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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 25, 2013
...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2013/04/24/how-goldman-sachs-closes-libraries-attacks-seniors-and-you/
How Goldman Sachs Closes Libraries, Attacks Seniors and You
from the Working Life blog:
How Goldman Sachs Closes Libraries, Attacks Seniors and You
Posted on 24 April 2013.
Goldman Sachs is one of the great predators in modern day society. I’m still waiting for the day when Goldman’s top executives face criminal indictments over the financial crisis scam — and I suspect I will keep waiting since the Obama Administration shows no inclination to go over the big bankers and Wall Street people who finance modern-day campaigns. But, as a side scam, Goldman is fleecing every taxpayer in America — and helping close schools and destroy the social safety net.
In fairness, I’ve singled out Goldman for a particular tax scam because of the great damage it has done to many people. But that company isn’t the only one engaged in a scam ferreted out by our friends at the Citizens for Tax Justice:
Citizens for Tax Justice reported that Facebook Inc. had used a single tax break, for executive stock options, to avoid paying even a dime of federal and state income taxes in 2012. Since then, CTJ has investigated the extent to which other large companies are using the same tax break. This short report presents data for 280 Fortune 500 corporations that, like Facebook, disclose a portion of the tax benefits they receive from this tax break.
These 280 corporations reduced their federal and state corporate income taxes by a total of $27.3 billion over the last three years, by using the so-called “excess stock option” tax break.
In 2012 alone, the tax break cut Fortune 500 income taxes by $11.2 billion.
Just 25 companies received more than half of the total excess stock option tax benefits accruing to Fortune 500 corporations over the past three years.
The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/2013/04/24/how-goldman-sachs-closes-libraries-attacks-seniors-and-you/
April 25, 2013
from YES! Magazine:
From Housing to Health Care, 7 Co-ops That Are Changing Our Economy
How manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, and others are doing business the cooperative way.
by Claudia Rowe
posted Apr 22, 2013
[font size="1"]Green Worker Co-Op Academy photo by Stephen O'Byrne[/font]
1. Green Worker Cooperative’s Co-op Academy , The Bronx, N.Y.
Ideas for co-ops may flourish, but few people understand exactly how to make theirs real. The Co-op Academy is providing answers. Founded four years ago by Omar Freilla (who recently made Ebony magazine’s list of the Power 100), the academy runs 16-week courses that offer intensive mentoring, legal and financial advice, and help designing logos and websites.
Run by the South Bronx-based Green Worker Cooperative, the academy guides up to four teams per session through the startup process and has graduated four organizations now thriving in New York City. These include Caracol Interpreters, which is raising the bar on interpreter wages, and Concrete Green, which focuses on environmentally sound landscaping. Six more co-ops are in the pipeline.
“I’m amazed at how little knowledge and information is out there for the average person about how co-ops function and how to start one,” says Janvieve Williams Comrie, whose mother-owned cooperative Ginger Moon also came out of the program.
“That’s one thing the Co-op Academy really provides, the hands-on know-how.” Even money for tuition ($1,500 per team) gets the treatment. Freilla is adamant that teams fundraise to cover that cost—even if they can foot the bill themselves. “By fundraising for the registration fee, you are promoting the vision for your cooperative, gaining supporters, and creating a buzz before the program even starts,” he says. “That is just the kind of support that will propel your business forward, and while you’re doing it you’ll be getting an early opportunity to see just how well you and your teammates work together.”
[font size="1"]Red Clouds Collective photo by Paul Dunn[/font]
2. Red Clouds Collective , Portland, Ore.
They shared an active, outdoorsy lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. They shared a talent for creative work. It seemed logical for the group of friends to leave their corporate jobs to form Red Clouds Collective, a Portland manufacturer of handcrafted canvas and leather gear. The worker-owner cooperative pools the talents of a variety of artists and allows them to make a living as craftsmen beyond what any of them could do individually. A percentage pay system benefits the original designer, the assembler, and the collective. After one year, business is great. What’s popular? theGOODbook™, a leather wallet/iphone case/sketchbook all in one. From left, Owen Johnson, Seth Neefus, Jason Thomas Brown, and Casey Neefus in their garage-turned-factory. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/how-cooperatives-are-driving-the-new-economy/7-ways-to-own-the-new-economy2014together
From Housing to Health Care, 7 Co-ops That Are Changing Our Economy
from YES! Magazine:
From Housing to Health Care, 7 Co-ops That Are Changing Our Economy
How manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, and others are doing business the cooperative way.
by Claudia Rowe
posted Apr 22, 2013
[font size="1"]Green Worker Co-Op Academy photo by Stephen O'Byrne[/font]
1. Green Worker Cooperative’s Co-op Academy , The Bronx, N.Y.
Ideas for co-ops may flourish, but few people understand exactly how to make theirs real. The Co-op Academy is providing answers. Founded four years ago by Omar Freilla (who recently made Ebony magazine’s list of the Power 100), the academy runs 16-week courses that offer intensive mentoring, legal and financial advice, and help designing logos and websites.
Run by the South Bronx-based Green Worker Cooperative, the academy guides up to four teams per session through the startup process and has graduated four organizations now thriving in New York City. These include Caracol Interpreters, which is raising the bar on interpreter wages, and Concrete Green, which focuses on environmentally sound landscaping. Six more co-ops are in the pipeline.
“I’m amazed at how little knowledge and information is out there for the average person about how co-ops function and how to start one,” says Janvieve Williams Comrie, whose mother-owned cooperative Ginger Moon also came out of the program.
“That’s one thing the Co-op Academy really provides, the hands-on know-how.” Even money for tuition ($1,500 per team) gets the treatment. Freilla is adamant that teams fundraise to cover that cost—even if they can foot the bill themselves. “By fundraising for the registration fee, you are promoting the vision for your cooperative, gaining supporters, and creating a buzz before the program even starts,” he says. “That is just the kind of support that will propel your business forward, and while you’re doing it you’ll be getting an early opportunity to see just how well you and your teammates work together.”
[font size="1"]Red Clouds Collective photo by Paul Dunn[/font]
2. Red Clouds Collective , Portland, Ore.
They shared an active, outdoorsy lifestyle in the Pacific Northwest. They shared a talent for creative work. It seemed logical for the group of friends to leave their corporate jobs to form Red Clouds Collective, a Portland manufacturer of handcrafted canvas and leather gear. The worker-owner cooperative pools the talents of a variety of artists and allows them to make a living as craftsmen beyond what any of them could do individually. A percentage pay system benefits the original designer, the assembler, and the collective. After one year, business is great. What’s popular? theGOODbook™, a leather wallet/iphone case/sketchbook all in one. From left, Owen Johnson, Seth Neefus, Jason Thomas Brown, and Casey Neefus in their garage-turned-factory. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/how-cooperatives-are-driving-the-new-economy/7-ways-to-own-the-new-economy2014together
April 25, 2013
(CNNMoney) Instead of using its own cash hoard to reward shareholders, Apple plans to go into debt for the first time ever.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said late Tuesday that the company will double the amount it returns to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by 2015, but will "access the debt market" to pay for it.
Borrowing money seems odd for a company like Apple (AAPL), which has $144 billion in cash. But more than $100 billion of that is overseas. If Apple were to try to bring that cash back to the United States, it could be taxed at the top corporate tax rate of 35%.
And that doesn't sit well with Apple. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2013/04/24/apple-debt-repatriation-taxes/
Apple's tax dodge
(CNNMoney) Instead of using its own cash hoard to reward shareholders, Apple plans to go into debt for the first time ever.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said late Tuesday that the company will double the amount it returns to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by 2015, but will "access the debt market" to pay for it.
Borrowing money seems odd for a company like Apple (AAPL), which has $144 billion in cash. But more than $100 billion of that is overseas. If Apple were to try to bring that cash back to the United States, it could be taxed at the top corporate tax rate of 35%.
And that doesn't sit well with Apple. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2013/04/24/apple-debt-repatriation-taxes/
April 25, 2013
Authoritarianism Has Quietly Enveloped Every Part of American Life - We Must Fight Back
Wednesday, 24 April 2013 13:44
By John Knefel, AlterNet | Op-Ed
Observing the media frenzy that surrounded last week's Boston marathon bombing and the eventual capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one thing became immediately clear: the attack gave media elites an opportunity to fully embrace their generally latent authoritarianism. Finally, they could openly and unapologetically align themselves with law enforcement officials, sham “counter-terrorism experts,” and whoever else bravely suggested that total surveillance is good and inevitable. (See Tom Brokaw telling viewers that they must now submit to increasingly invasive searches, or Andrea Mitchell uncritically amplifying Tom Ridge's policies when he was head of the Department of Homeland Security as but two of the countless examples.) They could once again act as spokespeople for the government, uniting the country under the banner of American Exceptionalism.
The country's foremost jingoist, Thomas Friedman – the NYT columnist who once indelicately suggested that the Muslim world suck the United States' collective phallus – wrote in his column on April 17th that “cave dwelling is for terrorists.” Americans, he countered, live in freedom. The “cave” line's Islamophobia is as obvious as it is repugnant, and should be a reminder that not-so-subtle bigotry towards Muslims is acceptable and rewarded in polite society in this country. His larger point, that the United States will respond to this apparent terrorist attack by remaining a fully open society is either willfully delusional or a product of his privilege; he won't be profiled because of his name or religion.
Privacy, not surveillance, is what must be justified now, though that was true before Boston. The elites either don't see it or simply pretend not to, but the authoritarianism unleashed by 9/11 has become institutionalized, normalized, and ubiquitous. The surveillance state didn't need Boston to implement its policies, though the bombing will certainly be used to accelerate them and further marginalize dissent.
That domestic surveillance will continue to increase – especially with the arrival of drones – was true before Boston. Miranda rights had already been significantly weakened by the Obama DOJ in 2010. US officials already had the ability to wiretap certain Americans without a warrant. Prior to the Boston bombing, US attorneys were fully capable of over-charging activists in computer-based cases as full-on enemies of the state. The FBI and DHS didn't need the Boston bombing to treat Occupy like a terrorist organization. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://b-toha.cloudaccess.net/opinion/item/15972-authoritarianism-has-quietly-enveloped-every-part-of-american-life-we-must-fight-back
Authoritarianism Has Quietly Enveloped Every Part of American Life - We Must Fight Back
Authoritarianism Has Quietly Enveloped Every Part of American Life - We Must Fight Back
Wednesday, 24 April 2013 13:44
By John Knefel, AlterNet | Op-Ed
Observing the media frenzy that surrounded last week's Boston marathon bombing and the eventual capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one thing became immediately clear: the attack gave media elites an opportunity to fully embrace their generally latent authoritarianism. Finally, they could openly and unapologetically align themselves with law enforcement officials, sham “counter-terrorism experts,” and whoever else bravely suggested that total surveillance is good and inevitable. (See Tom Brokaw telling viewers that they must now submit to increasingly invasive searches, or Andrea Mitchell uncritically amplifying Tom Ridge's policies when he was head of the Department of Homeland Security as but two of the countless examples.) They could once again act as spokespeople for the government, uniting the country under the banner of American Exceptionalism.
The country's foremost jingoist, Thomas Friedman – the NYT columnist who once indelicately suggested that the Muslim world suck the United States' collective phallus – wrote in his column on April 17th that “cave dwelling is for terrorists.” Americans, he countered, live in freedom. The “cave” line's Islamophobia is as obvious as it is repugnant, and should be a reminder that not-so-subtle bigotry towards Muslims is acceptable and rewarded in polite society in this country. His larger point, that the United States will respond to this apparent terrorist attack by remaining a fully open society is either willfully delusional or a product of his privilege; he won't be profiled because of his name or religion.
Privacy, not surveillance, is what must be justified now, though that was true before Boston. The elites either don't see it or simply pretend not to, but the authoritarianism unleashed by 9/11 has become institutionalized, normalized, and ubiquitous. The surveillance state didn't need Boston to implement its policies, though the bombing will certainly be used to accelerate them and further marginalize dissent.
That domestic surveillance will continue to increase – especially with the arrival of drones – was true before Boston. Miranda rights had already been significantly weakened by the Obama DOJ in 2010. US officials already had the ability to wiretap certain Americans without a warrant. Prior to the Boston bombing, US attorneys were fully capable of over-charging activists in computer-based cases as full-on enemies of the state. The FBI and DHS didn't need the Boston bombing to treat Occupy like a terrorist organization. ..........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://b-toha.cloudaccess.net/opinion/item/15972-authoritarianism-has-quietly-enveloped-every-part-of-american-life-we-must-fight-back
April 25, 2013
from Grist:
Troubled slaughter: Big Ag fights to keep out prying eyes
By Susie Cagle
There’s a Paul McCartney quote popular with veg-heads: “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” It may not be quite as simple as all that, but he’s definitely got a point.
For a little over 10 years, groups such as Mercy for Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, and Compassion Over Killing have conducted undercover investigations into abuses and rules violations on factory farms, and publicized what they’ve documented to lobby for change.
It’s worked: Individual campaigns have resulted in business closures, criminal charges, and even broader changes in social behavior. That has got Big Animal Ag scared.
So it has done what Big Ag does best: crafted legislation and lobbied for it. State farm-protection laws, or “ag-gags,” as The New York Times‘ Mark Bittman lovingly called them, come in many different forms, mixing various combinations of restrictions on undercover filming and activist access to farms and slaughterhouses. Some of the laws give a nod to the value of whistleblowers but require that damning footage be handed over to law enforcement within a day or two, immediately blowing the cover of investigations that would typically last from two to six weeks. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/food/troubled-slaughter-big-ag-fights-to-keep-out-prying-eyes/
Troubled slaughter: Big Ag fights to keep out prying eyes
from Grist:
Troubled slaughter: Big Ag fights to keep out prying eyes
By Susie Cagle
There’s a Paul McCartney quote popular with veg-heads: “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” It may not be quite as simple as all that, but he’s definitely got a point.
For a little over 10 years, groups such as Mercy for Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, and Compassion Over Killing have conducted undercover investigations into abuses and rules violations on factory farms, and publicized what they’ve documented to lobby for change.
It’s worked: Individual campaigns have resulted in business closures, criminal charges, and even broader changes in social behavior. That has got Big Animal Ag scared.
So it has done what Big Ag does best: crafted legislation and lobbied for it. State farm-protection laws, or “ag-gags,” as The New York Times‘ Mark Bittman lovingly called them, come in many different forms, mixing various combinations of restrictions on undercover filming and activist access to farms and slaughterhouses. Some of the laws give a nod to the value of whistleblowers but require that damning footage be handed over to law enforcement within a day or two, immediately blowing the cover of investigations that would typically last from two to six weeks. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/food/troubled-slaughter-big-ag-fights-to-keep-out-prying-eyes/
April 25, 2013
Amy Goodman: Terror in the West, Texas, Night
from truthdig:
Terror in the West, Texas, Night
Posted on Apr 24, 2013
By Amy Goodman
The Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath has dominated the nation’s headlines. Yet, another series of explosions that happened two days later and took four times the number of lives, has gotten a fraction of the coverage. It was the worst industrial accident in years. But to call it an accident ignores that it was preventable, and was quite possibly a crime, as is common with so many dangerous workplaces.
The first call came in to the 911 dispatcher at 7:29 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. A woman at a playground noticed a fire across the railroad tracks, at the West Fertilizer Co. facility, in the small town of West, Texas, near Waco. The local volunteer fire department was mobilized. Less than 25 minutes later, a massive explosion leveled the plant, sending shock waves, debris and fire across West, ultimately killing 15 people, among them a local EMT, eight volunteer firefighters and a Dallas fire captain who was visiting his sons and joined the firefighting effort.
The call came over the emergency radio system: “We need every ambulance we can get at this point. A bomb just went off inside here. It’s pretty bad. We’ve got a lot of firemen down.”
Another call followed, with moaning in the background: “The rest home has been seriously damaged. We have many people down. Please respond.” ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/terror_in_the_west_texas_night_20130424/
April 25, 2013
Americans Suffer While Finance Tax Waits for Congress’ Attention
Posted on Apr 24, 2013
By Thomas Hedges, Center for Study of Responsive Law
More than a thousand people gathered in Washington, D.C.’s Farragut Square on Saturday to demand that a financial transaction tax be placed on derivatives and other forms of speculation. The proposed tax on financial transactions, detailed in a bill Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., introduced to Congress a week ago, would generate more than $300 billion a year in revenue, thereby doing away with the need for the sequester currently forcing across-the-board budget cuts.
The Financial Transaction Tax, or Robin Hood Tax, has a broad base of support. Nurses, environmentalists, union workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS, for example, spoke at the rally on behalf of Americans who have been exploited at the expense of profit on Wall Street. The tax resonates with many Americans because of its simplicity and concrete purpose—it takes a modest percentage of profits from a multitrillion dollar market on Wall Street and uses that revenue to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure that allowed financial corporations to generate their wealth in the first place.
Transaction taxes aren’t new. The United States had one from 1914 to 1966. In 1932, it was more than doubled to 0.05 percent to help recovery after the Great Depression. Today, more than 40 countries have a transaction tax, with 11 in the European Union, including Germany and France.
After 1966, the tax was eliminated and replaced with a modest Financial Speculation Tax that now finances the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, two agencies Wall Street emaciated in the following decades. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/americans_suffer_while_finance_tax_waits_for_congress_attention_20130424/
Americans Suffer While Finance Tax Waits for Congress’ Attention
Americans Suffer While Finance Tax Waits for Congress’ Attention
Posted on Apr 24, 2013
By Thomas Hedges, Center for Study of Responsive Law
More than a thousand people gathered in Washington, D.C.’s Farragut Square on Saturday to demand that a financial transaction tax be placed on derivatives and other forms of speculation. The proposed tax on financial transactions, detailed in a bill Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., introduced to Congress a week ago, would generate more than $300 billion a year in revenue, thereby doing away with the need for the sequester currently forcing across-the-board budget cuts.
The Financial Transaction Tax, or Robin Hood Tax, has a broad base of support. Nurses, environmentalists, union workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS, for example, spoke at the rally on behalf of Americans who have been exploited at the expense of profit on Wall Street. The tax resonates with many Americans because of its simplicity and concrete purpose—it takes a modest percentage of profits from a multitrillion dollar market on Wall Street and uses that revenue to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure that allowed financial corporations to generate their wealth in the first place.
Transaction taxes aren’t new. The United States had one from 1914 to 1966. In 1932, it was more than doubled to 0.05 percent to help recovery after the Great Depression. Today, more than 40 countries have a transaction tax, with 11 in the European Union, including Germany and France.
After 1966, the tax was eliminated and replaced with a modest Financial Speculation Tax that now finances the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, two agencies Wall Street emaciated in the following decades. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/americans_suffer_while_finance_tax_waits_for_congress_attention_20130424/
April 24, 2013
BART.gov launches new estimated train crowding feature
Visitors to the BART website and mobile site can now get a snapshot of estimated crowding levels on trains when they plan a trip.
The beta version of the estimated crowding feature launched Tuesday. When you use the BART QuickPlanner, your trip plan will show an icon with three heads, two heads or one head – indicating “heavy crowding expected,” “moderate crowding expected,” or “light crowding expected.”
The new feature is a response in part to record ridership levels on BART, giving riders another tool to find a train with more space, if they have flexibility to make their trip a little earlier or later.
The crowding level estimates are based on historic data; BART’s web team worked closely with BART’s scheduling department to coordinate the new feature in an effort to give riders more choices. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2013/news20130423.aspx
SF: How crowded will your BART train be?
BART.gov launches new estimated train crowding feature
Visitors to the BART website and mobile site can now get a snapshot of estimated crowding levels on trains when they plan a trip.
The beta version of the estimated crowding feature launched Tuesday. When you use the BART QuickPlanner, your trip plan will show an icon with three heads, two heads or one head – indicating “heavy crowding expected,” “moderate crowding expected,” or “light crowding expected.”
The new feature is a response in part to record ridership levels on BART, giving riders another tool to find a train with more space, if they have flexibility to make their trip a little earlier or later.
The crowding level estimates are based on historic data; BART’s web team worked closely with BART’s scheduling department to coordinate the new feature in an effort to give riders more choices. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2013/news20130423.aspx
April 24, 2013
(CNNMoney) Instead of using its own cash hoard to reward shareholders, Apple plans to go into debt for the first time ever.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said late Tuesday that the company will double the amount it returns to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by 2015, but will "access the debt market" to pay for it.
Borrowing money seems odd for a company like Apple (AAPL), which has $144 billion in cash. But more than $100 billion of that is overseas. If Apple were to try to bring that cash back to the United States, it could be taxed at the top corporate tax rate of 35%.
And that doesn't sit well with Apple. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2013/04/24/apple-debt-repatriation-taxes/
Apple's tax dodge
(CNNMoney) Instead of using its own cash hoard to reward shareholders, Apple plans to go into debt for the first time ever.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said late Tuesday that the company will double the amount it returns to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends by 2015, but will "access the debt market" to pay for it.
Borrowing money seems odd for a company like Apple (AAPL), which has $144 billion in cash. But more than $100 billion of that is overseas. If Apple were to try to bring that cash back to the United States, it could be taxed at the top corporate tax rate of 35%.
And that doesn't sit well with Apple. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2013/04/24/apple-debt-repatriation-taxes/
April 24, 2013
from Civil Eats:
The Factory Farms of Lenawee County
By Dan Imhoff on April 24, 2013
Rolling across North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, California, and today, eastern Michigan, I’ve seen first-hand the impacts of industrial dairy, poultry, and hog factories on rural communities. I admire the people who fight back against the invasion of factory farms. I seek them out, trying to see the land from their eyes. But no matter how many times I experience it, I still find unpalatable a business model that’s based on marginalizing animal welfare and polluting your neighbors’ air, land, water and quality of life in the name of profit and cheap food.
Lynn and Dean Henning are guiding me on a tour of the CAFOs of Lenawee County. It’s a cold morning in early spring. The landscape is leached of color. The ponds are thick with ice. An occasional snowflake flutters from wooly clouds.
“When they spray manure in the winter, sometimes you can see it hanging frozen from the irrigation booms,” says Lynn from the back seat. “We call them ‘poopsicles.’”
“What’s it like here when spring arrives?” I ask, imagining a painterly transformation of the countryside with grass, foliage, blossoms, songbirds.
“Springtime smells really bad,” she answers. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2013/04/24/the-factory-farms-of-lenawee-county/
The Factory Farms of Lenawee County
from Civil Eats:
The Factory Farms of Lenawee County
By Dan Imhoff on April 24, 2013
Rolling across North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, California, and today, eastern Michigan, I’ve seen first-hand the impacts of industrial dairy, poultry, and hog factories on rural communities. I admire the people who fight back against the invasion of factory farms. I seek them out, trying to see the land from their eyes. But no matter how many times I experience it, I still find unpalatable a business model that’s based on marginalizing animal welfare and polluting your neighbors’ air, land, water and quality of life in the name of profit and cheap food.
Lynn and Dean Henning are guiding me on a tour of the CAFOs of Lenawee County. It’s a cold morning in early spring. The landscape is leached of color. The ponds are thick with ice. An occasional snowflake flutters from wooly clouds.
“When they spray manure in the winter, sometimes you can see it hanging frozen from the irrigation booms,” says Lynn from the back seat. “We call them ‘poopsicles.’”
“What’s it like here when spring arrives?” I ask, imagining a painterly transformation of the countryside with grass, foliage, blossoms, songbirds.
“Springtime smells really bad,” she answers. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2013/04/24/the-factory-farms-of-lenawee-county/
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