Delaware County has always been known for its incredible work in agriculture. The land and climate of East Central Indiana is perfect for growing crops like corn and soybeans. Now, Indiana wants to become “the Texas of alternative fuels.”
Over the last few weeks, a huge debate has started about the issue of proposing an agriculture park that would produce several crop-created items, like ethanol fuel.
As a lifelong Delaware County citizen, I have always been concerned with the economy of the Muncie area. Also, as a proud liberal, I have always been concerned with the environment and its use in today’s society.
I see no harm in using crops like corn and soybeans to help create items of need, especially a cheaper fuel than gasoline — and I think most Ball State students and Muncie citizens will agree since gas is now sitting around $3 a gallon. However, throughout history, there is always something lurking in the shadows of things that promise to be good and efficient, something that makes them too good to be true. In this case, it is the possible pollution caused by this agriculture park.
If the re-zoning proposal is accepted, the plants that would be built on the 800-acre area north and south of Shideler, a small town near Eaton, will cause trouble and harm to the local citizens. The re-zoning of the area would allow Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and other possibly harmful buildings to be built.
CAFOs “emphasize high volume and profit with minimal regard for human health, safe food, the environment, humane treatment of animals and the rural economy,” according to the consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.
CAFOs were not originally part of the proposal, but they were included at the request of state officials. Many residents of East Central Indiana are highly opposed to building CAFOs in their region, but the state government did not consider the opinions of the vast majority of its citizens.
However, the agriculture park will produce some positives. The value of corn and soybeans will go up because of the crops used in production of fuel and other materials in the agricultural park, but property values for residents in the Shideler and Eaton areas will decrease. The stench of the CAFOs and the possible health hazards caused by the additional chemical processes in the area might make the area less worth living in.
So, where should you and I stand on the subject? Does the ability to create 50 to 200 well-paying jobs and the possibility of creating a lower-costing fuel outweigh the rights of the homeowners near the 800 acres? How about vice versa, for that matter?
As a known government cynic, I do not believe Joe Russell, the majority property owner and president of the Delaware County Council, and Fritz Schnepf, the owner of Shideler’s grain elevator, when they say that CAFOs will be kept out of the area as much as possible. If enough money comes their way, they will allow the CAFOs to be built and to pollute.
If CAFOs were permanently written out of the proposal, I believe a majority of people in Delaware County, and even some people in the Shideler area, would be less cynical about the proposition. However, that seems very unlikely to happen with the County Council backing the proposal with all its might,
With CAFOs and the possible consequences of building an ethanol plant, I agree with the agriculture park protestor and Ball State Associate Professor of Chemistry James Rybarczyk in saying that “this is terrifying,” and I as a human being pray for the future of Shideler.
Write to Matthew at
mlstephenson@bsu.edu
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