Given their problems, Iowa hog farmers should stay out of California 'bacon law' debate



Reader submissions
Wed, March 2, 2022

Idyllic hog farms? Not quite

The Desert Sun published an opinion by guest columnist Dwight Mogler on Feb. 21.

Mogler describes the idyllic conditions in which his hogs are raised. He is upset about California's Proposition 12 "Bacon Law" and the effect it may have on his farm and the pork industry.

The description of his farm does not address the pollution caused by his and large corporate farms. The Des Moines Register published an article on the same day headlined, "About half of Iowa's waterways listed as impaired in biannual DNR report."

The story links to others that describe the damage to Iowa's waterways, including:

increasing water pollution contaminating the Raccoon River, a main water source for a urban population of 500,000.


the water department in Des Moines digging new wells and investing in expensive filtration systems as river water could not be purified.

Another news article in January told of a farmer charged with neglect after 800 pigs on his farm died. There have been stories of deaths related to manure pits on farms.

I am the son of a third-generation hog farmer and worked on the family farm as a child and young adult. I chose a different direction, going to college and into the medical field.

I would suggest Mogler clean up the manure in his own backyard before he wades into California politics.

Ken Wetjen, Cathedral City