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.

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