The Chicken Battle Begins

Jeff has just learned that the neighbor up the hill behind his house has made a deal to put two industrial chicken houses on his land. For whatever reason, the location chosen was next to the property line and on the same side of the hill that runs off into Jeff’s place. The threat of contamination from the chicken houses are to Jeff’s spring, his only source of clean water, as well as the gardens just downhill from the proposed site.

We need several things to begin to fight the completion of this operation in such close proximity from our farm, the oldest organic farm in Middle Tennessee. We need:

* A top-notch environmental attorney
* To initiate a PR campaign to bring the public behind our farm
* People to contact their local, state, and federal representatives in protest of this

We will be organizing a strategy and trying to mobilize forces to stop this project before it is complete. To that end we will be sending out very specific instructions on what you can do to help as soon as possible. More details will become available in the days and weeks ahead, but feel free to start spreading the word now. Contact me with any helpful information.

The company the neighbor will be raising chickens for is called Cobb-Vantress, a 1-5 hundred million dollar company. “Cobb-Vantress, Inc., a poultry breeding company, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of broiler breeding stock. It offers its products through a network of distributors in North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. The company has a strategic alliance with Hendrix Genetics. Cobb-Vantress, Inc. was formerly known as Cobb International, Inc. The company was founded in 1916 and is based in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Cobb-Vantress, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc.”

A recent news story announced the opening of operations in Tennessee:
Cobb-Vantress, Inc. Opens Tennessee Hatchery
11/29/2010

Cobb-Vantress, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., has opened a new $14 million Cobb hatchery at Lafayette, Tennessee, US, using the latest energy saving technology. The hatchery has been developed to supply the growing demand for Cobb parent stock in the US, and will ultimately be supplied with hatching eggs from 27 breeder farms being constructed in conjunction with local farmers.