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and lobbying efforts influenced policy on an issue I care about?

The Center for Responsive Politics' website (opensecrets.org) reveals that the third top contributor for federal races in Iowa this past year was the National Pork Producers Council, which supports a corporate style of agriculture. http://www.opensecrets.org/sta tes/donors.php?cycle=2008&stat e=IA

Corporate agriculture has influenced the political landscape in Iowa for more than a decade. The sweep of the factory farm industry over the state has been a strong force that Iowans have had little monetary power to stop. Factory farms are confinement operations that house thousands of animals, most commonly hogs, in confinement facilities that have few industry regulations. Millions of gallons of raw manure are stored just hundreds of feet away from families' homes and nearby water sources, devaluing Iowans' quality of life. This lack of regulation is often because those in power are supported by groups like the National Pork Producers Council.
http://www.iowacci.org /Issues/farming/factory%20farm %20campaign/ffcampaign.htm

Iowa ns are working for a policy called local control, which gives local county residents the ability to decide on what type of development happens in their county, and it means that counties will have the power to stop factory farms from building.

The agriculture industry, according to the Center for Responsible Politics, contributed $213,890 this past year toward campaigns, which likely influenced the votes of the legislators in office when it came to supporting local control or the factory farm industry. http://www.opensecrets.org/sta tes/indus.php?cycle=2008&state =IA

Despite opposition, thousands of Iowans standing up for what's right have made a difference, and dozens of factory farms have been denied their permit to build. That's because real progress on issues affecting everyday people can be made when our voices are heard louder than those of special interests.

Without the influence of lobbyists and other big-money donors and with systems like VOICE and local control, corporate agriculture groups will no longer devalue Iowans' quality of life and drive local family farmers out of business.

Rather, Iowa would be a state no longer beholden to corporate interests. Legislators would put their constituents first, putting in place policies that benefit the common good rather than the select few.

We all deserve a system where people matter more, and money matters less.

Learn more about this author, Kristin Schaaf.
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