While Potter added a disclaimer on his Kickstarter page, saying, “I cannot make any guarantee of what I will be able to document,” the odds that he’ll break new ground are quite high. In fact, public information about these farms is so rare, it would almost be hard not to uncover something the public doesn’t know.
You see, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t collect data on large livestock operations. A proposed rule published in 2011 would have required CAFO owners to report information as basic as the location of the CAFO’s production area, and the number and type of animals. But the rule stalled out the following year and despite lawsuits from environmental groups, the agency shows no sign of planning to collect the data anytime soon, let alone regulate the farms. According to Food and Water Watch, one of the plaintiffs: “By bailing on the [the CAFO reporting rule], the EPA maintains the status quo of not even knowing how many CAFOs there are in the United States.” [Emphasis ours.]
So nearly anything Potter learns about the scale of existing operations, and how they might be impacting the surrounding waterways, could break new ground. And not a minute too soon, says Potter. “Ag-gag bills are just one piece in a much bigger trend of the agriculture industry and to shut down access to information. But, if anything, the overwhelming public interest in this issue shows that we need more access right now–not less.”
The journalist is also aware of the controversial nature of working with drones. “We know that some types of drones kill people around the world,” he says. “But in a lot of ways, that’s what appealed to me about this project. It shows that the technology is not inherently skewed toward that type of use.” Because these remote-control aircraft are increasingly accessible and affordable, he adds, “It’s time to turn the technology on its head.”
Plain to.. see.. they have no ability or desire to control there on actions..
The love of money is the root of this evil..
JD..
Time to crawl out from under your rock and open your eyes. Family owned farms my ass!!!! I've nevr heard of a family owning a farm that has millions of heads of cattle or millions of chickens/turkeys. These CAFOs are owned and run by Big AG Corps like Cargill and these corporations don't even pay for the corn they use on the feedlots. Find out what they feed the cows besides the corn that makes them so sick, the cows are septic when slaughtered.