GREAT SAND HILLS REGIONAL SURVEY LOCAL RESIDENTS ATTITUDES ...
CAFO Regulation and Political Action: A survey of local residents' attitudes
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Transcript of CAFO Regulation and Political Action: A survey of local residents' attitudes
A Survey of Local Residents' Attitudes Towards Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
(CAFOs) in One Rural Michigan County.
The Survey
A survey of 300 Lenawee County residents’ attitudes towards Concentrated Animal
Feeding Operations was conducted over 5 days between March 27 and April 4, 2008 by
Adrian College students in PSCI 295 Research Methods class.
Respondents were separated by gender, whether they lived in a town or in the country,
family connections to agriculture, and ideology. In the beginning, respondents were
asked about their knowledge of CAFOs, starting with the question: “Do you know what
a CAFO is?” Most respondents were unfamiliar with the term CAFO; however, most
respondents knew what a CAFO was when they were given the definition: “A CAFO is
concentrated animal feeding operation, for example a dairy farm, with 500 or more
animals”. The respondents were then asked series of questions regarding the problems
they believed were caused by CAFOs. Some of the questions involved issues such as
CAFOs effects on Lenawee County’s economy, property values, the environment, the
regulation of CAFOs, whether or not CAFOs posed a threat to the water supply or
family farms, and their family connections to agriculture.
There are nine CAFOs total in Lenawee County (see figure, left of text) and
about 200 in Michigan. The US census defines Adrian, MI as a micropolitan statistical
area. That means that it has more than 10,000 but less than 50,000 people. Adrian, MI is
estimated to have about 21,703 people. For our purposes, we decided that any town with
city limits is considered “municipal” and any place without city limits is considered
“non-municipal.”
Lenawee County’s CAFOs
CAFO’s Significance
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations or CAFOs are industrial farming businesses in
which a high density of livestock is raised in a confined area. These facilities are also
known as Confined Animal Feeding Operations. A continuing debate exists over the ethics
of animal treatment, the possible damage to the environment, the potential benefits of
CAFO’s industriousness, and the effect on neighbor’s property.
This system also allows for standardization which many argue could destroy biodiversity
and simultaneously quickly spread disease. Some seem adamantly opposed for one reason
or another while others see profit in benefiting from the economic boost. Several are more
concerned about the level of regulation imposed on the CAFOs.
Public opinion on the way in which world agriculture innovates and is regulated could have
major consequences. Striving to feed a global population has lead to massive increases in
production while the process has become more automated, employing fewer workers. The
number of farms has declined while the production of product has increased exponentially.
Concerns about the environment and the process continue to clash with the need to feed and
produce at low costs. As a catalyst for continuous change agricultural market trade is nearly
a free market with very capitalistic ideals which brings focus on a consistent and low cost
product. This important and dangerous conflict will continue to affect more people. Public
opinion will likely dictate the course of agricultural effectiveness in the future. Lenawee
County seems to be a major battle ground for the debate. On either side of the issue
concerned citizens have been taking political action and seeking their say in the media.
Perhaps by studying the actual opinions of the county citizens and comparing it with policy
action taken could indicate the direction of the conflict between production and its negative
byproducts.
Dairy Barn (Bruinsma Dairy)
Gender and Ideology in Lenawee County
Should/Should not CAFOs have to build waste treatment plants?
Do you or anyone in your family work in agriculture?
Have you experienced or not experienced problems caused by CAFOs?
Respondents where primarily female most likely as a result of the survey
being taken by phone. The chart to the right also indicates that as predicted
Lenawee County is largely conservative in political ideology.
Josh Emington Matt Stiller James E. Hanley
Adrian College
The figure to the right illustrates a positive political
viewpoint of conservatives toward supporting CAFOs.
It is evident that very liberal respondents were far less
likely to think of these operations as beneficial.
The bar graph, right, indicates the recurring bias of conservatives in support of CAFOs. The majority of the county agrees that they should not be banned and the greatest portion of these respondents is comprised of conservatives. While liberals where for the most part neutral on the subject, overall they are opposed to an outright ban as well.
In order to categorize our sample and learn about the
country we asked some questions about the respondents
themselves. Asking the question (right) regarding work in
agriculture helped gather the perspective that this county is
strongly involved in agriculture. Observing that three
fourths of the sample answered yes to this question reveals
one reason that agriculture is an important component of the
economy and a personal issue for many.
When asked whether CAFOs should build waste treatment plants
the majority thought that that this regulation should be based on
circumstances. Thirty six percent thought they should. This
indicates that the county is in favor of tight regulation for CAFOs.
When asked if they had actually experienced problems
personally related to CAFOs only twelve percent answered
that they had. This reveals that political stance on the
operations is largely based on outside perspectives and
influences.
Coordinating the data from the survey allows
several conclusions. Lenawee generally perceives
CAFOs as a sort of ‘necessary evil’ that can cause
problems but is an integral part of the economy.
Most respondents thought that tighter regulation
was the solution so long as it did not jeopardize the
existence of the businesses.
Collecting concerns revealed that the mentioned world
wide concerns from our research were also held by local
residence.
The survey also confirmed that the stereotypes regarding
the agricultural and conservative nature of the county are
a reality.
As Lenawee develops and deals with its concerns regarding
CAFOs the survey data can be used to establish political
action patterns and solutions that will become applicable to
many other geographic locations. These very issues are
being discussed and acted on in India and other regions in
need of low cost food right now. Our study predicts that as
capitalism hunger increase CAFOs will be recognized as a
legitimate solution. The results also indicate that concerns
will be held and firm regulations will be presented to prevent
economic damage.