Updated 11/21/09
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Issue 2 Passes: Agribusiness Rewrites Ohio's Constitution
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter
Washington, D.C. – “The Farm Bureau-sponsored campaign to change Ohio’s constitution and give industrialized agriculture control
over livestock issues succeeded with the passage of ballot Issue 2. Consumers, small family farmers and the neighbors of large,
industrialized animal operations are the losers."
“The grassroots coalition opposing Issue 2, Ohio Against Constitutional Takeover (Ohio ACT), faced a David and Goliath battle.
Outspent by a factor of 40 to 1, the coalition faced-off against an entrenched, well-financed and powerful industry.”
“Ohioans for Livestock Care Political Action Committee (PAC), a coalition representing major corporate agribusiness,
and headed by a Farm Bureau staff member, spent over $4 million on Issue 2. Concerned that the filthy and inhumane practices
of large-scale animal operations could be regulated under state law in the future, the ballot initiative changed the state’s
constitution to protect agribusiness. “Most Ohioans who voted in favor of Issue 2 would be shocked to know that the newly
created entity, the Livestock Care Standards Board, clears the way for factory-style animal operations to self-regulate.”
“Under the leadership of the Farm Bureau, agribusiness cynically lied to Ohio voters. They claimed to be protecting small
farmers and consumers, but the real beneficiaries are the large monopolistic corporations that control meat production. By
pouring millions of dollars into a media campaign misrepresenting the goals of Issue 2, the industry essentially “bought”
the right to regulate itself and to circumvent the Ohio constitution. “The Farm Bureau and their allies were so afraid of
the truth that they attempted to use their financial clout to silence their opponents’ criticisms and suppress their
constitutional right to freedom of speech. They pressured radio stations to drop Food & Water Watch’s ad opposing Issue 2.
They filed complaints with the state election commission in an attempt to intimidate us.
“The whole country is now watching Ohio to see what the new Livestock Care Standards Board will do with its power. Food & Water
Watch, and its Ohio ACT allies, will closely monitor this board, redoubling our efforts to get the state legislature and governor
to rein in large corporate agribusiness.”Food & Water Watch is a non-profit organization working with grassroots organizations
around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future. Through research, public and policymaker education,
media, and lobbying, we advocate policies that guarantee safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner and public,
rather than private, control of water resources including oceans, rivers, and groundwater.
For more information, visit
www.foodandwaterwatch.org.
Press Release
Please read this October 25, 2009, Cleveland Plain Dealer article. It really sums up the terrible situation in Ohio with Issue 2.
By Tom Laskawy, Grist.org
Posted on October 12, 2009, Printed on October 12, 2009
NEW STATEWIDE CITIZENS ALLIANCE FORMED TO PUSH FOR REFORM OF LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY IN OHIO
Group Claims Current Ohio Law Facilitates Agri-Business and Fails to Protect Ohio Citizens. More information can be found at
this link.
The Mission of Wood County Citizens Opposed
to Factory Farms is to educate and inform the citizens
of Wood County about the health and environmental dangers
of mega-farms and to actively pursue solutions that will
protect our health, our water, and our land.
Who Protects Us From Factory Farms?
Read more....
Sept. 24 - Government Report Links Factory Farms to Harmful Air Emissions, Water Pollution - A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released today says that large factory farms, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), can emit dangerous levels of airborne and waterborne pollutants. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan said, "This GAO study confirms that the Bush Administration's plan to exempt industrial sized animal feeding operations from emissions reporting requirements is nothing more than a favor to Big Agribusiness at the expense of the public health and communities living near these facilities." See full report.
TWO NEW REPORTS DOCUMENT RISKS, COSTS OF CAFOS:
1)POLLUTION, DISEASE RISKS FROM CAFOS. 2-yr study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health cite risks from the huge amount of animal waste industrial farms generate, use of antibiotics by such facilities leading to the development of drug-resistant bacteria and the high concentration of animals on industrial farms increasing the risk of disease spreading. The report recommends phasing out the most inhumane production practices within 10 years; implementing federal performance-based standards to improve animal welfare; and expanding and reforming animal agriculture research. See the full report.
2)
CONFINED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS COST TAXPAYERS BILLIONS. The Union of Concerned Scientists calls for POLICIES THAT REDUCE CAFO SUBSIDIES AND ENCOURAGE MODERN, SUSTAINABLE MEAT, MILK AND EGG PRODUCTION. See "CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations" for details of the policies that have allowed CAFOs to dominate U.S. meat and dairy production. "CAFOs aren't the natural result of agricultural progress, nor are they the result of rational planning or market forces," said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a senior scientist in UCS's Food and Environment Program and author of the report. "Ill-advised policies created them, and it will take new policies to replace them with more sustainable, environmentally friendly production methods."
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