Enough

I have been reading with interest the arguments surrounding the possibility of an increase in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Wabash County. The matter seems to revolve around the question, “Are CAFOs bad or not-so-bad?” with the idea that if they are bad, we should prohibit them in the county, and if they are not-so-bad, we should promote them. Framing the question in this way sets us up for a future that creates winners and losers.

I am wondering if there may not be another question that would offer a more favorable solution: “Do we have enough CAFOs in the county?”

My question recognizes two competing visions for the future of Wabash County. One is the vision based on more CAFOs, which sees a future of more and more angry neighbors filled with suspicions. Regardless of law, regulations, or purported economic benefits, those living near a CAFO will always be suspicious of the CAFO as the source of harm to the neighborhood. At the same time, CAFO operators will always be suspicious of their neighbors as the source of persistent complaints. As the number of CAFOs increase—as does the number of new families moving closer to them (due to hoped-for county development)—contentiousness increases.

The second vision sees more small, beautiful farms near which people want to live. These farms do not produce commodities to be sent away, but instead produce food to be consumed locally. If you buy a good portion of your meat, vegetables, and eggs from a neighbor, it is more likely that your relationship will be, well…neighborly. Moreover, buying food locally means that the dollars spent stay in the county rather than being sent away. What if Wabash County had a hundred small attractive farms each producing food for fifty families (and even for our public schools)? Neighborliness increases! Perhaps our county is ripe for just this kind of future.

Indeed, there are all sorts of problems to tackle no matter which vision is chosen. I invite the dialogue that allows us to test good ideas and to wrestle honorably with the attendant problems toward the benefit of all who live here. Let’s begin with this: in Wabash County, perhaps we have enough CAFOs and not enough local food producers.

What do you think?