Posted on Mon, Mar. 11, 2002 - Lexington Herald-Leader

  Food not cheap if you figure cost to health, environment
  By Aloma W. Dew
(Aloma W. Dew is the Sierra Club's conservation organizer for Kentucky)

  How do we determine a fair price for our food? Is cheap food really
  cheap? A recent editorial urged consumers to consider the price to the
  "environment, public health, taxpayers, agriculture policy, worker safety
  and U.S. border security" when buying chicken. Until we consumers realize
  the power we have when making food choices, we will not correct the
  problems and the lie of cheap food.

  The Sierra Club has been working to educate citizens about the many
  problems associated with concentrated animal feeding operations (known as
  CAFOs) and the unsustainability of industrial agriculture. This type of
  agriculture is neither sustainable nor farming -- these are animal
  factories that create problems that cost us all, urban as well as rural
  residents, in the long run.

  Under Gov. Paul Patton's emergency CAFO regulations, which the General
  Assembly has refused to accept and make permanent, the corporation that
  owns the birds and controls their feed and medication is held jointly
  liable for environmental problems caused by these facilities. Kentucky is
  the first state to adopt such regulations to hold corporations like Tyson
  accountable for the pollution caused by their factories. It makes good
  sense for consumers, growers and neighbors, all of whom need protection.

  The grower has no control over whether he receives a full shipment of
  healthy birds, what they eat, what is in the feed or when they will be
  picked up. The grower owns the dead birds and the waste, and must bear
  the full burden for environmental problems. He or she becomes a manager,
  not a farmer. The grower is entirely at the mercy of the corporation and
  should not be left holding the bag when there is an environmental or
  health problem. Neither should the taxpayer be left with this burden.

  Those who live near poultry CAFOs tell of respiratory problems, sore
  throats and nausea. They describe windows covered with flies and dust,
  putrid stench and waves of rodents. They talk about the stress of being
  captive in their homes, unable to enjoy their rural property, which in
  many cases has been in a family for generations; the noise and lights;
  and sleepless nights when chickens are being loaded for processing.

  Although most readers will never have to contend with the overwhelming
  odor, dust or flies, each of us will need to take antibiotics at some
  time. We assume they will work and that infectious diseases will continue
  to yield to the miracle of antibiotics. Yet recent reports by the
  American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and
  Prevention, the Union of Concerned Scientists and other groups reveal
  that antibiotic resistance is growing at an alarming rate.

  This is caused in part by the fact that animals are given low doses of
  antibiotics in their feed and water. Cipro (a fluoroquinolone) became a
  household word after the post Sept. 11 anthrax threats. It is apparently
  the most effective drug for the treatment of anthrax and many other
  illnesses, but its usefulness has been eroded by the use of the same
  family of drugs to help chickens grow faster.

  Some companies recently announced that they would phase out use of
  fluoroquinolones in broilers. The public needs to be assured that this is
  done with all due speed and that it is done in all poultry products, by
  all companies.

  When animals are grown in smaller numbers and more humane conditions,
  they do not need such medication. Perhaps we should preface our purchases
  in stores and restaurants with inquiries as to where the food comes from,
  how it was raised, whether it contains antibiotics and what the
  conditions in the processing plant were. Our purchasing power is one way
  we can bring about change.

  The health of Kentuckians, the protection of our air, water and soil, and
  support for those farmers who want to treat the Earth gently are goals we
  all share, urban and rural. When you are at the grocery or restaurant,
  keep in mind the issues of justice, the environment, health and the true
  cost of cheap food.

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