Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
“I am going to talk about water quality and the high levels of bac-
teria in our water. I am going to speak on behalf of those who still
want to go to a creek and go swimming but can't because there is
too much
E. coli
in it.” These are the words of Dwayne “Bill” Miller,
an Arkansas man, as he was preparing to testify at a hearing about
the impacts of CAFOs.
Based on the detrimental effects factory farms have on land,
water, air, public health, and quality of life in neighboring com-
munities, it is not surprising that they also impact local property
values. In fact, studies have shown substantial declines in prop-
erty values when residences are in close proximity to an industrial
animal production facility.
An article in the journal of the Appraisal Institute, an interna-
tional association of professional real estate appraisers, reports
that case studies show that “diminished marketability, loss of
use and enjoyment, and loss of exclusivity can result in a dimin-
ishment ranging from 50% to nearly 90% of otherwise unimpaired
value.” Researchers in Pennsylvania found that neighboring house
prices drop once the total live weight of confined animals exceeds
200,000 pounds. A study of five counties in north central Iowa de-
termined that nearby residences downwind of a confinement op-
eration may suffer a 10 percent drop in property value.
Neighbors aren't the only ones suffering from factory farms
and their industrial practices. Many independent family farms are
struggling to survive, unable to compete against these massive
operations. It's not uncommon for formerly independent farm-
ers to resort to contractual arrangements with large agribusiness
corporations.
Most of these farmers aren't bad people, but they've been sold
lies by these corporations, and now there's no getting out. Con-
sumers have also been sold lies about the “benefits” of industrial
animal agriculture.
