(3) Brooke Jarvis, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Manure Pit Runoff.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... y-give-legal-shield
Quote:
“The bill’s sponsors [in Indiana’s legislature to amend state constitution] said it was a way to keep non-farmers, including national animal rights groups, from meddling in the state’s rural interests—an update on the right-to-farm laws that protect farmers in all 50 states from being sued by people who move to rural areas from cities and then sue their new neighbors over the smell.
“Indiana is one of several states that have moved to change their constitutions to favor agricultural operations. In 2012, North Dakota became the first to enshrine [in state constitution, thus banning state laws--past and future--contrary to that effect] a broad right to engage in ‘modern farming practices.’
“Much of the drive behind the amendments has come from big [agricultural] corporations [such as Cargill and Monsanto].
My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: States consider constitutional amendments that could shield industrial farms from lawsuits
(b) In print, an arrow points to the green pool in the online photo and labels “manure pit runoff” which is an integral part of the title.
(c) right-to-farm laws
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-farm_laws
(“Right to farm laws in the United States (sometimes called nuisance laws) deny nuisance suits against farmers who use accepted and standard farming practices, even if these practices harm or bother adjacent property owners or the general public. Agricultural nuisances may include noise, odors, visual clutter and dangerous structures. Every state has some form of a right-to-farm law”)
(d) Wayne County, Indiana
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_County,_Indiana
(named for Gen "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who was an officer during the Revolutionary War)
Compare
Wayne State University, located in Detroit, seat of Wayne County, Michigan. These two counties, together with City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, are all named for the same general.
(e) In the Web page 2 of the article, there is an arial photo at the time where a dairy farm was to the left and the Stickdirns's farm to the right, demarcated by a vertical line right in the middle. In print, there is a label "open manure pit" atop the lower right quadrant of the dairy farm, 3 to 6 o'clock relative to the white barn.
(f) When I saw the title, and the photos (two additional ones in print), I thought the article would be facetious and inane. It turns out to be not the case. Regarding a somber matter, the article talks about things we have had in Taiwan also (and we did not really mind, for we thought the world lived that way; I am referring to the mindset there back prior to my departure fro Taiwan). |