Peace and justice advocate concerned about survival of small hog farms

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff writer
(Email Katie)
Posted Oct. 3, 2002

The farming community in Iowa is being taken over by the factory farming system, according to a retired priest of the diocese.

"The whole challenge of the factory farming system, the company either owns the whole operation, or otherwise the company makes a contract with the farmer to raise hogs for them," said Father Marvin Boes, director of the diocesan peace and justice commission. "They raise the hogs in the farmers buildings, but the factory farming system tells them what feed they need to use and anything to do with the hogs."

The hogs are delivered by contractors for a certain price and sometimes it isn't necessarily clear who really owns the hogs.

For example, there are large corporations who buy smaller corporations and gain contracts along with some of the other companies in local communities. As a result, it is decided not to renew the contracts of some of the places.

"This does away with local businesses," said Father Boes of the farming system. This is due to the fact that the larger companies send in the feed and supplies for the hogs.

"It was only about 10 years ago when they introduced the factory farming system into the hogs in the state of Iowa," said Father Boes. "They now have 60 percent of the hogs in the United States."

Father Boes' main point is that people need to know what is going on in their community so that they know there are resources within the community to help them deal with the situation.

He has sent out information to parishes about this issue. "It is a way for people to learn and get an awareness of what is really happening in those rural communities and what they can do," he said.

If people decide they want to connect, the parishes can bring in people to help inform them of what they can do. The information is to help empower the people to do something so they don't feel helpless, commented Father Boes.

Some farmers say that they just are not going to raise hogs that way. He said that most farmers would prefer to raise the hogs on traditional family farms.

"What happens is that in this type of factory farming system, they take for granted that they are going to pollute," said Father Boes. "It has an effect on community life from this point of view, too."

There is a danger in using farming as they use mining, noted Father Boes. "By exploiting the land, we can have so many years of production before it isn't there anymore. They go in and use the resources and the farmer only gets a minimum wage," he stressed.

From a similar stand point comes that of the Rural Life Office. The Diocese of Sioux City is primarily a rural community. The economy and lifestyle is based on rural life and family farm agriculture.

"We have always stood with Catholic social teaching and the position of the church," said Marilyn Murphy, the social concerns facilitator/rural life contact person. "The Catholic Church has always been steadfastly supporting widespread ownership of land, sustainable agriculture and a family farm based system of agriculture."

Things that have been done in the diocese have been consistent with the church's position, internationally, nationally and locally.

"The coalition to preserve family farms spoke on behalf of rural life family farm agriculture and the rural communities within the system," said Murphy. "This continued to function as the voice in the diocese related to family farm agriculture."

In 1995, the coalition issued a statement concerning large scale livestock confinement operations. This goes along with the concern and the commitment to the principles of pastoral statements.

"Our diocese has been working with the National Catholic Rural Life Conference to address the needs of the people who are being forced from the land or who choose to leave family farming because it is no longer feasible for them to continue," said Murphy. "We also work with them on efforts to promote sustainable agriculture practices in the diocese."

The diocese is also part of the Rural Advocacy 2003 Coalition that promotes the legislative agenda that will promote family farm agriculture and family farm livestock production in the state of Iowa.

"It also addresses issues that relate to the problems of rural people in terms of access to health needs and to economic development," said Murphy.

The issue of family farming is dealt with by people within the diocese as well as outside. Information is available concerning these issues for people to look at and make their own judgments.