Sunday, April 17, 2011

Corporate hog farm bill doesn't pass smell test

If you are bothered by the smell emanating from corporate hog farms, you are a nuisance to your elected officials.

A bill limiting lawsuits against the hog farms breezed through both houses and is on its way to the governor.

HB 209 is sponsored by Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany, whose biggest contributor is Smithfield Foods, which benefits from this legislation. A similar bill was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, who also counts Smithfield Foods as his biggest contributor.

Missouri Ethics Commission documents show Guernsey received $4,000 from Smithfield, $2,000 payments on Oct. 24 and Oct. 29. Lager picked up even more, receiving $10,000.

Disclosure statements filed with the Ethics Commission this year, show Smithfield Foods has contributed $16,500 to House and Senate members.

In 2010, Smithfield gave more than $80,000 to legislators or party committees in 2010, according to Missouri Ethics Commission documents.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Once again do for the corporations and forget the people. Oh wait a minute the Supreme Court said corporations are people, individuals no less.

Anonymous said...

Everytime I see an article about a corporate hog farm, I think of Former DNR director Doyle Childers. Poor Doyle, he never saw a hog farm a couldn't love. I hope in his retirement years he moved next door to one. I'm sure to him it smelled like money and friendship. He certainly didn't make friends with anyone else while he was director. The better it "stunk" the more he was in their favor.