Students address CAFO concerns
Caitlin Dean
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News
A small but passionate group of Truman students is taking action to bring attention to the negative effects of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.
Graduate student Cassie Phillips, who teaches an Introduction to Environmental Studies class, said 10 students in her class decided to work on a service learning project rather than completing traditional term papers.
"Students could have done an individual project, but the way they opted to go was to use the course material that we had been focusing on, using a local issue to understand and process larger environmental issues," Phillips said.
Sophomore Ashley May said the CAFO service learning group has been working on this project since about Midterm Break. In addition to distributing a pamphlet, the group set up a table in the Student Union Building from Tuesday through Thursday to raise awareness.
The project culminates with a panel discussion tonight that includes guest speakers state Rep. Rebecca McClanahan, D-Kirksville, John Ikerd, agricultural economist and author, community activist Terry Spence and a Linn County commissioner representative. The panel discussion will take place tonight in Pershing Building 325.
The Center for Teaching and Learning was one of the sources of funding for the project.
"I didn't want to fully rely on those funds," Phillips said. "I think it's very important to bring other stakeholders into the mix, so we also got funding from the Agricultural Science department, the Biology department, the Environmental Studies department and the Provost office."
May said she is concerned about more than just the physical and biological effects of CAFOs on communities after working on the project.
"It's incredibly negatively affecting [the] socioeconomics of the communities in which these CAFOs exist," she said. "All these promises that are made when a CAFO is going to come to the community, it's almost assumed like, 'OK, we're going to have a CAFO now. It's going to increase our tax base. It's going to create more jobs.' But, in fact, it does the opposite."
Graduate student Cassie Phillips, who teaches an Introduction to Environmental Studies class, said 10 students in her class decided to work on a service learning project rather than completing traditional term papers.
"Students could have done an individual project, but the way they opted to go was to use the course material that we had been focusing on, using a local issue to understand and process larger environmental issues," Phillips said.
Sophomore Ashley May said the CAFO service learning group has been working on this project since about Midterm Break. In addition to distributing a pamphlet, the group set up a table in the Student Union Building from Tuesday through Thursday to raise awareness.
The project culminates with a panel discussion tonight that includes guest speakers state Rep. Rebecca McClanahan, D-Kirksville, John Ikerd, agricultural economist and author, community activist Terry Spence and a Linn County commissioner representative. The panel discussion will take place tonight in Pershing Building 325.
The Center for Teaching and Learning was one of the sources of funding for the project.
"I didn't want to fully rely on those funds," Phillips said. "I think it's very important to bring other stakeholders into the mix, so we also got funding from the Agricultural Science department, the Biology department, the Environmental Studies department and the Provost office."
May said she is concerned about more than just the physical and biological effects of CAFOs on communities after working on the project.
"It's incredibly negatively affecting [the] socioeconomics of the communities in which these CAFOs exist," she said. "All these promises that are made when a CAFO is going to come to the community, it's almost assumed like, 'OK, we're going to have a CAFO now. It's going to increase our tax base. It's going to create more jobs.' But, in fact, it does the opposite."
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