Right-to-farm laws: Legal shields of Big Ag

Abstract

First paragraph:

In the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. agriculture faced its worst crisis since the Great Depression. Dire finances due to collapsed land and commodity prices forced almost a third of farms nationwide to close, negatively affecting rural economies beyond farming (Barnett, 2000). During this period, right-to-farm (RTF) state laws were enacted to protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits resulting from agri­cultural practices, such as complaints about noise or odor. These laws were promoted to safeguard family farms and slow down the urbanization of rural areas, a trend contributing to the emergence of post-agrarian rural societies in the U.S. (Salamon, 2007). In Empty Fields, Empty Promises, authors Ashwood, Imlay, Kuehn, Franco, and Diamond critically examine how far RTF laws have diverged from their original intent and now instead protect large-scale operations, such as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). . . .