Hog Heaven, Planner's Hell (Viewpoint)

On September 23, 1996, the Duplin County, North Carolina Board of Health met in a special session called to review a proposal to regulate livestock farms under authority granted by North Carolina public health statutes regulating nuisance. Normally, Health Board meetings in Duplin County draw one or two observers at most, but this issue brought over 500 people to the hearing. Unprepared for the public interest, and perhaps overwhelmed by the hours of testimony, the Board adjourned without a decision. The above scenario is not unique to Duplin county. In fact, the issue of livestock farm regulation, especially corporate hog farms, is the source of similar conflict throughout North Carolina. It is not difficult to see why. In 1986, North Carolina was seventh in the nation in pork production. Ten years later the state is second, with $1.1 billion in annual sales (Stitch and Warrick 1995b). Clearly an important part of the state economy, hog farming has become a significant political issue as well. In 1992, members of the hog lobby contributed about $40,000 to candidates. In only two years, the figure more than doubled to over $92,000 (Satchell 1996:59)