Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,
In 2002, Iowa’s Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) overturned a decision made by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that would have allowed a factory farm to build with over 7,200 sows, less than half a mile from our home. Hundreds of our neighbors joined the fight to stop this factory farm from building.
That factory farm would not have been denied without Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), a statewide organization that I have been a member of ever since. When the DNR still chose to approve the permit, Iowa CCI organized with us to appeal the DNR’s decision to the EPC.
For years, Iowa CCI members have been taking on corporate power and organizing against local factory farm proposals across Iowa. With the cards so stacked against us in these fights, organizing experience is key.
Iowa is already home to over 10,000 factory farms. We can’t afford to allow any more. Every year, hundreds more factory farms are added to our communities, using up our aquifiers and polluting our waterways. Enough is enough. If there is a proposed factory farm near you and you’re ready to fight back, Iowa CCI can help. Call us at 515-282-0484.
Barb Kalbach
Dexter