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Interchange – Amber Kerezman, Alan Hamilton, Barbara Artinian – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

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Tom Healy hosts journalist Amber Kerezman who has written extensively about Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Also on the program are Lawrence County residents, Alan Hamilton and Barbara Artinian, who are trying to keep a factory farm out of their neighborhood. Two recent national studies have found that the widespread growth of factory farms threatens public health, damages the environment and reduces property values in rural communities where such facilities are located. According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), facilities may be permitted without regard to decreased property values, wear and tear on county roads or bridges or problems associated with odor. Alan Hamilton and Barbara Artinian are working to prevent a neighbor from building a facility to house 30,000 turkeys in their neighborhood. They maintain the proposed site is too close to the Salt Creek watershed and could pollute drinking water. They also describe the response they’ve gotten from local elected officials as well as representatives of IDEM. Amber Kerezman has visited CAFOs in several counties and reports about her conversations with the neighbors who have suffered adverse health effects from close proximity to a CAFO. All three guests recommend a variety of state and local strategies to regulate factory farms.

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