February 24, 2011

Senator Dan Kapanke
Room 3 South
PO Box 7882
Madison , WI 53707-7882

Dear Senator Kapanke,

First, on behalf of Crawford Stewardship Project, I want to congratulate you on your appointment to the Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The agricultural diversity of this region of the state points to the need to keep that diversity a focus of our state agricultural policies.

Unfortunately, the state livestock siting law, written by the CAFO industry, overrides local diverse agricultural and other economic decision-making. Since we have the largest organic producers co-op in the country, Organic Valley, right here in our state, we could offer the entire country an example of policies in our state that support sustainable, medium size farms, employ people who already live here, which ties directly into tourism, another of our state’s economic strengths. Instead, despite the examples from across the country (and now unfortunately here in our own state) of the water pollution and reduced quality of life as a direct result of the concentrated industrialized agriculture industry, our policy makers have chosen that same route for our rural landscape.

Here in your part of the state, diversity is key. Just how well would the fall apple orchard tourism industry do here in Crawford County if a CAFO moved in next door? No one would drive to buy apples in a place that smelled of millions of gallons of liquid manure being spread right during the apple season. We are a place of incredible trout streams. Put CAFOs near by and another tourist industry goes belly up. No one is fishing in many of the waterways of Iowa anymore. I live near the Mississippi River, with all of its many outdoor recreational possibilities for both the locals and travelers alike. Cover the ridges above and valleys within with CAFOs, and again, we have destroyed a wonderful place.

Communities absolutely need to have the right to choose our economic directions. This should not be considered a radical idea. It is basic common sense. We don’t give special rights to other economic ventures, so why do we give special rights and consideration to one narrow sector of the agricultural economy at the expense of other farmers and farm related business? Because they have the money and the lobbyists, it looks like to us in rural Wisconsin . I appreciate the question, “Do we want a state of 100 operations with 10,000 cows, or do we want a state of 10,000 farms with 100 cows or 5,000 farms with 200 cows? It is our state and federal farm policies that make this decision for us.

I’ve attached a summary of the book, “CAFO: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories”, edited by Daniel Imhoff. The summary, “3 Lies Big Food Wants you to Believe…”succinctly points to price, efficiency, and food quality as major issues with this model. In particular, please read “Lie #2: Industrial Food is Efficient”. We have examples the state over of wonderful farming options, innovations, and abilities. We should be using those rather than inviting CAFO owners from across the country and the world where more stringent laws have been passed after their water and rivers are polluted, such as Iowa, or are running out of water, such as California. We need to learn from what has happened elsewhere instead of following the same route. The link for the article is:

http://www.alternet.org/food/148542/3_lies_big_food_wants_you_to_believe_and_the_truth_behind_factory-%27farmed%27_meat?page=entire

Thank you for considering my comments for the supporters of Crawford Stewardship Project.

Edie Ehlert
Crawford Stewardship Project