AGRICULTURE: ‘Right to Harm’ highlights Iowa’s factory farm battles

'Right to Harm,” a new documentary about the public health and social impacts of factory farms in Iowa and four other states, will screen at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

The award-winning husband/wife team of Matt Wechsler and Annie Speicher highlight Iowa's ongoing battle against CAFOs, told through the eyes of neighbors and advocates striving for social justice. It includes scenes from public events in Fairfield, conversations with agricultural economist John Ikerd, and follows the work of JFAN President and Executive Director Diane Rosenberg, who is also an Iowa consultant with Socially Responsible Agricultural Project.

A panel discussion with filmmaker Wechsler follows the film.

'‘Right to Harm' is a movie that addresses the ‘human welfare' side of factory farms,” says Rosenberg. 'You won't see instances of animal abuse, addressed in other films and videos. Instead, you'll hear compelling stories by individuals and families whose lives were negatively altered after CAFOs were built. These stories are just a representative sampling of what far too many people experience in Iowa and across the country.”

The film, backed by noted journalist and executive producer Mark Bittman among others, makes a case that state agencies are failing to regulate industrial animal agriculture and chronicles actions taken by disenfranchised citizens to demand justice from their legislators.

The Iowa segment examines the plight of Gary Netser, who was confronted with two 1,200-head CAFOs built across from his family's 145-year old farm in North English shortly after he retired there. It also addresses the efforts of Iowans coming together to protect their communities against an expanding livestock industry and their efforts to advocate for stronger state regulations.

Wechsler, who spent three years working on 'Right to Harm” says he was affected by the situations of those he portrayed.

'Once you learn what it's like for people who live near these facilities and then experience it firsthand, you can't go back. I can't bring myself to support a system that is inherently inequitable, and I wanted to share that feeling with others,” he said.

The screening of 'Right to Harm” is sponsored by Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors Inc. Admission is free; a donation of $5 is welcome to support JFAN's mission.

JFAN is a 501(c)(3) educational foundation working to protect the quality of life of Jefferson County residents since 2005.