Attacking renewable energy projects? “Environmental” activists refuse to support innovations involving hog farms

You’d think an organization that supports environmental causes would enthusiastically throw its support behind an innovative project that will generate clean, renewable energy. But you’d be wrong.

 The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) recently wrote an article in The News & Observer attacking a proposed renewable natural gas project involving dozens of hog farms in rural North Carolina. These activists who oppose animal agriculture simply cannot bring themselves to support anything that benefits our family farmers — regardless of the environmental and economic benefits.

 They ignore the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They forget about the jobs and economic impact the project will bring to our rural communities. And they disregard the opportunity for North Carolina to establish itself as a national leader in clean energy.

 The Align RNG project, a partnership between Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy, will cover lagoons, capture methane, and convert it into renewable energy. This is the type of innovation and advancement that our farmers have always made through the years.

 Those who care about our environment should embrace projects like this. But groups like SELC are attempting to turn this into a referendum on the lagoon and sprayfield system rather than accepting it for what it is — a responsible step toward a cleaner energy future.

 Their rationale for opposing the project does not make any sense. In fact, SELC recently praised Smithfield’s approach to manure management in Missouri, where farmers have made capturing biogas and generating renewable energy a core part of the process – a process almost identical to our own. Except due to colder temperatures, Missouri farms will only be able to produce biogas eight months out of the year, versus year-round here, making their system less efficient than ours.  

 North Carolina can be a leader in clean energy. Those who want to protect our environment should focus on the meaningful impact this project will have on our environment and the people of eastern North Carolina and leave ulterior motives out of it.

Activists Oppose Innovations that Improve NC Hog Farm Environmental Sustainability

If you’ve ever wondered about the true motivation of the activists who relentlessly attack our family farmers, here is a clear indication: their puzzling opposition to generating clean, renewable energy from North Carolina hog farms.

 Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy have pledged to invest $500 million to capture methane from hog farms and convert it into renewable natural gas through a partnership known as Align Renewable Natural Gas. The project’s initial efforts involve hundreds of farms in three states — many of them located in Duplin and Sampson counties.

 It’s a solution that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create clean renewable energy, and further reduce threats from flooding by using covered lagoons and digesters to capture methane gas. 

Image from Align RNG

 Yet, the Waterkeepers and others refuse to support the project. Check that — it’s not simply that they don’t support the project, they are actively trying to kill it.  

 And that shows their true intentions.

 These groups won’t support any innovations that help our farmers and make our industry more sustainable — no matter how much they will help the environment. They simply want to put hog farmers out of business.

 What other logical reason is there for opposing a project that will establish eastern North Carolina as a leader in renewable energy, creating new jobs and attracting new investment in our rural communities?

 In a recent blog post from the Waterkeeper Alliance, Pamlico Tar Riverkeeper Jill Howell argues in vain that capturing biogas won’t help our environment.

 Huh?

 It’s clear that the very notion of saying something — anything! — even halfway positive about the innovative steps being taken by our industry to help the environment is simply impossible for these activists. That’s all you need to know.

 If you would like to show your support for the Align Energy project, you can submit comments on their proposed air quality permit to DAQ.publiccomments@ncdenr.gov. Use subject line: Align Energy. The deadline for comments is Friday, November 20. 

Misleading. Mistaken. One-Sided-- Just a Typical Hog Farm Article , so Here's the Other Side

The latest misleading, mistake-filled attack on North Carolina’s family farmers comes from Vox, an online news outlet with a mission to “explain the news.”

After listening to a 30-minute podcast that takes aim at how we raise our pigs, it seems like we’re the ones who need to explain a few things to Vox.

The podcast, eloquently titled “pig poop lagoon,” features the same cast of activists, making the same tired arguments about our farms. This piece takes particular issue with the lagoon and sprayfield system and features plenty of complaints about odor.

As farmers, we’re the first to admit that farms have an occasional smell. But some people claim the odor is always present, or that it is so overpowering that it’s nearly impossible to leave home.

We know what it’s really like to live next to a hog farm. 

But don’t take our word for it. Look at the results of an air quality study conducted in Duplin County this year by the NC Division of Air Quality. They collected 15 months of data and found that there was no significant air quality issues.  

You can also read how people with no agenda describe the smell on our farms. 

When a reporter visited a Bladen County farm in 2017, here’s what he said: “Upon stepping out of a vehicle, the first thing one might notice is the absence of something — an aroma. There was no odor. Of any kind. None.” Other reporters have described odor as “almost negligible” or as “a light barnyard smell.”

To make its case, the Vox podcast dredges up an old study on odor that was conducted by a UNC professor who described himself as a “committed activist.” It spends two full minutes talking about the study but fails to give listeners the most important piece of data — the participants reported no odor or very faint odor more than 80 percent of the time and strong or very strong odors only two percent of the time.

This is what the data collected by our harshest critics found. (Click here to read more about the flaws with that study.)

Vox is a Latin word meaning “voice,” but this podcast represents only one voice. That of the activists who want to put an end to animal agriculture. 

Over the course of the 30-minute podcast, Vox devotes a grand total of 22 seconds to the viewpoint of our farmers and our industry. No surprise that they failed to adequately capture our perspective.

One example: Vox notes that the pork industry took issue with a study about the demographics of who lives near North Carolina hog farms, but fails to tell listeners the truth of the matter: Census data shows that 68 percent of hog farms in North Carolina are in areas where African-American residents make up 30 percent or fewer of the population, and only 13.5 percent of hog farms are located in communities where a majority of residents are African-American. 

The podcast also tries to raise health concerns about living near hog farms. But you don’t hear from any medical experts, and certainly no one like Dr. Keith Ramsey, the medical director of infectious disease control at Pitt County Memorial Hospital and former chairman of the Pitt County Board of Health. 

Dr. Ramsey has conducted studies involving residents across eastern North Carolina and specifically looked at any association between health outcomes and our farms. His conclusion: “I have observed no indication that living near a hog farm causes any increased risk of infection by antibiotic-resistant or any other bacteria... The real health threats needing attention in eastern North Carolina are diet and lifestyle... not hog farms.” 

We could go on and on, but we need to get back to the farm. We have pigs to raise and millions of families to feed. And we’ll continue to do it in a caring and responsible way.