Martha Stevens is livestock farmer who lives and farms near Hatfield, Missouri. This article is part of an ongoing series by Martha Stevens - Straight Talk - commenting on the life and politics of farming in Missouri and the U.S. as a whole.

Remember the day that Corporate America came to your town to tell you how they were going to help you via construction of pig places, jobs, mega tax dollars, etc.?

I remember well. They came accompanied by our own state representative who presented them as the savior of our communities. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Some saw that truth even then and expressed concern despite the rhetoric espoused from politicians, farm organizations and coops, the Missouri Dept. of Agriculture, the University of Missouri, and others on their behalf. Concern for the potential of massive pollution from over-applications of untreated manure and spills from animal waste cesspools, loss of farm markets, an influx of immigrant workers, and a threat to the quality of life were met with scoffs and labels such as radicals, nay-sayers, purveyors of misinformation. Those so concerned were accused of trying to halt "progress." Now, I ask you, who were the radicals; the purveyors of misinformation; and who would dare call what has happened to north Missouri -- and elsewhere -- progress?

Before the grass had grown on the banks of the cesspools, the rivers and streams of this area became little more than a receiving tank for manure and urine from "spills." The air reeked with the odor of that manure and urine as it was exhausted from within the buildings or sprayed over fields to contaminate the surrounding countryside. Neighbors to the facilities became ill from the toxic gases; markets for family farmers closed as packing houses frequently declined to buy from them because the mega operations were supplying them with more than enough to keep their shifts operating in high gear.

Many of the jobs went to immigrant workers that came to fill the needs of the hog factory owners. The payroll checks often made their way not only out of state, but out of the country. Tax revenue increases were minute or nonexistent as the mega operations required thousands of acres of land for their operations, and put former taxpaying farmers and customers of local business off the land and frequently out of the county while they received special tax breaks denied the independent farmer. And although it rarely shows up on the tax assessment sheets, property values of those remaining independent farmers, particularly those living in close proximity to a hog factory, plummeted.

Nationwide, over 300,000 farmers have disappeared over the past 20 years due primarily to governmental decisions that favored large agribusiness operations. Just two years after Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan proclaimed Continental Grain&rsqu;ts arrival with their hog factories as "a god-send for Missouri," over 19,000 independent farmers in that state had been lost to that "progress." And it continues. By 1996, 40 percent of the hog production in Missouri was controlled by just five corporate producers: PSF, Murphy, Continental Grain, Cargill, and Tyson. By 1998, that percentage has increased dramatically.

Now before you remind me that farmers have been on an exodus from their farms for decades, let me assure you that I am well aware of that fact. But, those exits were due primarily to retirement, frequently with ownership passing to a son or daughter. Not so today. Farmers are leaving, not because it is their choice, but because they have been left with no other option.

In 1996, mega hog factory Premium Standard Farms (PSF), with all their highly touted "superior efficiency" filed for bankruptcy, yet were still viewed by those in political circles as a role model for the industry! Despite writing off hundreds of thousands of $$$ owed trucking companies, electric companies, construction workers, etc., PSF had the audacity to proclaim that "no one got hurt" and that they had just erased a substantial portion of their debt with the stroke of a pen! And unbelievably they continued to be the "knight in shining armor" to political puppets who were wined and dined at the company-owned restaurant in Princeton, no doubt at least partially in appreciation for that political body's steadfast refusal to enact legislation that could have protected Missouri citizens from the pollution and destruction the company was wreaking.

All this hindsight has brought another thought to mind: Where is the person who introduced this havoc to his legislative area? Where is that legislator who produced special legislations in the wee hours of the morning on the final day of the session and without the knowledge of his constituents; that provided the opportunity for all this construction for destruction?

He's somewhere in a plush office after receiving a Governor's appointment as a figurehead in the Department of Economic Development, drawing a handsome salary paid by Missouri taxpayers, and far away from those farmers that he has helped to destroy. Out of sight; out of mind? I don't think so; I remember him well, as do many others.

Stand proud, Mr. Legislator! You assisted them in destroying our beautiful state with monstrous hog factories that pollute the air, land, and water and saturate the markets with so many animals that family farmers are being forced from the land. Stand proud for turning our state into a toxic waste dump of hog manure and for forsaking those who elected you to represent them in Jefferson City, yielding instead to Corporate America's agenda for the takeover of our nation's food supply. And above all, stand proud for looking out for numero uno and ignoring the consequences of your actions as it regards those family farmers who devoted their lives to feeding the world. Stand proud and take a bow for... helping them succeed in their quest to destroy Missouri's family farmers.

Published in In Motion Magazine - January 27, 1999.

Also read other essays by Martha Stevens