Friends of Rural New York

Despite the efforts of corporate lobbyists to pressure legislators to change their votes, Missouri legislators did not cave to corporate interests.  The MO House defeated a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) bill by a vote of 84 to 77. Fifty-seven democrats and 27 republicans joined family farmers and rural citizens in defeating this bill.  The key components of the CAFO bill were:

--Removing public notification requirements to all neighbors living within one mile of a CAFO.
--Drastically weakening local control by taking away counties’ authority to enact health ordinances to protect their citizens from the environmental and health risks associated with CAFOS.

Missouri Rural Crisis Center members mounted an intensive campaign against this bill framing it as a taking of local control and property rights from the majority of family farmers and rural citizens. Hundreds of members participated in the creation and implementation of the campaign: crafting the message, writing letters, running a radio and print ad campaign, making phone calls and going to the capitol every week. This was a major victory won with the never-ending commitment of family farmers, rural citizens, county commissioners and allies in the conservation, labor and civil rights communities.

from: The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture