DC Activist Group Sides With Predatory Lawyers: Threatens Thousands of Jobs in North Carolina

 Twisting the law and twisting scientific facts are nothing new for the anti-farm Washington, DC-based activist group EWG. Now EWG is taking the side of predatory lawyers against North Carolina farmers. If EWG is successful, thousands of jobs in hog farming and pork processing will be in jeopardy.In an April 17 news release, EWG criticized – and misrepresented – House Bill 467, which has passed the N.C. House and is before the Senate.The bill will protect family farmers against ruinous, massive tort litigation, such as a current North Carolina case. There, lawyers swooped in on private jets and aggressively signed up hundreds of residents for “nuisance” lawsuits against hog farms. Some residents didn’t know what they were signing. Others live miles from the farms they are suing.The lawyers seek huge financial damages, based solely on claims that the farms are an “annoyance,” “bothersome” or make other residents “fearful.”That is wrong. Here is how HB 467 fixes the problem:

• It makes clear that plaintiffs in nuisance cases can recover only the lost market value of their property.
• It still allows anyone who has suffered actual harm to sue for higher damages.

EWG is twisting the facts about the legislation. By misleading legislators and the public, EWG is serving the interests of predatory lawyers who could force any farmer into bankruptcy without just cause. That in turn would jeopardize employees in processing plants. And it would threaten the economic livelihoods of thousands more people whose jobs and business depend on hog farming and pork processing.EWG also attacked Smithfield Foods in an attempt to stir up opposition to farmers and the pork industry.Here are the facts:Smithfield was founded and is based in Smithfield, Virginia. Kenneth M. Sullivan is President and CEO. Smithfield is a subsidiary of the WH Group, a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Exchange. Anyone, anywhere in the world can purchase shares of the WH Group. In fact, the WH Group’s shareholder list includes large institutional investors such as U.S. pension funds and hedge funds.Smithfield provides nearly 12,000 jobs in North Carolina, in farming and processing. The company has 215 company-owned farms in the state. It contracts with 1,380 independent pork producers, who are family farmers.Members of the legislature and the general public should reject the anti-farm campaign of EWG and its allies. Stick to the facts. Protect farmers. Save our jobs. 

Dear Fayetteville Observer, You Fell For the Spin

‘American Rivers’ dangled a bit of bait in a press release and the Fayetteville Observer swallowed it hook, line and sinker.Consider this: ‘American Rivers’ – and even the Waterkeepers Alliance – agree the Cape Fear River is safe for swimming, fishing and kayaking. But, at the same time, American Rivers claims the Cape Fear is one of the ten “Most-Endangered Rivers in America.” So, is the Cape Fear safe for swimming? Or is it one of the ten most polluted rivers? You might have expected the Observer to ask that question. And, if it had, American Rivers would have explained – as it candidly admitted when others asked – that its broadside about the Cape Fear wasn’t based on science. Or a scientific report. It was based on American Rivers’ political agenda.American Rivers’ press release was simple: It attacked farmers, talked about farms in flood plains, then threw in the words ‘Most Endangered Rivers’ and the Fayetteville Observer fell for the spin.Here’s a fact from North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality: During Hurricane Matthew, 99.5% of the hog farms didn’t overflow or have spills – while sewage plants spilled 63 million gallons of raw waste into rivers and streams.It’s no surprise ‘American Rivers’ left that fact out of its press release. Unfortunately, so did the Fayetteville Observer.

Lawyers, Hog Farmers, & Elsie Herring's Story

Stepping to the microphone, Mrs. Elsie Herring – a Community Organizer for the Environmental Justice Network in Duplin County – explained to the reporters at the press conference why she opposed House Bill 467. Mrs. Herring repeated the same charges she’d made for years: She said a farmer sprays hog waste eight feet from her house. She’s also said, in interviews, she lives as a prisoner in her own home – that she can’t go outside because of the smell.

It’s a horror story. But is it true?

Is a hog farmer actually spraying waste eight feet from Elsie Herring’s house?

Details of Elsie Herring’s Story

Here’s a photo of Mrs. Herring’s house:

Elsie Herring’s House

From her house, you can’t even see the farmer’s field. It’s on the far side of the trees.

Here’s another photo – an aerial photo – of Mrs. Herring’s house, the trees, and the farmer’s field on the far side of the trees. The farmer’s field where he sprays is 900 feet* – not eight feet – from Mrs. Herring’s house. The field closest to Ms. Herring’s house is 200 feet from her house, but has not been sprayed in 3 years. State law says no farmer can spray within 200 feet of a neighbor’s house.

Aerial photo

And here’s a photo Mrs. Herring, interviewing with another reporter, saying she’s a prisoner in her own house – while sitting on her front porch. Outside.

Elsie Herring interview

The Truth About NC Hog Farmers

By law, every hog farmer must file a record with the state every time he sprays.Four years ago, out-of-state lawyers – who saw hog farms as ripe targets for an unusual type of lawsuit – came to eastern North Carolina and went to work, going door to door, signing up clients.

They said: We’ll bring the suits, we’ll pay the bills, and, if we win, we’ll split the money. Elsie Herring was one of the people who signed up.

On the internet, the debate over House Bill 467 has turned into a political brawl with half-true and untrue charges flying. What House Bill 467 actually does is simple – and here’s why it will make a difference: This legislation will protect family farmers from lawsuits by predatory lawyers.

*This distance has been updated to reflect a more current situation.