Roads, Twists and Collisions on a Country CAFO Road

"Hot, Dry and A Less Traveled Farm Road"
Courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting.
Copyright 2014.  All Rights Reserved

The photograph above shows the path leading into my brother's pasture land where his grass-fed herd often grazes along the barbed wire fence that borders my backyard.  My dogs have learned that the cattle are not to be disturbed.  Before the herd was relocated here, my youngest dog who is a frisky lab mix and I strolled along this less traveled farm path to get some exercise and bond a bit more practicing some commands that he's been learning.  Often, my oldest dog who is a Pembroke welsh corgi that I've owned since she was ten weeks old sits majestically on the front porch and watches as these magnificent animals enjoy their afternoon snack of grass and hay.  It's a peaceful way to spend an afternoon if the wind is blowing from the right direction.

Sometimes, a car will come down this sleepy dirt road that I live on.  Occasionally, farming equipment or trucks go by at faster than necessary speeds kicking dirt up onto my porch that was just swept.  Very often, it is my brother and father doing their regular check of the cattle or performing other tasks related to the family farming operation.  Thank goodness they slow down as they pass by to keep the dust down or avoid hitting one of my dogs who might be out in the yard.  Sometimes they surprise the dogs and me by driving the tractors into the pasture to bale hay or feed the cattle.

This country road is very narrow where my little house is, without a ditch of any kind on either side and extremely dusty.  Some of my other neighbors now slow down since they've realized that my dogs occasionally "roam free" in the road or out in the yard.  This house was deserted for several years due to its prior tenants' neglect, irresponsibility and other characteristics -- like the toxic smell of the unwanted neighbor around the corner -- that made it hard for my brother and sister-in-law to keep it rented for very long.  We did some work together to make it more habitable, so at least the dogs and I have a retreat when the CAFO smell floats into the yard.  Since moving here a little over a year ago, people have started to realize that the little farmhouse has a new tenant with two active, barking and protective dogs, one of whom will pursue their vehicle before he comes back to me.  

Often, as I drive these country roads and the asphalt roads into town, it amazes me how the farming equipment sometimes does not seem to want to budge from the middle of the road.  More than once out of courtesy to the hard working farmer driving the equipment, I've turned my car into the nearest driveway so they can take passage without me having to head for the ditch.  Recently, this letter from Richard Oswald after the narrow victory of Amendment #1, the "Right To Farm" ballot struck a cord with me because the analogy of what has happened for Big Agricultural Companies and the smaller independent farmers in this State.  Read it for yourself by clicking below.

Letter from Richard Oswald, Pres. of Missouri Farmers Union on the DailyYonder.com

Hopefully, people will keep fighting and not give up on this hard fought battle.  We can't give in while there's still a possibility that Americans will wake up and demand better food, better ways of raising animals or insist that they know what is being put on their table, in their kitchens and in their mouths.  Do we want animals raised in an inhumane manner whose lives have been shut up in cages that provided them with direct exposure to disease and e-coli bacteria?  Do we want genetically modified organisms and seed used in the corn, wheat or soybeans that our food is made from?  It would be my hope that we would expect better and demand it as consumers from the people who produce our daily bread.

It's certainly my hope that Missouri grassroots advocates will take the words of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers to heart and "not back down."  Will end today's blog with the music that I claim absolutely no copyright to and simply enjoy listening to when hanging out in my little farmhouse with the nasty factory farm next door.  After seeing Petty in concert several times, even once in Madison Square Garden in New York, his defiant Southern rocker image is a good one to put forth as we endeavor to carry on the "good fight" for independent and sustainable farming in our State.  Let's not hit the brakes now.  Let's keep rolling.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "I Won't Back Down."

"Overnight Delivery"
Courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
Copyright 2012.  All Rights Reserved

Author's Note:  Comments are by this individual writing the blog and no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed them. Am not a scientist, so can't claim my own scientific research but just comment on what is happening. These words are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks. Anonymous comments not accepted. Stand up for your opinion. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)

Past Writings By Others & Truths Told

"God's Open Door Policy"
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
Copyright 2014.  All Rights Reserved

With a result of only.02% voting "yes" and Amendment #1 passing on that narrow margin earlier this month, it will be interesting to see the final outcome when it is certified by the Secretary of State on August 26th and what will happen then.  People that I know are calling for a recount and to challenge the outcome of this vote.  

Bob Glenn, a candidate for Presiding County Commissioner in Dade County, recently reposted this past story on FB from The Turner Report as a foreboding turn of event and how the Globe viewed what the passing of this unnecessary constitutional amendment:

The Turner Report: Globe explores effect of political contributions on CAFO issue

Now we just wait to see what happens while other groups and lawyers scramble to sort it all out.  Such is the way of the world these days.  Lawyers, political action committees, politicians without consciousness or caring for a sustainable agricultural society and executives who do not truly understand the products they sell and their eventual impact on those exposed to them have won this round of the battle.  Do the People win in this kind of tussle?  I wonder.  Probably not and not if you love the land, want to see it flourish and produce for generations to come.  Not if you support humane treatment of all kinds of animals - farm animals, domesticated breeds, birds and bees who have their habitats destroyed with chemicals.  "Right to Farm" had nothing but a "right to harm" validated during this past ballot in Missouri.

This morning, my dear cousin's mother passed away.  Her mother was a Christian in the truest sense of the word:  kind, loving, humble, nonjudgmental and caring about her children and others before herself.  She suffered long from the effects of cancer throughout her body.  God has given her peace now and a chance to greet those members of our family in that better place.  From the title of my photo starting today's blog, you can see that I truly believe God has an Open Door Policy for everyone and especially those of us sinners who still believe that there is a Higher Power at work somewhere out there.  He invented this Earthly home as a paradise to begin, but look what mankind and womankind has allowed to happen once we gained control.

One thing that continues to disturb my thoughts since moving back here to Southwest Missouri is the high incidence of cancer among long-time residents and how quickly the cancer and other serious diseases seem to take over the young.  My church regularly publishes a list of prayer requests for health-related matters and don't believe since I left home way back in the 1970's or in the other states I've lived in like Texas, Connecticut, New York and Arizona that I have seen such a huge number of cancer victims in one small rural county concentration.   Some victims are very young and others with repeated bouts of the terrible disease are listed on these requests.  But we live in a "CAFO County" -- one of the lower county classifications that have a proliferation of these "smaller" operations that run under the regulation radars of the Missouri standards for CAFOs, USDA, EPA and DNR -- and that fact will not change, thanks to the passing of the vaguely worded and misleading "Right To Farm" Amendment #1.  It will just get worse now in my little part of the world and for those around me because we will be CAFO heaven.  

The effects of long-term exposure to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) will not be known for many more decades, but is starting to come to light.  University and other research studies have begun to strongly indicate that those who live in close proximity do suffer a higher incidence of some serious breathing disorders, even cancer, heart-related ailments and other terrible diseases.  

Some parts of Europe and other countries not considered as "advanced" as the United States of America in their agricultural practices have figured out the association of chemicals made by Dow and Monsanto on their less abundant farmlands, waterways and banned their use.  Now, even China is starting to ban GMOs.  Why do we Americans not understand what is going on despite continued evidence that these things are harmful and not really any more productive?  For me, it is the little things that directly impact my daily life and others in similar circumstances.  Expansion of CAFOs in the State of Missouri will not be a "little thing" to many of us living here.

Some things that come to mind are my inability to breathe outdoors without chest pains and dizziness when the wind shifts from where that relatively small CAFO barn operates unfettered by the regulations put in place to protect those who live nearby because of its size.  My dogs' inability to breathe while outside as they cough and wheeze from the stench without understanding what it is -- my dogs never had allergies anywhere else we've lived.  To listen to them cough and wheeze breaks my heart.  The reborn allergies that weren't prevalent during my tenure in other states like Arizona, Connecticut, New York and Texas  now have re-emerged in a fury on my sinuses and lungs requiring me to get prescriptions for these conditions that were handled easily with past herbal remedies like nettle and other supplements.  Finally, the sadness to me is the stillborn and twin-birth calves that my brother's cattle operation endures in those mother cows who graze in close proximity to CAFOs around here and drink the water contaminated by overflowing lagoons.  And the blatant disregard by governmental officials and departments who are supposed to protect our water from those who would harm it makes me more mad than sad as I consider the beauty of the State where I was raised and have now come back to in my later years of life.  Others are suffering just like me around the State where CAFOs run rampant and unchecked, because "Big Ag" will "Keep Missouri Farming."  What a crock of cattle farm-bred, grass-fed bull fertilizer!

A gentleman who has many more academic credentials than me on the subject of sustainable agriculture, University of Missouri Professor Emeritus Dr. John E. Ikerd, PhD, presented a paper to the Iowa Farmers Union Annual Conference in August 25-26, 2006.  His final words nearly eight years ago now resonate on my mind from his book, Crisis & Opportunity:  Sustainability in American Agriculture published in 2008:

    "America has perhaps a fifty-year window of opportunity to develop a sustainable, fossil-energy-independent food system.  It can be done.  Many organic and sustainable farmers today produce just as much per acre as their industrial counterparts; they just have to put more of themselves into the production process.  It will not take more land but it will take more farmers - more thinking, innovative, creative, caring farmers.  It will also take more caring food consumers who are willing to pay the full ecological and social costs of sustainable food production.  And it will make more independent food processors and distributors willing to work with farmers and consumers to build a more sustainable food system.  And all of this will take time.  So now is the time to get serious about creating the kind of agriculture that America must have to survive..."  

Fifty years is not that far away and my life will probably not continue that long. However,  the lives of my nieces, nephew, grandnieces, grandnephews and their children, as well as the children of my friends, will extend into that time.  It would be nice to see them healthy and happy in those years breathing clean air and enjoying the green quiet of a Missouri forest or the clean water of a big river winding through Missouri.  Dr. Ikerd continues to speak out today on the impact that Big Ag, fossil-fuel-driven economies and CAFOs can have on our environment and the future of agriculture.  You can seek more of his wisdom on his website:  www.johnikerd.com .  He is someone who makes sense to members of my farming family and me.  You also can check out his many books on Amazon or his website if you have the interest to seek more learning about how you can be part of trying to make sustainable agriculture a reality in our country as a total, not just in the farming-strong Midwest.  Other quotes from the same book strikes a deeper cord with me in his presentation to the Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association in 2003:

    "Now is the time to create a new American food system -- a network of community food systems linking independent, local farmers with independent, local food processors and retailers, to provide food for customers willing to pay for quality and integrity.  It's time to create a food values chain linked by the principles of ecological integrity, economic viability, and social responsibility.  This task will take time and effort to complete, but now is the time to begin. 
  The  new food system will reconnect people with the earth and with each other, and thus will contribute to a more enlightened concept of quality of life.  In creating this new and better food system, a sustainable food system, we will be leading the way to a brighter, more sustainable future for American and for the rest of the world."

America often has led the way in many things during years past.  Not so today in 2014 where European nations and even China have figured out that the way of Big Ag companies who push harmful pesticides, destructive industrialized farming practices and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) might not be the best way to produce food for their consumers.  As a matter of fact, their consumers are demanding better.  Why aren't Americans?  Why aren't we screaming our outrage so these giants can hear us? 

Saying a prayer for my dear cousins' mother this Sunday.  And please say another prayer for those of us who are fighting the detrimental impact that the passing of Amendment #1 - a  "Right To Harm" constitutional addition - will have on this beautiful, green and lush State of Missouri.  Speak out if you believe the same is true.  The silent majority will not get this accomplished for us all.  May we all survive its impact to come.

One of my favorite inspirational groups is Eden's Bridge from the Celtic Isles, a land where Green is Pristine.  Their music gives me peace, helps me drift away to sleep sometimes when my mind is troubled and instills love where none seems to exist in this world plus extends a hope that God may see what is happening and intervene in some divine way for his amazing creation:  The Earth.  Not since Noah's time has God made a decision about the best way to cleanse society and its worship of false idols like money, but maybe He is pondering some way to solve it through those of us that have charge of his lovely creation and will help us in some way.  Believer or nonbeliever - music is always a good connector for cultures and societies that might not seem to have much in common.  And music seems a fitting way to end today's entry to "The Factory Farm Around The Corner" on this beautiful Sunday morning in August.  Blessings on those of you out there who still believe in a better and greener tomorrow for our planet and Missouri:  

Eden's Bridge - Psalm 23.

"August Hay Bales" Copyright 2014
Image courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
All rights reserved.

Comments are by this individual writing the blog and no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed them. They are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks. Anonymous comments not accepted. Stand up for your opinion. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)

A Commentary on Comments and Life

"Self Portrait Behind The Camera 2014"
Courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting. Copyright 2014.
All Rights Reserved.

Comments are interesting snapshots of people and their inner thoughts.  Some remarks are made or written quickly without much fact checking or self-edification at first; others are longer in coming out of the mouth or pen with painstaking research, reconsideration and editing by trusted sources.  Over thinking things has often been a personal problem of mine.  Keeps me awake at night sometimes.

Cameras, typewriters and other visual mediums like film or video have always helped me express my feelings better than face-to-face confrontations.  My brother is a better debater today than me, despite it being me that won the scholarship to my first year of college at Missouri Southern State University by winning a Statewide competition in speech and debate communications.  It is my firm belief though that a person should be upfront with their comments:  honest and forthright, yet courteous and respectful of the other person's right to think differently.  "Agreeing to disagree" has always appealed to me in debates, arguments or social situations.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it's wrong from my own point of view or past experience.  Who am I to judge?  Our minister at the Lamar United Methodist Church recently delivered a great sermon on Judgment this summer using passages from the Book of James, which got me to revisit those verses so long ago read and put aside.  Always good when a thought leads you back to your Bible to further learn more.

Even if you know that your audience will not be receptive to what you have to say, one should always open the door to a new relationship by putting all their cards out on the table and sharing what's on their mind or bothering them. If you spit the words out, maybe a dialog will ensue where both of you will learn something, gain new information to consider and walk away a more informed individual.  Change of mind and locale can be refreshing and a good thing.  Some of my best education has been gained in traveling to different countries and seeing different cultures' ways of handling things.

Recently, this blog received two Anonymous comments about "checking my facts."  Well, I chose not to post those comments because if a person can't be upfront about who they are in their personal remarks, then it's not fair to those who are upfront about what they think and are not afraid to standby it by revealing their names.  Those people who sign their name to their comments will always get posted on this blog.  Apologies now to "Anonymous," whoever you are, but it did instigate this one-time commentary about comments for the future.  Anonymous commentators remind me of the KGB, Nazi SS or other clandestine organizations committed to dark purposes.  They are there, but don't want you to know they're there.  They hide behind a cloak of anonymity because maybe what they are doing is not totally right, possibly harmful or something that should be hidden done in the interest of protecting some dark force or government.  Usually the Anonymous commentators in the world are fearful of confrontation because they haven't checked their facts.

After leaving the corporate whirlwind back East for a quieter life in the Southwest, a retirement late-life career transition into the nonprofit world in my new home state was initiated by taking courses in a nonprofit management certification program at Arizona State University.  My intention was to work in part-time fund development for a small arts school that was gaining national recognition with their programs and build a small house upon two acres in a rural community outside of Sedona.  It was my decision to be less front and center on my stance on issues and other things, because who really cares what my opinion is any way?  It was my desire to become a little more "Anonymous" while working to support state or community nonprofits behind the scenes and help people thrive in the world around them.  Some good prior volunteer activities had provided personal inner fulfillment in Connecticut when my corporate schedule allowed the time to help out my community plus my corporation encouraged their employees to volunteer.  So decided it would be great to work in supporting the "Triple-A's"  - as I called them - once retired to help further the Mission of the worthy organizations involved in these causes:  The Arts, Animals and Abuse (all kinds - domestic, drug, etc).

Even when doing college and community theatre in my younger years, my favorite place was sitting in a light or sound booth running the technical parts of the production - making the actors and actresses front and center look magical or like ethereal beings as they spouted Shakespeare, Noel Coward, Henrik Ibsen or Moliere on stage.  A tech booth seat is the best one in the house.  These skills even helped a working college student make some money while running lights or sound for a few concerts that came to the schools attended like Jackson Brown, Rolling Stones and other bands.  Started college on a speech and drama scholarship in Missouri, so it was necessary to do my time on stage as well in those early days.  My Mother told my Father that he must attend every performance at The Barn Theatre that I was in to show their support.  She loved theatre, cultural events and the arts of all kinds.  My Dad agreed, but did not love the theatre as much as he did football or baseball, but he did play guitar and violin so music was always a part of our upbringing.  Poor Dad.  As part of my scholarship requirements, it was necessary for me to audition for a certain number of performances every semester.  During my freshman year, I was featured in every single production at Missouri Southern State University in either a supporting or lead role.  My family came to every single theatrical production that year.  That's how supportive our family is of one another and, if we say it, we usually do it unless there is some good reason preventing us from following through on the commitment.

There was much discussion in the family when I made the retirement decision to take an early package due to the company's move to the manufacturing headquarters down South from the current Manhattan location.  My sister-in-law and I already had made plans that year before the company announced the move to start visiting states where I might want to retire.  The first place was Arizona because my plan was to escape winter snows and wanted to see The Grand Canyon.  Living in Connecticut had made the allure of a white blanket of snow not as appealing in old age.  We even had our mothers on board to join us for a while, but then they both decided they didn't want to fly or go due to other things related to old age and other fears of travel that come when you've been in one place for a little too long.  So, my sis-in-law and I went on our own to see what was unique and wonderful about Arizona.  The Grand Canyon and Northern Arizona really captured my fancy.

Over a decade working with an international Fortune 100 company had taken a toll on me in the health department as well as relationship category with family and others close to my heart.  In my mid-30's, it was necessary for me to have surgery due to a change in a breast tumor found in a routine mammogram.  This change instigated the doctor's decision to take it out, even though prior tests showed it to be benign. Many prayers and thanks go up to the Spirit in the Sky that the tumor was found to be benign once removed, but the time leading up to its removal was scary for those close to me.  And my then-husband and still friend who was an internal medicine doctor at Yale University Medical Center nearly came into the operating room with me because he was so worried.  The surgeon said to him, "Doctor if you suit up you can come in and assist me if you like." And his response was "Well I will but I don't want you to wait on doing this for her."  He is a good man and still is.  We still have special feelings for each other today, though he is now in Cairo trying to help his family struggle through the challenges happening there politically and medically.  He is a good doctor and has a great heart for his family.

Then some years later, my physician discovered that I had celiac's disease, an autoimmune disease that makes gluten impossible to digest without some pretty unpleasant side effects and detrimental effects on internal organs.  As I tell well meaning friends who want to invite me over for a meal, "No wheat, no oats, no barley and no rye or I die."  My doctor in Arizona told me that I needed to view those four things as "death" since the advanced symptoms of the condition cause you to become unable to gain weight and get deathly ill.  If untreated or misdiagnosed, people who have the disease can die from it.  The only treatment is a gluten-free diet, which is harder than you'd think to do around here.  The condition also makes me sensitive to preservatives and non-organic foods.  GMO Labeling is something that I would like to see instituted everywhere like it is in more progressive countries because it is important and essential to others like me who struggle with celiac's disease and other food-related allergies.  My personal eating needs and others in my family with other autoimmune conditions requiring a mostly organic, clean diet to deal with their own individual conditions are sometimes difficult to adhere to when farmers' markets are not up and running.  As my brother astutely points out, we have a country of origin label on the clothing we were and care instructions for that clothing.  Isn't what we eat more important and essential to our lives that what we wear?

In 2003, an early retirement within the next 5-to-7 years made sense to slow things down and started looking at places that it would be nice to live a quiet life into old age.  On my list were:  Arkansas (close to home and beautiful green lush land), Missouri (possibly but maybe Northern Missouri or even SW Missouri where the whole family was like Joplin or Springfield where I attended colleges), Arizona, Montana, New Mexico and even parts of Texas because truly loved the lake country of Austin when I went to UT-Austin or even Mexico where I have travelled often since college for vacations into the coastal areas, as well as the mountains. The people I've known there are gentle, courteous and friendly to Americans who show respect for their culture and country.  My experiences with people living South of the Border have always been positive ones, as have those interactions with the common people of other lands outside the boundaries of the USA.  Most human beings want the same things no matter what country they are living in:  Peace, Freedom from Persecution, Safety for Their Family, A Decent Living Wage, Food, Water and Shelter.  Standards on some of these things differ from country to country, but these ideals remain common to all of mankind around the world. 

Years of education, career and different team building exercises have involved getting my personality tested and analyzed to figure out how I could work most effective in a team environment.  If you know about personality testing, my Myers-Briggs type is an INTJ.  Here's a definition so you gain a little more insight to how this writer operates in life.  Have taken the test numerous times always with the same result.  The only difference is that in my old age, my results are shifting more to the "P" (Perception) stage and away from the "J" (Judging) category.  Learn more and click here for more info on Wikipedia:  Definition of an INTJ  

There's also the Colors method of assessing personality and my personality color is Green.  Analytical, quick, multi-tasker, fun-loving types who like the behind-scenes role of making things happen quickly and choosing to lead with their emotions or dreams.  A good quote on this personality type comes from Dr. Carol Ritberger, PhD, who wrote a great book in 2000 called What Color Is Your Personality:  "Greens live in a world of hopes, dreams, and emotions where the intangibles of life are the most important.  Their rich imaginations thrive when using their creative abilities -- their minds work quickly, bouncing from one thought to another."  Well, she nailed this blogger alright down to a tee.  If you want to check out the book and find out about yourself, here's a link to the page:  Amazon - "What Color Is Your Personality? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green"

It was fortunate that my efforts and involvement in leadership programs helped me find ways to try and adapt my personality to others with very different "colors."  And to help me "edit" my own comments about things during collaboration in creating something new and different for my community.  For that experience, I will be eternally grateful to people that encouraged that involvement especially those who engaged my help with several other founding members in launching an educational nonprofit aimed at building community leaders.  Watching this organization grow and prosper from afar in the past few years has given me great satisfaction and am still good friends with the other five individuals involved in creating it.  We are known as the Founders, which is a very lofty term but each of us were different people with unique approaches who were not afraid to roll up our sleeves together and get in the trenches to make things happen for something we believed in.  Even though we had different styles, we collaborated well and had a mutual commitment to the Vision:  "Inspiring Individuals To Action." Am so impressed with how the graduates of this program initiated in 2006 has become an important part of the Verde Valley community leaders' education and development.  For more information, please check out their website and, if you know someone in North Central Arizona specifically the Verde Valley (Cottonwood, Cornville, Sedona, Clarkdale and Jerome) who would benefit from the experience, there's probably still time for them to enroll in an upcoming session or find out more about the two-year trek.  Please click here to learn more:  Verde Valley Leadership Program  My belief in that Vision still extends into every action taken in my own life related to education and community service.  We must inspire individuals to action about things they believe in achieving, either in comments, written or spoken or our democracy will come to an end.  Hopefully, the Anonymous commenter now understands why only comments made by those who are strong enough to step into the spotlight on stage and speak their lines without judgment or consequence will be posted on this Blog in the future.  After all, Freedom of Speech is one of my favorite things that our democracy has granted to every single citizen in this country.  

Thanks for reading my thoughts and tolerating my outlook.  But you must stand up and face people; not hide behind being "Anonymous."  My future postings will deal more with the experiences of living next door to a Factory Farm and less about this commentary or my personal stuff, which gets more interesting every day that God allows me on this good, green Earth while it's still green.  Believe I'll leave the computer now and go give the dogs and me a break with a short walk before the rain comes and the wind shifts again carrying the scent of my unwanted neighbor back this way.  Blessed is the rain in August.  Blessed are the Meek for They shall truly inherit the Earth.  This blog post was about who I am.  Now, who are you?  Tell me your story because I'm genuinely interested to hear it.

"Summer Hay Bales 2013"
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting.
Copyright 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note:  Comments are solely by this individual writing the blog and no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed them. They are my personal opinion and no one else is responsible for my actions. Anonymous comments are no longer accepted. Stand up for your opinion.  Being open is the first step to a productive interaction.  Thanks for your thoughtful kind responses.  Keep anger out of it.  Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)  Thanks!

Slayed In St. Louis By Slay and Clouds Gather Over Missouri

"Evening Noir Missouri, Early August 2014," 
Copyright 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting

Politics and agriculture have connected since the 13 colonies first established a fledgling government with the arrival of immigrants looking for something better for their children and themselves.  Our forefathers forming that new government started writing the Constitution of the United States and conceptualizing what The Bill of Rights could do for people who came across oceans for freedom of speech, religion and individual choice.  Farming this abundant and bountiful land that this relative new country possessed helped a new democracy get off the ground with a commitment to the people governing themselves, instead of being controlled and enriching a dispassionate monarchy across the ocean.  Colonies morphed into counties and then into cities that grew larger as the rich land of the United States opened new trade doors with countries overseas.  Mayors for large urban areas became influential and profitable individuals as their communities prospered.  

That growth and expansion into the 21st century eventually led to what happened yesterday in the largest urban demographic in the State of Missouri.  Why would a popular Mayor of a major city support something that is in totally opposition of his prior stance that encouraged humane treatment of animals and who was on fairly good terms with environmentally friendly groups in that same large urban area?  

Simple answer:  Money.  Always follow the money.  

Even though my house stands far away from St. Louis in the southwestern part of the State, I lived in St. Louis for years working in advertising, communications and marketing there.  Still love to visit this city because I have good friends who still live there plus the museums and other cultural attractions are fun.  It's a nice change from my quiet country life now and then.  However, living in the country suits me better - wide open skies, prairies with floating clouds and some trees still left on the horizon above.  If only there weren't a factory farm around the corner with its accompanying stench and weird health effects that emerge after being outside when the wind has shifted to bring these smells into my backyard.  It is my sincere wish that Mayor Slay will have an industrial farm - Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation or CAFO - constructed right next to his St. Louis home or the schools he patronizes or even his church so he experiences the effects first hand.  Just so you have a better understanding if you don't know about these operations, here's the Wikipedia definition of this industrial farming method:  Definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO)

It would be nice to ask Mayor Slay if he would be all right with drinking a glass of water from the faucet of a town located in the midst of CAFO country where one or more of these lagoons have overflowed into the water tables or even a glass taken directly from the lagoon.  He won't.  Most intelligent people wouldn't.  

Amendment #1 was "slayed" by a number of things but one especially upsetting thing was the fact that the Mayor of St. Louis actually participated in "robocalls" to people on the day of the vote.  This vague, ill-thought-out piece of legislation passed by an .02% margin.  Unbelievable.  Now it could realistically become a constitutional amendment in the State Constitution.  And the low voter turnout did not help.  The people working to oppose this amendment were outspent 2-to-1 in marketing dollars, some of which were from questionable sources that are now being looked into by others more astute than me.  There is a recount underway because of the close call.  Your right to vote is the only real voice that you have in a democracy.  Why do people take this important right for granted?  Because often they say, "I'm only one person.  My vote doesn't matter."  It certainly does when people get together and make things happen just like our forefathers and foremothers did in the times of the Revolutionary War.  What if they had said, "Well, I'm just one person.  What can I do against the King of England?"  You could join with General George Washington and make a difference, take a stand and fight for your rights.  We need more of the ethical, moral outrage of that time now in our political system and citizens.  If you are right, you must fight.

Does that action taken by Mayor Slay not tell you something?  And there are questions now emerging about whether or not the robocall campaign was paid for with legitimate funds for marketing purposes.  Now there is an uprising on social media being organized by people outraged at Mayor Slay's actions off of a FB page called "Right To Farm or Right To Harm?" supported by other grassroots organizers who are working for sustainable agriculture to prevail in Missouri. Slay betrayed people who thought he was a humanitarian and champion for animals' humane treatment.  Maybe he was confused as voters were by the vague and convoluted language used to craft this masterpiece from Jefferson City?  Only he can tell you.  At least the people of St. Louis City and County were on top of things and voted no despite the Mayor's ill-advised action.  According to the Secretary of State's unofficial count listed on the Jeff City website, combined totals for St. Louis/St. Louis County was 147,214 votes against Amendment #1 and only 74,613 people voting in favor of Amendment #1.

No wonder there were some confused and uninformed voters who didn't understand the language, changed their minds and voted "yes" on Amendment #1.  My retort to people who said they were unsure of what to do during my advocacy work for the grassroots movement against the amendment was "If you don't know, then please vote no because it is a constitutional amendment and it trumps all local control and prior statutes voted in by the people."  And some of us reported that there were people who were working the polls that there were ballot box workers who were discussing the amendment loudly, expressing their opinions in clear violation of the law and unaware of the appropriate behavior in their role at the polls.  Slay's action still did not sway people in St. Louis City and St. Louis County, because they still voted against the amendment. But, what has happened to ethical behavior in our political system these days?  It should tell you something when you look at the unofficial voting results in Greene County where Springfield is located and there is a mixed urbane atmosphere with numerous colleges combined with a mixture of farmers and other residents in rural communities outside this hub on the way to Branson, once touted in the NY Times Travel Section as the "New Nashville."  In that county, the vote was overwhelmingly against Amendment #1 and the turnout was pretty good.  Less so in the rural communities where the impact of industrialized farming will truly hit home hardest.  Those voters in Greene County obviously were educated and well informed enough about the eventual impact that this legislation would have on local controls put into place to protect their homes, their children and their health.

And then, Slay back in St. Louis goes on to give a few lame excuses as to why he participated in this effort.  Listen and decide for yourself by listening and clicking on this link to the interview on St. Louis Public Radio:  Slay Explains Why He Participated in Robocall

Well, even though my place of residence is not in St. Louis now, it was still compelling enough of an action for me to make a phone call to his assistant at the suggestion of folks who are raising this social media effort to tell him that he has lost my support if he wants to run for something else outside of St. Louis County after being Mayor.  My message was left that I was a registered voter in SW Missouri who lives around the corner from a factory farm.  And, that I sincerely hoped he would have one built right next door or near someone he visits often so he would understand how disgusting a way to farm these things are.  He won't care, but at least if he gets calls from enough people, he might understand why a huge number of people will probably vote against him if he decides to run for office outside of St. Louis County.  

The next upsetting news that came across the media exactly one day after Amendment #1 passed is this press release that the USDA has approved a controversial GMO seed for marketing for Dow Chemical.  This action signals the beginning of a bad trend.  Read on and learn more.  

http://www.panna.org/usda-signals-approval-dows-24-d-resistant-seedsUSDA Approval of Dow's Controversial Seed.

Missouri was used as another "test ground" for this "right to farm" legislation that has been voted down in some environmentally savvy states and approved in other states that thought it would save farming revenue because "bigger is always better, right?" and now suffer from things like water pollution, e-coli outbreaks in their water, crop deterioration, animal infestation and other problems associated with industrialized farming.  It is unfortunate that Missouri did not pass the test, but those of us working against Amendment #1 certainly opened some eyes and raised some awareness attracting international and national attention appearing in such big media giants like the New York Times on the weekend before the vote.  This article even shows that the issue has pitted "farmer against farmer,"which is an unfortunate thing.  Read on if you haven't seen it already:
NewYorkTimes/missouri-considers-adding-right-to-farm-to-state-constitution.html?_r=4  

And in St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch recognized the actions of the Mayor in this recent article.  Please click here to read:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Article on Slay's Actions


However, the thing is now moving toward becoming part of the constitution if the recount does not yield something good.  

It's always good to try and focus on something positive after a negative thing happens.  Now, maybe we'll be able to educate people better about the hazards of industrial farming and what it will do for future generations.  Maybe they will listen better and not be so quick to call someone a "tree hugger" or "animal activist."  Well, any good truly wise and caring farmer is a good steward of both the land and the animals that graze on the grass of their pastures.  They both are important to his or her future.  And the land and water beneath it are what will feed your children and future generations, if this precious resource is not depleted, burned up and destroyed by poisonous practices and politicians who don't have a clue of what they are supporting.


Blog Author's Disclaimer:  Please be advised that the comments written by this individual are made without any commercial endorsement or compensation.  If that changes, will certainly advise the readers.  This blog is intended to document my personal experiences living right next door to a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) or otherwise known as a Factory Farm.  And no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed these words. Everyone is constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and their own opinion, thank goodness.  These words are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks except me. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses in comments. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)

What is Right About Your Right To Vote.

"Missouri Road, Headed Home and Storm Ahead,"
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
Copyright 2014.  All Rights Reserved.

We are headed down a difficult road in the future of Missouri farming with a crucial factor being decided tomorrow.  Factory farms and their Big Agriculture supporters have co-conspired for a number of years to destroy and poison our land, deplete the cherished natural resources of water, create difficult circumstances for the human beings living near these facilities and throw money at political systems to try and control what happens.  Politicians in the Missouri legislature have opened their hands, had money put into it and now write convoluting and confusing bills to try and turn these "wrongs" into an amendment to the Missouri Constitution as the "right" way to do things.  Wake up call time!  

A State Constitutional Amendment trumps all local controls put in place to protect the people living in your county or what type of zoning restrictions have been put in to keep a factory farm from moving next door as your new neighbor or within easy distance of your children's school.  This one will even lift the current restrictions on foreign-based corporations on the amount of land they can own.  Through acquisition of a major USA pork producer, the Chinese currently own 50,000 acres of Missouri farmland.  If Amendment #1 passes, they will be able to buy more.  Amendment #1 will also negate the controls put in place through the passing of Proposition B in 2010 meant to impose humane conditions for both farm animals, as well as the puppy mills that run so rampant in this part of the country.

Once the sponsors of such amendments move on to their "next job" at a large agricultural conglomerate, a foreign-owned packer that bought a large food company that is now subsidiary of their multinational operation or in the political action committees that supported these Big Ag agendas like Cargill and Monsanto, the People of Missouri are left to try and recover from the course of their actions by ill-thought-out amendments that are now difficult to remove.  A State Constitutional Amendment should be clear in language, straightforward and in the best interests of the People who live in that State.  Just like the U.S. Constitution is and still remains true to the edicts of our revolutionary forefathers and mothers. 

Tomorrow, in my home state of Missouri, there will be a primary ballot happening.  Most people have grown apathetic about primary elections:  "Oh well, what can I do and this is not the major election in November?"  What's so important about an election date that few people actually even bother to go to the polls?  What difference can one vote make in our process?  Plenty.  The legislature has slipped on the ballot a number of poorly constructed Constitutional Amendments that do not take into consideration the feelings and thoughts of the people who have elected them.  They are trying to bring back things that have already been resolved through prior votes, weaken what the People have said they wish to see happen and create an unreasonable, unhealthy environment for generations to come in Missouri.  We need to show them our Voice.  Because without a Vote, the Public has no Voice in their future.

One person can be strong enough to speak out and stand their ground.  Plenty of so-called "radicals" have stood their ground through the ages and voiced their opinions like Patrick Henry, Teddy Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, Margaret Thatcher and so many others in this country and overseas.  "United we stand, divided we fall" has been a rallying call for many centuries to those who believe in freedom, our rights to feel safe and healthy in our own homes and making sure that government does not override the voice of the people.  

Our First President George Washington knew how important freedom of speech was:

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” 
― George Washington

An interesting connection to what is happening now in Missouri with factory farming.  They are treating us like "sheep" who will not speak out when things are not right.  There are many who would like to silence those outspoken opponents of the so-called "right to farm" Amendment #1.  Don't be fooled by words because they can be deceiving and twisted to make different meanings.  This quotation is especially important in a time when factory farming is being touted as the "new way of doing business" in Agriculture.  It is not.  It is an unclean, detrimental, unhealthy, inhumane and money-grubbing way to take away the bounty of good non-chemical laden food and precious water from the land without giving back and treat animals in confined environments pumped full of hormones until their output in milk, meat and other byproducts do great harm to those who consume it.  These less-than-ethical industrial farming both pay the politicians and throw money to deter the strong-minded, independent people who work as good stewards and create sustainable environments for both entities:  animals and land. 

Many Presidents - on both sides of the spectrum - have spoken eloquently as to the importance of our freedoms.  Mostly, the early politicians who fought to create this new democracy understood coming from an oppressive monarchy how important it was to write a "Bill of Rights" for the new nation.  The ragtag militia that was put together to create America understood to their dying breath how liberty, freedom and the right to speak freely our country.

Another President's words come to mind:

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” 
― James Madison

Yes, a revolution and destructive changes can take place quietly and silently without anyone noticing.  It is what those who would do harm count on in our society.  More good words from an advisor to Presidents and a practical man who was ahead of his time in his thinking and writing:

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” 
― Benjamin Franklin, Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, and Early Writings

Farmers built this country.  They did it by caring for the land and their animals in a way that would produce food and sustenance for the World.  We must voice our opinion in Missouri tomorrow.  We must Get Out and VOTE to let those forces that would do harm to our land and way of practicing sustainable agricultural do none.  For my own personal being, if these industrial farming giants have their way, my own health will continue to deteriorate.  The health of my family members already suffering from years of the nearby location of the Factory Farm around the corner has done.  It will impact the ability of my younger family members who suffer from breathing difficulties to visit my brother, my sister-in-law and me for any length of times.  It will impact your family from similar things if you live in a rural community.  Stop them.  Vote against Amendment #1 - because the right to farm is already guaranteed in prior passed statutes of this state.  The amount of misinformation being spewed in the Big Money Ag Companies over the media during the past few days is unbelievable.  Don't be a "sheep being led to the slaughter."  Vote in the intelligent, independent and well informed way that any Good American Citizen should when they enter the voting booth.

In conclusion, some words from women writers and advocates who joined the aforementioned gentlemen above in their efforts to protect our freedoms through the ages.  

“It’s not unpatriotic to denounce an injustice committed on our behalf, perhaps it’s the most patriotic thing we can do.” 
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

And from a woman who did so much to advance the freedoms of the disabled, diverse cultures and other elements of our society at a time when women were not always heard over the men:

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility."  

-  Eleanor Roosevelt

Exercise Your Freedoms.  

Please Vote Responsibly, Speak Out and  

Let Your Voice be Heard.  

Healthy Food for Your Family.  

A Healthy Environment for Our Homes, Children and Future Generations.   

It's The Right Thing To Do for Missouri and Our Country.  

God Bless America.

Photo courtesy of Missouri's Food for America

Find out more information on this issue at www.votenoon1.com

Blog Author's Disclaimer:  Please be advised that the comments written by this individual are made without any commercial endorsement or compensation.  If that changes, will certainly advise the readers.  This blog is intended to document my personal experiences living right next door to a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) or otherwise known as a Factory Farm.  And no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed these words. Everyone is constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and their own opinion, thank goodness.  These words are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks except me. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses in comments. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)

The First Week on the Farm

"First Sunset In New Home" Summer 2013
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

It's a beautiful moderate summer day as we are pulling boxes out of the trailer, letting the dogs run freely after a long drive and figuring out if we can spend the night here in this old farmhouse only half way through its renovation process.  Some of my family had shown up to help unpack and organize essentials in the house plus my father had found two people from his church who could help unload the U-Haul trailer quicker so it could be returned the next day.  With my two dogs, I had decided to move into a small house in the middle of nowhere to deal with several happenings associated with the rich pageantry that is life.  As we unpacked the small U-Haul trailer plus made plans to return it the next day, the surroundings were lovely and pristine green.  The view had my brother's cattle grazing in the pasture next door, a prairie filled with wildflowers across the road next to a badly-in-need-of-TLC house that had been deserted for two years plus no neighbors for a mile or two.  My brother and his wife owned the property and bought it some years back as a rental property next to their land used in their cattle and farming operation.  

One of my best friends of 20 years had been my navigator and helper in the move from the Southwest, so we collapsed in the house on our air beds so I could drive her back up North the next morning after returning the trailer in town.  My first thought after settling in with the pups for the first night was "It will be good to be closer to home and back to basics.  Maybe things will change for the better now.  What a peaceful place to regroup and reconsider next life steps."

My life had been a series of tumultuous happenings for the past three years not unfamiliar to other Americans:  job downsizing, struggles to find a new job in an industry that was shrinking and consolidating.  Over the time, there had a few very promising prospects but then the "over qualified, too old, over educated" thing kicked in as interviews were narrowed down to finalists' lists with even a few invitations to travel with expenses paid to the city where the organization was headquartered.  Then came the well composed letter that they went with the other candidate.  It doesn't help when you know you can do the job, are willing to do the job, have been successful in the past at similar jobs but are not invited to do the job for whatever reason.  All the years of education and experience seemed like a wasteland of time, money and effort.  What next was a frequent question to friends and God in regular prayers?  Just show me the way, okay?

Months before the move, there had been several trips here from my then-home in the Southwest to either supervise some renovation work beyond my abilities or to start some projects inside like painting while the utilities were still off and cleaning up the refuse left by a prior tenant who'd long departed leaving their mess behind.  As my work began on the old neglected house:  painting, scraping, rearranging things to get ready to move my possessions into the little house, I would often leave the house realizing that my eyes were itchy, red, my stomach nauseous and wondering why my sinuses were tingling in the middle of winter cold.  Just put it down to allergies and hay fever reemerging after years of living in the West, South, Southeast, Southwest and Northeastern USA.  It must just be the adjustment from where I lived back to where I'd grown up.  Although wearing a mask made things easier while the walls were patched, scraped and painted a new lighter color, my body still felt weird at the end of the day and sometimes had bad stomachaches or pounding headaches that were marked down to stress of move, changes and other things.

But nothing prepared me later that first week after driving back returning my friend to her home and animals in St. Louis when I was playing outdoors with my own dogs out in our new yard.   The wind had shifted from the South as I was throwing a stick and chasing around the yard with my two dogs who were happy to not be confined inside a car during the long drive.  Then, my dogs started coughing and hacking.  Suddenly, I became aware of the fact that my eyes were watering, stinging and suddenly felt my lungs and chest hurting then my head started spinning.  My dizziness did not subside when going inside the house.  My stomach again felt awful and suddenly it occurred to me.  These symptoms were not an allergic reaction, though I expected to have some since I'd moved back to Southwest Missouri and always had hay fever as a child and teen living here. When we discussed it, my brother had described to me the same symptoms he would experience after planting crops on my side of the family farming operation and being in close contact with the factory farm next door.  They were the same as the ones that I was experiencing now.

It was the smell and stench from the Factory Farm known as a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (or CAFO) only a few miles around the corner from my new home.  It was then it occurred to me why no tenant had been able to live in this house for a long time and stay for any length of time without blaming the smell for their departure.  The Factory Farm around the corner was the culprit.  And it was my new "neighbor."

"Crossing The Texas Panhandle Plains 2013"
Photo courtesy of Photoartdb Consulting
Copyright 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

Author's Disclaimer:  Please be advised that the comments written by this individual are made without any commercial endorsement or compensation.  If that changes, will certainly advise the readers.  This blog is intended to document my personal experiences living right next door to a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) otherwise known as a Factory Farm. And no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed these words. Everyone is constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and their own opinion, thank goodness.  These words are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks except me. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses in comments. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)

Words Can Be Confusing. Get The Facts Before You Decide What's Right.

Theatrical Release Poster for Soylent Green
Blogger claims absolutely no copyright for this image at all nor any commercial benefit.
Movie produced by MGM in 1973 and poster design is by John Solie.
Excerpt description from Wikipedia:  Soylent Green is a 1973 American science fiction film directed by Richard Fleischerand starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and, in his final film, Edward G. Robinson. The film combines the police procedural and science fiction genres, depicting the investigation into the murder of a wealthy businessman in a dystopianfuture suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans, and all year humidity due to the greenhouse effect.
Much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green".

When a person says "Right to Farm," you think it must be good, clean and green; something to support because it keeps food on the table and farmers deserve to have rights.  Right?  Wrong.  Don't be confused by the language - especially when it is written by politicians who don't have a clue to the Pandora's Box they are opening.

Missouri has a piece of legislation that is coming up for a vote on Tuesday, August 5 called Amendment #1, the so-called "Right To Farm"bill.  This bill is confusing, convoluted and totally outrageous in how it will lift the ceiling on the restrictions on foreign ownership of our beautiful farmland, open the door for Big Ag companies like Monsanto and Cargill to do whatever they want and wherever they want without any kind of local intervention because a Constitutional Amendment trumps any local control or individual ability to take action in a court when their rights are violated.

As someone who lives around the corner from a factory farm that is barely policed within the existing laws that do exist, poorly thought out and written legislation like Amendment #1 truly shows me that our politicians are not out to help us and are in the pocket for P.A.C. committees for the large agricultural concerns who want to do what they want without any kind of restrictions, controls or federal controls.  Reminds me of a sci-fi movie starring Charlton Heston called "Soylent Green," eh?  Eat it.  Don't ask what it is.  Don't label it.  Just be happy and eat it.  Learn more about this classic that is turning into reality in this country: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soylent_Green

GMO Labeling is so imperative and important for our food.  It will be the next target.   The next step will be for Corporate Ag to take away your ability to find out what you're eating.  If this "Right To Farm" legislation passes in this and other states, you may lose your control to know what you're putting in your body and feeding your family.

As my family member who still farms following sustainable agricultural method points out, we have clothing that has a Country of Origin labeling so you know where it comes from, care instructions so you know how to take care of it and materials listed in case you're allergic to wool or another fiber in its manufacturing.  Well, don't you want to know what  you're putting in your body and on your table?  As a person who has an autoimmune condition that makes it imperative that I know what I'm eating, it is essential and actually life threatening to me if I don't know what I'm putting in my mouth.  The same is true for others who suffer similar health issues.  If the corporate giants have their way, you won't know what country that meat came from or where your vegetables were grown.  You will be like the people in Soylent Green and eat what is given to you without any right to know where it came from, what the ingredients are or if it came from a place where you trust the agricultural practices.

It makes me so sad to see where things are headed with agriculture and farming.  My family has farmed for generations in Missouri and always practiced things that were good for the animals, protected the water like the precious commodity that it is and done things to help the land become rich and producing - not stripping the resources and taking from them until the land can't give anything back because its nutrients have been stripped dry.  Factory farms mess it all up.  They mow down stands of trees that have stood for centuries, only to irrigate the heck out of that barren land when the trees actually attract the rains that farmers find such a blessing.  A waste of water and resources because they think they are endless - and they are not.  Mother Nature will give and give until it is all gone.  And greedy men and women will take it until they can't take any more.

China has already messed up their own environment and, through the acquisition of one of the largest pork producers/distributors in the world, now own 50,000 acres of Missouri farmland.  Right now, there is a limit to what they can own by prior statutes.  With the passing of Amendment #1 in Missouri, those restrictions will go away along with the protections put in place by Proposition B in 2010.

What does someone do when they want to get something over on another person?  Well, they talk in such big terms with such convoluted, vague wording that people just agree to move on to the next subject.  Lawyers have made a living off of confusing people by twisting words and making them seem like the opposite of what is really happening.  Well, this is what is happening when you have an Amendment go on a ballot with different wording from the wording that was passed by the State Legislature.  Confusion that can turn the people into sheep being led to the slaughter.

Tomorrow, my time will be spent making phone calls to people encouraging them to vote against this dangerous and ill-thought-out legislation.  If you believe in keeping America beautiful, the food on your table safe and healthy, you should look into what you can do to stop "right to farm" legislation from becoming a "right to harm" after August 5th in Missouri.  And if you live elsewhere, look for this harmful effort to come to your State soon.  They're trying to feed us something that we won't like or might possibly make us sick when we find out where and how it was made.  And remember 2022 is only eight years away.

Blog Author's Disclaimer:  Please be advised that the comments written by this individual are made without any commercial endorsement or compensation.  If that changes, will certainly advise the readers.  This blog is intended to document my personal experiences living right next door to a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) or otherwise known as a Factory Farm.  And no other company, nonprofit or other organization has approved or endorsed these words. Everyone is constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and their own opinion, thank goodness.  These words are my sole opinion and no one else is responsible for these remarks except me. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind responses in comments. Please keep language clean and our farmlands green. :)