Since assuming office, Governor Perdue has not taken a position regarding what she will do, if anything, to reform the pollution practices of the swine industry. Governor Perdue is from eastern North Carolina and is personally aware of
the devastating impacts this industry continues to impose on the water, air, land and communities. She has flown over the swine facilities in airplanes of the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation on several occasions and understands how these swine facilities negatively impact citizens who are forced to suffer the inhalation of swine odor and its dangerous contents. She has seen, up close and personal, the consequences related to swine pollution, including the algae that covers waterways and the massive fish kills.
The residents of North Carolina are anxiously awaiting to hear from the Governor on this issue.
Below is a petition of the Lower Neuse Riverkeeper. It is a call for action concerning the swine industry's potential impacts on human health.
On Monday, July 6, 2009 a letter supported by 25 organizations and signed by 33 individuals was hand delivered to Governor Perdue. The letter calls on the state to establish an independent Task Force to examine the link between swine flu and factory farming as well as other health impacts to the general public associated with intensive, industrial livestock operations.
Pig populations in North Carolina hit 10,000,000 in 1998, yet the number of farms was shrinking rapidly as traditional family farmers were absorbed by huge corporations. North Carolina is currently the number two state for swine production in the United States, just behind Iowa.
Due to poor management of the waste produced on these facilities, animal feeding operations have become one of the largest health threats to the State of North Carolina. The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production has found that these confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) posed "unacceptable" public health risks.
The goal of the Task Force would be to investigate and report on the potential for adverse affects on public health and wellbeing of North Carolina's citizens from CAFOs and the associated economic impact on the communities located in the vicinity of a swine operation, to include increased health care costs.
Please join us in requesting the Governor to convene this important task force by signing the online petition, created by the White Oak-New RIVERKEEPER®, at: http://www.wonriverkeeper.org/petition
Sincerely,
Larry Baldwin Lower Neuse RIVERKEEPER®