November 6, 2021

Re: "Five-year hog barn study offers interesting revelation" (Wadena News, Nov.1)

The only remotely "interesting" aspect of this study, carried out by Minister Serby's hand-picked committee (members are from the government AND the hog industry), is watching the mileage that these folks are trying to squeeze out of its results through the endless newspaper articles...

This so-called 'independent' report remains a misleading document.
(See: http://spiritcreek.ca/fiveyear.html)

Apparently, starting in 2000, a baseline of the area's water quality was established. Then, on page 14, the Report states that, "Manure (from Big Sky's three barn complex) was first applied to (surrounding) farmland in the spring of 2002". Testing or monitoring could only begin after that, limited at best, as it takes several months to fill all of the barns in an operation.

The question remains: how, in such a short time (three years, NOT five as the Report claims), could any study possibly address, in any meaningful way, the multitude of environmental and health hazards presented by this industry?

Water carries with it whatever we put into it. And, for the most part, surface water is always moving, sometimes slowly, often quickly, but always to the ocean. Underground water moves also, usually slowly, and sometimes, in unpredictable and unknown directions. This law of nature has not changed.

Unfortunately, nothing in the hog industry has changed either.

The hog industry continues to expand, with another new operation near Pelly, SK, with others on the drawing board!

And, the government continues to allow these 'pig factories' to empty the cess pools from their barns in the same archaic and dangerous fashion: by spreading millions of gallons of raw, untreated toxic and carcinogenic hog manure onto surrounding land which is already saturated from recent heavy rains and snowfall, to be carried, uncontrollably, far and wide and deep by wildlife, runoff and seepage

So, until expansion of the exploitation of our water, land, people, and animals in this unspeakable way of making money(?) is halted, we can expect NO CHANGE in the ever-increasing threat to our health.

...me thinks they protest too loudly!

Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK