What Does Agribusiness Have to Hide in Iowa?

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from Civil Eats:



What Does Agribusiness Have to Hide in Iowa?

June 13th, 2011
By David Murphy


If Iowa is considered the belly of the beast of industrial agriculture, then the Iowa state capitol is the part of the animal that drains the swamp. After all, Iowa is the place where Iowa legislators have made it possible to produce 11.3 hogs per person annually and created some of the most polluted rivers and streams contributing to the Dead Zone due to continued poor legislation and failed regulatory oversight.

Last year Iowa’s modern agricultural practices were made famous by legendary food safety violator Jack DeCoster, who is still in business after a 500-million egg recall due to salmonella that sickened more than 1,500 people in 23 states. This year Iowa’s state legislators are about to pass a bill that would make it illegal for anyone to take a photo of his “farms” or any other farm or field in Iowa. Even though some of the worst animal welfare abuses in U.S. history have taken place under the roofs of Jack DeCoster’s hundreds of industrial animal confinements, Iowa lawmakers are willing to offer immunity to offenders like him and penalize those who blow the whistle on those who would abuse animal livestock, i.e., our food.

Incredibly, House File 589, which I call “The Jack DeCoster Animal Abuser Protection Act of 2011,” passed the Iowa House on March 17 by a vote of 66 to 27, despite the fact that 65 percent of Iowans oppose the bill. Unfortunately for consumers across the country, versions of this bill have been popping up in states like Minnesota and Florida, where both bill recently failed to pass.

While most Americans have been caught off guard by agribusiness’s boldness, those of us in Iowa know this is how the game is played. No matter how big the violation or how bad the sin, agribusiness always finds a way to influence elected officials into papering over the most egregious abuses under the guise of economic development, stating the Big Lie that it’s “good for business.” ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2011/06/13/what-does-agribusiness-have-to-hide-in-iowa/