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FACTORY FARMING
Thank goodness many farmers do not buy into factory farming. Case in point: Karen Hudson in the recent article by Dusty Rhodes [see “Bigger isn’t always better,” IT, April 16]. Unfortunately, some pork producers and a very large industry got to the Illinois General Assembly and the state bureaucracy in time to rule the day. It’s impossible to enjoy bacon under these circumstances.
Thank you, Dusty Rhodes, for bringing these issues to light.
LuAnn Atkins Rochester
COSTS OF CHEAP FOOD
What an excellent article [“Bigger isn’t always better,” April 16]. Karen Hudson shows what can be done by anyone with creativity and a conscience. Factory farms are disconnected from the community, the people, and thus lack accountability.
The push for cheap food has sad environmental, social and ethical consequences that need to be reversed. In the 1960s and 1970s I grew up on a family dairy farm in Wisconsin, and have watched with sadness the infiltration of irresponsible corporate farming.
Nancy Hokkanen Bloomington, Minn.
FROM MAD COW COUNTY
We have the same problem in Yakima County, in Washington State. We have over 72 factory farms in our county. A local school well was found contaminated.
The factory farms have made it legal to bury their dead, sick, cows on site. They are also putting dead cows in compost and calling it “organic.”
We are the county where the “Mad Cow” was found. Nothing has changed. Our local politicians support these activities. Thank God for Grace and people like Karen Hudson.
Jan Whitefoot Harrah, Wash.
ADVICE GODDESS CROSSES LINE
I love Illinois Times; you print relevant topics, local and nationwide, not covered in the State Journal- Register, and the paper is a wellknown guide to local events. The Advice Goddess articles in the back are usually funny and Amy usually gives down-to-earth advice.
Before I go any further, I want to let you know that I am 21, I am not a prude, I am not religious, I’m just a normal young woman who attends college hoping to get into the Champaign-Urbana Veterinary Medical School. I grew up in a household with a good set of parents, I have morals and values, and someday I want to have a family.
I have a problem with the Advice Goddess articles that were printed in your April 9 edition, and any other Advice Goddess articles that are similar. I am offended that articles such as these, that talk about hookups and booty calls, are printed in Illinois Times.
Yes, our culture is permeated with sex on TV, in magazines, music, movies and everywhere else, but I believe that people should begin to work against it. For my future children and for those children who are growing up right now, at least those that can read, reading about booty calls, and being told by the Advice Goddess that regular random hookups is a healthy practice, is not appropriate! I would expect better of Illinois Times.
Sarah Lindholm Springfield
NEWBORN SCREENING IN DANGER
Illinois has made great strides in saving babies from disabling and life-threatening diseases through newborn screening. Now it is shamefully going backwards. In 2007, the legislature unanimously protected the Metabolic and Newborn Screening Fund. But in 2008, they amended the law and raided the $500,000 fund, putting thousands of newborns at risk. The fund is in danger again, which means so is every baby born in the state. This money is essential to provide the screens, follow up, and referrals for treatment that families depend upon. The March of Dimes recommends every state screen newborns for a core group of disorders at birth. Because these disorders display no immediate outward symptoms, unless they are detected and treated early, they can cause physical disabilities, mental retardation and even death.
The March of Dimes urges the Illinois legislature to protect this lifesaving program and not sweep the Metabolic and Newborn Screening Fund. For more information, including the list of disorders for which March of Dimes recommends screening, visit www.marchofdimes.com.
Cathy Gray March of Dimes board member Aurora
