A nonprofit law firm and the Center for Civil Rights is using federal civil rights laws in a challenge to the pork industry in North Carolina, says Civil Eats. “This crisis involves the lasting impact of pollution from large concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) housing pigs,” writes Steve Holt. The complaint says the hog industry disposes of animal waste in a manner that disproportionately and negatively affects minority groups. Negotiations with state environmental officials broke down earlier this month.
The hog industry says it does not believe its operations endanger the health of neighbors. An attorney for the Center for Civil Rights says hog farms store animal waste in manure lagoons and later spray the watery waste on fields as a fertilizer. The process generates vile odors and contaminates waterways, attorney Elizabeth Haddix said. There were 8.8 million hogs on North Carolina farms in December, second only to Iowa’s 20.8 million head. Minnesota was No. 3 in hogs with 7.95 million, followed by Illinois with 5.05 million and Indiana with 3.75 million, said the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. USDA is to update the figures on Friday.