.	A WebQuest on Corporate Hog Farming in NC
. . . Introduction The Task Research Questions Resources Your Report The Meeting Conclusion About the Authors	. .  .  .  .  .

Introduction:
The corporate hog industry in North Carolina has grown rapidly over the past decade. This growth has brought economic benefits. However, it also has dramatically changed the way of life in many rural farming communities and raised concerns about air and water quality -- not just on and around intensive hog operations, but also downwind and downstream from them.

You are a feature writer for a national magazine based in New York City. Your magazine has a large circulation and a reputation for publishing balanced, fair-minded articles. Recent news reports about leaking waste lagoons, polluted rivers, and fish kills in North Carolina have drawn your editor's attention. He has asked you to do some research on corporate hog farming in the state. To guide your investigations, the editor has provided a list of questions. You will need to decide if there is a story worth telling.

In completing this WebQuest, you will:

• learn some interesting facts about North Carolina's hog industry and its effects on individuals and communities.
• identify specific issues that have been raised by the rapid growth of the industry and accompanying waste management problems.
• categorize and evaluate these issues, and examine ways North Carolinians are attempting to address them.
• determine whether a story about the state's corporate hog industry will be of interest and value to a national audience.
• clearly state and defend your opinion.

Questions to investigate:

1. How important is pork production to North Carolina's economy? About how much money does it generate in gross sales for farmers annually? How many full-time jobs does it provide?

2. Where does North Carolina rank nationally in pork production? How many hogs currently are being raised in the state? In what region(s) are most located? What percent of the hogs are being raised on large, factory-size corporate hog farms?

3. What exactly is a corporate hog farm? How does it differ from a traditional farm? Why has large-scale corporate hog farming grown so quickly in North Carolina over the past decade?

4. What methods do corporate hog farmers use to increase production? What benefits are associated with these new, intensive methods? Who reaps the benefits?

5. Large-scale corporate hog operations (sometimes called "hog factories") produce immense amounts of waste. What methods are used to dispose of this waste? How well do they work?

6. What major problems have resulted from the industry's failure to manage waste adequately? What population groups have been most directly affected by these problems? What broader groups also have been affected?

7. What specific issues has the rapid growth of corporate hog farming in North Carolina raised? Categorize them and determine which are most important and why.

• environmental
• public health
• social
• political/legal
• economic

9. Will decisions made and actions taken in North Carolina likely influence what eventually happens in other hog-producing states? in states where different industries dominate?

·  Good sources of economic information on pork production in North Carolina include NC Pork Council Facts and the NC Department of Agriculture's Livestock and Information by County websites. An up-to-date tally of hogs and where they are located also may be found at the NCDA site.

·  For more statistical and geographic information on North Carolina's hogs (including GIS maps), go to the NC Environmental Defense Fund's Hogwatch site. This massive site, operated by one of the state's most respected advocacy groups, also provides:

• background on what large-scale corporate hog operations actually are and why their numbers have grown so quickly,
• scientific information on the environmental and public health impacts of these intensive, large-scale "factories",
• RealAudio first person citizen accounts from those who live nearby,
• economic information on how other businesses/industries have been affected,
• summaries of recent North Carolina legislation related to the hog industry, and
• recommendations for solving current problems.

·  The North Carolina State University Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center is cooperatively funded by the NC General Assembly and the livestock industry. Its web site contains research reports on the latest methods for managing waste.

·  The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) web site is HUGE. Among other things, it provides comprehensive answers to a broad range of Questions about Pork Production and the Environment. You probably won't want to read every word of this section. However, the "general issues" link will take you to a pretty good overview of how and why pork production has changed over the past decade. Other links supply useful information on modern production and waste management methods, as well as the industry's response to public concerns about air and water pollution and their effects on the environment, public health, and safety. Be sure to consult this site, but try not to get too bogged down in the details!

VISIT:
·  Publications available through Hog Watch
·  Links to NC Environmental Hog-Related Sites
·  Water Website
·  Websites with information relevant to Stakeholder's position

·  The Raleigh News & Observer has published dozens of interesting, informative articles over the past few years.  To access other, more recent stories, go to The News & Observer on-line front page and conduct a search of the archives using the key words "hog" and "swine."

·  The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is a nonprofit, regional organization that provides legal assistance to citizen groups. It has been working with the Hog Roundtable - a coalition of about 30 groups - to ensure that North Carolina enacts and enforces pollution control regulations over the hog industry.

Use the following steps in preparing your report:

• Carefully read over the entire list of questions your editor (teacher) has provided. These should guide your research.
• Once you are familiar with the questions, look at the list of Internet resources. Be sure to read the summaries. They will give you some idea of where answers may be found.
• Keeping in mind that different sources view "the facts" differently, surf the web sites on the resource list and collect the information you need.  (Remember to site you work.)
• Organize your ideas and write the report - the content will be used in your video production.  Be sure to clearly state your opinion and provide the background and details necessary to support it.  Your argument should be logical and persuasive.

• Feature Writer - In this role, you must clearly and persuasively state and defend your opinion on whether the magazine should carry a feature story on North Carolina's hog industry.
• Editor - In this role, you must critically examine what the feature writer has to say and question any unsupported ideas or points.
• Second Writer/Observer - In this role, you will observe the process and evaluate how effectively the feature writer presents and defends his/her opinion.  All this is in preparation for your video production.

In addition, you have thought about what the "hog story" really means -- not just to North Carolinians, but also to others grappling with similar problems. Figuring out how to balance economic progress with environmental protection clearly is a challenge for everyone!