In order to understand how the environmental and health impacts of hog farming can best be remedied, it is first necessary to look at the politics behind hog farming in North Carolina, and at the state’s role both as a supporter of the industry, and, more recently, as a leading regulatory agent
One of the major environmental effects that hog farming has caused is nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Hog waste which emits high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus can have disastrous effects such as fish kills, groundwater contamination, and release of other pollutives into water systems.
In the past decade, the health risks of hog farming have become more prevalent and understood. The geographic concentration of pollutants created by hog farming made the impact felt more severely by particular communities. In this time scientists began to study the direct impact of pollutants on hog farmers as well as the potential for contamination in the surrounding communities. These studies can be used to create effective programs that reduce both health risks and the risk of contamination.
The Economist magazine, in reference to the nation's largest
hog farm located in North Carolina, nicknamed the state "Porkopolis."
Increasing industrialization of hog farming in North Carolina created
a $1.2 billion gross revenue industry, surpassing tobacco and poultry
as the state's leading source of farm income. With low feed and input
costs, North Carolina hog farmers have a competitive advantage over other
states in their profit margins. If hog farmers decided to switch to more
sustainable waste prevention methods, they might be able to extend their
competitive edge over the Heartland and Midwest regions. The public costs
associated with clean-up would be replaced by phasing in more economically
efficient methods than paying for clean-up after the spills.
Up until the mid-1990s, the state was one of the leading supporters of industrialized hog production, allowing the industry to go virtually unregulated for more than a decade. Environmental disasters and growing public discontent have led to a substantial increase in the number of government regulations and restrictions on the industry since 1997, yet concerns still remain over costs, liability, and regulatory management. As the environmental and health effects of hog farming become ever more apparent, we must look carefully at questions of accountability, power structures, and policy implications in order to assess the future of both the industry and the region itself.
Communities have responded to the consequences of the Hog Industry all over Eastern North Carolina in various forms of participatory action. From joining lobby groups to creating local action coalitions, these citizens have educated themselves and used this knowledge to defend their own environmental health. Despite many significant successes, there are still many obstacles for such citizen action groups which can only be overcome with a change in both the scientific and the political arenas and their relationship to such organizations. Having already begun the fight for better environmental health, these people must not be overlooked in studying the Hog Industry of NC, but rather recognized as a source of local knowledge and a meeting ground for political and scientific cooperation.
Hog
Farming in
North Carolina
Hog Farming Facts
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North Carolina ranks second in tonnage of hog waste among American states.
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In the last 10 years, the hog population in North Carolina has increased by 285%
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North Carolina hogs produce 19 million tons of hog feces and urine a year
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In 1998, there were more than 115 illegal releases of hog waste reported by the state.
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By law, hog farms are not mandated to report leakage from lagoons.
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Hog farms release more nitrogen pollution into the air than all other industrial sources combined.
(source: www.edf.org)