One pork bill should have been passed
The following is a Counterpoint.
By Deborah M. Johnson
The North Carolina Pork Council (NCPC) and our members were greatly disappointed that proposed legislation which would have sustained the economic vitality of our state’s pork industry failed to become law in the General Assembly’s recent session.
Our members are producers and good neighbors who care about the environment, animal well-being and being responsible business partners in North Carolina.
We have worked very hard to build an industry that has a major impact on our state’s economy, producing almost $7 billion in annual sales, more than $2 billion in annual income and more than 46,000 full-time jobs, or more full-time jobs than the entire Research Triangle Park provides.
This important legislation was designed to ensure that North Carolina’s pork producers continue to have the means to support their families and provide good jobs.
Much has been said and written about HB 822, but in reality it would have accomplished three fairly simple but important things to help producers maintain what they have worked so hard to build:
· Allow producers to rebuild in the same location if their operations are destroyed by fire or other acts of God.
· Allow producers to enhance their animal welfare practices by expanding barns to provide more room for pregnant pigs.
· Let producers make reasonable changes to their barns to allow them to respond to market changes and stay in business.
It is important to note that these proposed changes would not result in any buildings being closer to the nearest property boundary than today, nor would these changes move any hog lagoons or make them larger. We look forward to working with the General Assembly next year to accomplish these worthy goals on behalf of our members.
The writer is chief executive officer, North Carolina Pork Council.
Comments (2)
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Allow me to translate:
"· Allow producers to rebuild in the same location if their operations are destroyed by fire or other acts of God."
When a hurricane causes breaches in the lagoons we get to rebuild. Don't worry about the next hurricane! Or your water quality.
"· Allow producers to enhance their animal welfare practices by expanding barns to provide more room for pregnant pigs."
We'll expand the barns, all right. Then we'll add more pregnant sows while keeping their spaces the same size!
"· Let producers make reasonable changes to their barns to allow them to respond to market changes and stay in business."
We'll "change" our barns, all right. Bigger barns for more pigs, and bigger lagoons (see above).
Pork, indeed! Look, expanding your industry is fine, just do it honestly.
Posted on August 1, 2008 9:56 AM
Your editorial is indicative of the kind of "spin" the hog industry has been spewing out for years.
HB 822 that you refer to was a complete shame from the beginning. Not just the contents of the bill, but the way Sen. Albertson worked to railroad the bill through the Senate Agriculture Committee and through the Senate. Fortunately, his efforts came up short on the House side of the aisle, and the bill was temporarily put on hold. Thanks, House Speaker Hackney, for realizing the process was being abused.
The way Sen. Albertson, and some members of the Senate Ag Committee, ignored the input from the public prior to voting on the bill is borderline crominal and an abuse of power. This time, it didn't work. Makes you wonder how often it goes on undetected.
The proposals made in HB 822 were for no ones benefit but the hog industry. If you are so concerned with being "good neighbors", you would look differently at how you are dumping 19 million lbs of raw aste into the creeks and rivers of eastern NC. If you were "good neighbors", you would be a lot more conscientous of the toxins you are putting into the air that, as has been proven by scientific study, is having negative human health repercussions.
If you want to expand, get Joe Lueter, president of Smithfield Foods, to put some of his millions back into the industry to clean up our environment instead of continuing to post huge profits while our waters and our citizens continue to suffer.
This industry to to step up and accept responsibility for the damage they continue to do in NC. Then maybe we can talk about being "good neighbors".
Posted on August 1, 2008 1:50 PM