May 2016

McDonough County HOI member Ramona Cook spoke about her battle to stop a CAFO from moving into her rural area at the April 30th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Citizens for Clean Air and Water / ICCAW, headed locally by Karen Hudson of Elmwood.

CAFOs, also referred to as Factory Farms, are Confined Animal Feeding Operations where large numbers of hogs, chickens, turkeys, or cattle are raised in highly crowded conditions for maximum animal production. These facilities deny animals the ability to eat a natural diet and move freely. Large amounts of antibiotics are often used to counter health problems from crowding, stresses on the animals due to the unnatural conditions, and other factors such as the types of feeds used. Area concerns include proposed CAFOs in Fulton County near Lewiston, and in Marshall County along Sandy Creek. Please sign the Prairie Rivers Network petition on CAFOs.