Community organizers pushing against industrial chicken farms have called on Gov. Kate Brown to issue a moratorium on such developments until the state can craft legislation addressing the environmental hazards they pose.
Farmers Against Foster Farms (FAFF) has reached out directly to Brown’s office for a moratorium that could halt large-scale chicken farms planned for Jordan, Stayton and Scio.
FAFF co-organizer Kendra Kimbirauskas said this would allow lawmakers to carefully consider the impact industrial farms have on local water, soil and air, and the communities where they are built.
“We are calling on Gov. Kate Brown to hit pause and stop the proverbial feeding frenzy of the expansion of these operations,” she said.
While they have yet to hear back from Brown’s office, Kimbirauskas said they are already working with state legislators to introduce a bill during the 2023 legislative session that would regulate the industrial poultry industry.
FAFF was formed in March of 2021 in response to J-S Ranch, west of Scio, which would produce an estimated 3.4 million broiler chickens annually for Foster Farms. The group has since learned of proposed farms near Stayton and Jordan with a 4.5-million-chicken annual capacity, and a 2.2-million-chicken farm near Aurora.
Kimbirauskas said all four of these operations were developed without direct notifications to neighboring residents, and this is one of the changes they would like to see at the state level. They also hope the state will craft regulations that look not only at the impact of a single industrial farm, but consider the larger consequences of multiple such farms in the same region.
To start making waves among state regulators, FAFF encouraged community members to attend recent hearings for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC). DEQ met April 5 to consider a stormwater construction permit for J-S Ranch, and Kimbirauskas said around 30 people attended in support of FAFF.
“That’s a pretty big deal,” she said of the numbers.
She said a lot of comments during the hearing were technical, and little attention was given to the local hydrology and human impact of approving the permit. She said comments from FAFF supporters helped provide that perspective. She hopes regulators will take them into account.
EQC, which oversees DEQ, met April 6 for a regular public comment hearing, and around 20 FAFF supporters were involved. So many people had comments to offer that EQC had to limit those who could speak, said Kimbirauskas, but FAFF was still able to share their concerns over the lack of regulations protecting people from pollution and other risks.
Some of the FAFF supporters to get involved are Lucie Gouin and Art Poulos, owners of La Terra Vita in Scio, down the road from Evergreen Ranch, one of the proposed 4.5 million-chicken capacity farms. Gouin recently published a guest column in The Oregonian equating the proposed industrial ranches to an Amazon warehouse being built in an urban neighborhood.
“These are going to be very, very large operations,” she said of the proposed ranches. “I think that’s something we’re not understanding really well at a community level.”
Gouin told Our Town she is particularly concerned about the proximity of Evergreen Ranch to Lourdes Elementary School and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. She said ammonia emissions from the farm could impact the health of students and elderly parishioners
Poulos said he is surprised schools and school boards are not more vocal about the impact the farms will have on school operations, including sports which could be canceled on a day an event is downwind from an industrial chicken farm. He said the proposed Stayton operation, within two miles of the city, could be particularly impactful on local athletics.
“If that operation ends up going ahead, those schools are going to have to think carefully about their sports programs,” he said.
Both Gouin and Poulos were concerned about the potential for runoff in Oregon’s wet weather, possibly contaminating an already-fragile aquifer.
“These massive barns will be built over a layer of gravel, and that’s porus and I think that could be some seepage through that,” said Gouin.
“Everyone’s concerned that although these chicken farms plan to be self-contained, that just won’t be the case due to our winters and spring rain, there’s a real worry [about] runoff,” said Poulos.
And it isn’t just farmers and those near the ranches showing concern. Bob Pendleton, a friend of Gouin and Poulos, attended a community meeting organized by FAFF April 7 at the Stayton Community Center.
More than 50 people were in attendance, and the majority of concerns were about environmental degradation. But Pendleton said he was surprised there wasn’t more conversation about animal cruelty, given the extreme conditions under which chickens live in industrial farms.
“I understand they’re raised for food, but the way they’re raised seems inhumane,” he said. “I understand there are a lot of hormones injected into these chickens to make them grow faster and bigger.”
Even though he’s not as directly impacted as others, Pendleton said he still felt compelled to take home a FAFF sign protesting the industrial farms.
“I brought a sign home and nailed it up in my big maple tree,” he said. “I want to spread the word and get people interested in it.”
As more community members become aware and get involved, Gouin said she hopes people understand this is not a political issue, but something that affects all residents and, even if you don’t agree with FAFF, is worth researching.
“It does have an impact on youth and health, I think it’s worth looking into,” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“These are going to be very, very large operations. I think that’s something we’re not understanding really well at a community level.”
– Lucie Gouin
