Top 10 reasons for rural communities to be concerned about large-scale, corporate hog operations

By John Ikerd, Agricultural Economist, University of Missouri

Concern #10. Hogs stink.
Concern #9. The work is not good for people.
Concern #8. Piling up too much "stuff" in one place causes problems.
Concern #7. Consumers have little if anything to gain.
Concern #6. Continuing regulatory problems are inevitable.
Concern #5. Hog factories destroy public confidence in agriculture.
Concern #4. Future of the community is turned over to outside interests.
Concern #3. The decision making process can rip communities apart.
Concern #2. Hog factories degrade the productive capacities of rural people.
Concern #1. Tomorrow's problems are disguised as today's solutions.

The full article can be found at
http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/TOP10.html

About John Ikerd: John is emeritus professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri, where he was active from 1988 to his retirement in 2000. He coordinated the state’s Extension programs in sustainable agriculture. He championed on-farm research and critical evaluation of the impacts of farming systems on farm families and rural communities. Dr. Ikerd has spoken passionately and often to many groups since his retirement to improve understanding of, and support for, a “new agriculture” that brings life socially, economically and spiritually to rural North America.