North Carolina Citizens Fight Back Against Poultry Plant Pollution

Amidst growing concern over a proposed poultry processing plant in North Carolina, a group of citizens have formed the Nash County Landowners Association (NCLA) in order to stop the plant from invading their neighborhood. The plant would dump thousands of gallons of wastewater over a 600-acre spray field, feeding right into the local watershed that more than 50,000 residents — including those in the nearby city of Wilson — rely on for their drinking water. The plant, which would be operated by Sanderson Farms, would also surely attract new hatcheries and poultry concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to the area.

The NCLA believes it is operating in the interest of the majority of local citizens, and now the group has some proof: A recent poll operated by Public Policy Polling found that 61 percent of registered voters in Nash and Wilson Counties thought that Sanderson Farms should look to other areas for development — areas that don't threaten to pollute the local water supply. Most respondents said that the 1,100 jobs that the plant promised to bring were not worth the environmental costs. The city of Wilson has also dedicated $1,000,000 to fight the plant and has filed a lawsuit along with Nash County residents to stop it.

While the tide seems to be turning in activists' favor, the NCLA isn't taking any chances. The group hired a PR firm to aid them in their battle against the plant, such as by dispelling myths that they are somehow against bringing jobs to the area. They say that factory farming is the "industry of yesterday" and that it will hurt the chances of attracting high-tech and green jobs to the area. Citizens in the group also plan to buy stock in the company (stock which, interestingly, has plummeted recently) so that they can attend the upcoming meeting of the Board of Directors and voice their concerns directly to the company's leaders. As the NCLA chairman, Con Ward, said, "Sanderson Farms quietly invaded our neighborhoods just ahead of the holiday season with a secret plan to locate a chicken slaughterhouse in our midst . . . . It's only right that we go into their neighborhood and tell them openly why these are inappropriate locations for their facilities."

The citizen's group faces a tough battle. Sanderson Farms has already started looking for more contract poultry growers in the area, and the Nash County Board of Commissioners seems dead-set on pursuing this deal at the expense of the citizens they supposedly represent. You can back up the NCLA and give Board members a piece of your mind by signing our petition telling them to say "No!" to polluting factory farms!

Photo credit: Jaci Berkopec via Flickr