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The state, hog hotels, and the "right to farm": A curious relationship

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Abstract

A grassroots protest against a large-scale confinement swine facility in Jackson Country, Michigan resulted in an out-of-court settlement that redressed the concerns of local residents. At the same time, the protest was instrumental in modifying state-level legislation to secure greater legal protection for intensive animal agriculture. The paper traces this ironic turn of events. Original efforts to regulate industrial agriculture were publicly reinterpreted by agribusiness as an assault on the "right to farm" of all farmers, regardless of scale and organizational management. Responding to this perception and informed by agricultural science, the state instituted voluntary "right to farm" guidelines. These guidelines based on state-of-the-art techniques and technologies now shield conforming operations from local complaints and "nuisance suits." By contrast, the rights of smaller farmers and rural residents are selectively disadvantaged.

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  1. Laura B. DeLind
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Laura B. DeLind is a senior academic specialist in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University. She conducts research on the contemporary US agrofood system, particularly as it operates within Michigan and the Midwest. Her research and writing focus on the social and political impacts of industrial agriculture at the local or community level and on the benefits of more decentralized and sustainable systems of food production and distribution. DeLind is co-editor of theCulture and Agriculture (C&A) Bulletin. She is a council member of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society and is a founding board member of the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance.

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DeLind, L.B. The state, hog hotels, and the "right to farm": A curious relationship. Agric Hum Values 12, 34–44 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217152

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