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm and is filed under CAFO, CAFOs!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.