Democratic candidate for attorney general, Rep. Jeff Harris is taking his fight against factory farms, and his Democratic opponents, to the web.
Harris launched a video on the internet Thursday highlighting large factory farms moving to counties and townships without the consent of those who live there. It plays on a children’s story motif, lambasting Republicans in the Missouri House and accusing Speaker Rod Jetton of holding up the bill. Then the clip takes a dig at his opponents Rep. Margaret Donnelly and Sen. Chris Koster*, accusing Donnelly of not having a plan and Koster of taking away local control.
Donnelly and Koster are also running to be the Democratic nominee for attorney general.
When reached for comment, Donnelly was aghast at Harris’ claim because she is a co-sponsor on Harris’ bills advocating local control regarding factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
“I’m puzzled as to why Rep. Harris is saying I have no plan. My record has been clear that I support local control,” Donnelly said. “I was just surprised he would make that statement. When this issue first arose two years ago … I was the first one to sign the petition on local control.”
CAFOs are massive complexes involving thousands of animals cooped up in buildings where their waste could run off from the farm and enter the water system through ground water. The bill was introduced in January. Harris is pushing it because of his concerns about how these farms can impact the environment.
“We’re not talking about animals running around fences in the outdoors. That’s not involved,” Harris said. “We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of animals cooped up in buildings and manure that runs off. It smells and it can affect water quality, air quality and the quality of life.”
Currently, the Department of Natural Resources oversees the business applications for these farms. Harris wants to give residents a chance to vote on whether or not they want factory farms to come to their area. The legislator said he wishes Republicans would come down in favor of local control.
“(We need to) move forward and build consensus behind the legislation, preserve and maintain local control, allowing people in a community to have a voice in whether or not (factory farms) should be in their community,” Harris said.
Editor’s Note: Chris Koster is a client (website design) of PubDef.net publisher Antonio D. French
