State Green Party Press Release

Pennsylvania Green Party

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Eric Prindle for State Representative

P.O. Box 214
Selinsgrove, PA 17870-0214
570-372-0503, prindle@greens.org
http://home.ptd.net/~prindle

Prindle supports Valley's family farmers with opposition to bad bill

For immediate release: Oct. 8, 2002

Following a major rally of family farmers and other rural Pennsylvanians at the Capitol in Harrisburg today, 85th District state representative candidate Eric Prindle emphasized his opposition to Senate Bill 1413, which would amend the Right to Farm Act to give corporate factory farms free rein to take over communities.

"Our family farmers desperately need to be protected from absentee corporations that want to come in anddrive them out of business, particularly when it comes to the hog industry," Prindle said. "The Senate leadership wants to prevent municipalities from giving them that kind of protection, and now the corporatefactory farm interests are trying to push their bill through the House."

Prindle said he spoke to his opponent, incumbent Rep. Russ Fairchild, in the spring and that Fairchildexpressed support for the bill. Since then, Prindle said, "Fairchild's silence has been deafening,considering that north-central Pennsylvania is targeted for the next wave of the factory farm invasion."

"There are some serious issues that are very broad and encompassing," Larry Breach, president of the 1,400-member Pennsylvania Farmers Union, said at the rally today. "Does a community have the right to determine its economic and social direction? ... What corporates are saying is 'No, we have more rights andwant more rights than citizens.' We don't think a corporation should have more rights than a citizen."

Citizens of Monroe and Jackson townships in Snyder County apparently agreed last year when they formed Snyder-Union Counties Concerned Citizens to oppose a proposal for a factory farm in their community. Prindle was secretary/treasurer of that effort. The proposal was withdrawn.

Prindle pointed out that family farmers aren't the only ones hurt by corporate factory farms. "Studies show that a factory hog operation decreases surrounding property values by up to 90 percent and depresses earned income by making farmers into laborers instead of independent businesspeople," Prindle explained. "It doesn't take a budgetary genius to figure out that this means higher property taxes for our seniors. There are too many reasons why this bill would never have been considered if politicians cared more about theirconstituents than their big corporate campaign contributors."