EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Six, Number Two January/February 1997 MINI-CHURCH TAKES ON MEGA-HOG FARM By Rev. Marvin Lindsay, from a story in PRC Update, newsletter of Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, Fall 1996 The peace and quiet around Range Line Presbyterian Church in Pettis County, Missouri, was broken last February when word spread that a mega-hog farm was coming to the community. Mega-hog farming is the efficient, profitable industrialization of swine production which tends to run the traditional, small hog farmers out of business. It is also an environmental disaster. The huge manure lagoons produce overpowering odors, which make outdoor activities impossible. Lagoon spills in several states have killed millions of fish. Our sixty-seven member church worked to prevent such a facility from being built in our community. We gathered as much information as we could from a variety of sources. and composed a letter, stating our concerns, grounding it in scientific data and in the Gospel's call to practice good stewardship and neighborliness. This we sent to federal, state and local officials, the owner corporation and the news media. We held a community forum at the church to present our data to the public. We invited everyone to speak out. (We also fed everyone beforehand.) Our church Session met face to face with the corporation for a frank and cordial exchange of views. We launched a letter writing campaign. The Missouri State Legislature listened to us and to others in the county. They rejected a strong lobbying effort by the swine industry to gut existing regulations. The Pettis County commission passed an ordinance preventing these facilities from being built so close to homes. We are pleased that we were able to act on Christian convictions to preserve our community's air and water, and to preserve the market share of a small hog farmer somewhere. For more, write the Rev. Marvin Lindsay, RR 1, Box 5-1 A, Sweet Springs MO 65351; 816/ 335-4342. Home     Table of Contents