CAFOs & Communities Podcast

CAFOs & Communities

Laura Bratton
CAFOs and Communities explores the impact of the hog industry on Eastern North Carolina. Shoresides talks community members, farmers, lawyers, advocates, activists', scientists and scholars about how concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's) have shaped people's lives and health in the coastal region.
The Environmental Impacts of CAFOs
"We began to see the fish show up in the river with sores all over their body. And my son and I started to get the sores on our bodies, the same as the fish," says Rick Dove, the first Neuse Riverkeeper. He's talking about when he first started seeing large-scale fish kills on the Neuse back in the 1990's. Fish kills can largely be traced back to waste coming from CAFOs.In this episode of CAFOs & Communities, Larry Baldwin, the Crystal Coast Waterkeeper, explains how CAFOs impact the environment. He discusses the impacts on aquatic life, starting with the large scale fish kills Dove talks about.Produced by Larry Baldwin, Kayla Guilliams, and Laura Bratton in collaboration with Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, Rick Dove, Kemp Burdette, Elsie Herring, and Sherri White-Williamson. Special thanks to Larry Baldwin of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch for making this podcast possible.Music: Pure Water by Medyn, Thoughts by ANBR,  Aquarius by Spearfisher. Photos by Laura Bratton. References:CBS 17, "Hog lagoon contamination just beginning," 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HlRv_RWxyA CDC, "Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and Their Impact on Communities," 2010. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf MD Sea Grant, "Pfiesteria Update: An Enduring Debate," 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAFVC1T0KpU   Riverlaw, "Fish Kills."  http://www.riverlaw.us/fish-kills/   Sierra Club, "Why are CAFOs bad?" https://www.sierraclub.org/michigan/why-are-cafos-bad UNC Med TV, "Neuse River," 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi2oDDdep04
Apr 15, 2021
18 min
Industrial Hog Operations And The People Who Run Them
Contract growers and community members who speak out against the hog industry in eastern North Carolina rarely see themselves as members of the same team - but they have more in common than they think. In this episode of CAFO's & Communities, we take listeners through the evolution of contract farming within the swine industry from the 20th century up to today. We speak with a hog grower from Lillington, North Carolina named Tom Butler, who tells us how he got into the business and why he's had to stay. Produced by Sherri White-Williamson, Kayla Guilliams, and Laura Bratton in collaboration with Larry Baldwin, Elsie Herring, Rick Dove, and Tom Butler. Special thanks to Larry Baldwin of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch for making this podcast possible.To learn more and get involved, visit North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, North Carolina Conservation Network, and Coastal Carolina Riverwatch's websites.Music: Pure Water by Medyn, Thoughts by ANBR,  Aquarius by Spearfisher. Photos by Laura Bratton. References:“1950's Camel Smoking Advert,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxrCjmqRTz0“American Leaf - Tobacco's Last Harvest, Full Documentary” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H7-Tw7r63c“Marlboro Cigarettes Commercial,” 1955 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wibHcZ4FNbUThe Meat We Eat, “Pork Production: Farrow to Finish Process,” 2017. https://meatscience.org/TheMeatWeEat/topics/fresh-meat/article/2017/03/09/pork-production-farrow-to-finish-process“Peter Stuyvesant Cigarette Commercial,” 1985. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIp1FE41tpESalary, “Pig Farmer Salary in the United States,” https://www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/pig-farmer-salary“Washington Journal, Tobacco Regulation,” C-SPAN, 2004.  https://www.c-span.org/video/?182726-6/tobacco-regulationWRAL, “The Hog Industry in North Carolina - Pigs, Politics And Pollution,” 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHosjIWdqRk
Mar 17, 2021
17 min
A Brief History of Eastern North Carolina's Hog Industry
How did we get from small farms, like the one in Charlotte’s Web, to factory farms? In this episode of CAFO's & Communities, we explore the history and politics of eastern North Carolina's hog industry - from the late 19th century to today.Produced by Lee Miller, Kayla Guilliams, and Laura Bratton in collaboration with Ryke Longest, Elsie Herring, Rick Dove, Will Hendrick, Paul Butler, and Larry Baldwin. Special thanks to Larry Baldwin of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch for making this podcast possible.To learn more and get involved, visit North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, North Carolina Conservation Network, and Coastal Carolina Riverwatch's websites.Music: Pure Water by Medyn, Thoughts by ANBR,  Aquarius by Spearfisher. Photo by Laura Bratton. References:Charlottes Web 1973 Theatrical Trailer, Paramount Pictures, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrHz9Pw0F7Y  D. Lee Miller & Ryke Longest, Reconciling Environmental Justice with Climate Change Mitigation: A Case Study of NC Swine CAFOs, 21 Vermont Journal of Environmental Law 523-543 (2020) https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/4034/  Dove, R., “CAFO History,” Riverlaw (2014), http://www.riverlaw.us/industry-history/  Environmental Working Group, “EXPOSING FIELDS OF FILTH: Locations of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in North Caroling by County,” EWG and Waterkeeper Alliance, https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2016_north_carolina_animal_feeding_operations_bycounty.php.    Harold Hardison on Hardison Amendment (1985), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGhiHNtu7fk  National Pork Board, “America’s Top 100 Pork Counties” (2012), https://www.pork.org/facts/stats/structure-and-productivity/americas-top-100-pig-counties/  Real 1950s Rock & Roll, Rockabilly Dance from Lindy Hop, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf55gHK48VQ  Thu, et al., “A Control Study of the Physical and Mental Health of Residents Living Near aLarge-Scale Swine Operation,” Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 3(1): 13-26 (1997). Whiskey River - Willie Nelson & Family (Live in Raleigh, NC - Farm Aid '14) (2014), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYw8VvNFDV4  
Feb 23, 2021
24 min
The Communities
"We were just sitting on the porch like normal on a beautiful Saturday. And then we heard this tractor, and then all of a sudden this animal waste was coming everywhere and it was stinking like nothing we had ever experienced," says Elsie Herring of Wallace, North Carolina. Herring is one of many eastern North Carolinians who have had negative health impacts and financial burdens as a result of nearby concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO's) over the last several decades. In this episode of CAFO's & Communities, we explore how the hog industry's hazardous waste redistribution has harmed neighboring communities and what they're doing about it.Produced by Dedan Waciuri, Kayla Guilliams, and Laura Bratton in collaboration with Sherri White-Williamson, Elsie Herring, Jeff Currie, Larry Baldwin, and Naeema Muhammad. Special thanks to Larry Baldwin of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch.To learn more and get involved, visit North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, North Carolina Conservation Network, and Coastal Carolina Riverwatch's websites.Music: Pure Water by Medyn, Thoughts by ANBR,  Aquarius by Spearfisher. Sounds by Badlands Sound via Artist and YouTube Audio Library. Photos by Laura Bratton. Bottom right photo by Jeremy Lange, taken from ProPublica. References:Environmental Working Group, “EXPOSING FIELDS OF FILTH: Locations of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in North Caroling by County,” EWG and Waterkeeper Alliance,https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/2016_north_carolina_animal_feeding_operations_bycounty.php.Kravchenko, J., “The Coming Storm 2019: Hog CAFOs, Human Health & Hurricanes in N.C,” Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment (2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHf22c_uwzc.Kravchenko et al., “Mortality and Health Outcomes in North Carolina Communities Located in Close Proximity to Hog Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” North Carolina Medical Journal, 79 (5):278-288 (2018).Marks, R., “CESSPOOLS OF SHAME: How Factory Farm Lagoons and Sprayfields Threaten Environmental and Public Health,” Natural Resources Defense Council and the Clean Water Network (2001).Schiffman et al., “Potential Health Effects of Odor From Animal Operations, Wastewater Treatment, and Recycling of Byproducts,” Journal of Agromedicine, 7(1): 7-81 (2000); Policy Statement Adopted by the House of Delegates, North Carolina Council of Churches (2000).Sobsey, M., McBride Health Conference, UNC Chapel Hill (1990), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoTcCooC7AE.Thu, et al., “A Control Study of the Physical and Mental Health of Residents Living Near a Large-Scale Swine Operation,” Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health 3(1): 13-26 (1997).Wing, S., “Community Health Impacts of Factory Farms,” TEDxTalks Manhattan (2013), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZW8-LQftnY.
Jan 25, 2021
13 min