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The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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Sen. John McCain (R–Ariz.) is back at it, taking swipes at federally funded animal research projects. First he took on the grizzlies—lambasting studies to gauge whether the mighty creatures were in danger of becoming extinct— and now he's peeved about pigs—or pig odor, to be precise. The former presidential candidate last week mocked a federal set-aside for pig odor research, listing it on his Twitter feed as one of the "Top 10 Porkiest Projects" allocated funding in the latest federal spending bill being debated in Congress. Sen. Tom Coburn (R–Okla.) chimed in on his own Web site that "This earmark is $1.7 million to take the stink out of manure," and pretty soon the blogosphere was snorting about liberal (and pig) waste.
Amid threats to strip the $410-billion bill of its earmarks, Democratic Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin took the floor to passionately defend his state's swine scientists. "People constantly complain, with good reason, about big farms, factory farms and their environmental impacts," he said, "so it makes good sense to fund research that addresses how people can live in our small towns and communities, and livestock producers can do the same, and coexist."
The problem with federal earmarks for scientific research is that they can be doled out based on political connections and lobbying rather than on a grant review by a panel of scientific peers. In this case, the Swine Odor and Manure Management Research Unit at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Ames, Iowa, had been stripped of funding last year by the Bush administration, and this was designed as a way to reboot the program. As Harkin put it, "This item is only included as an earmark now because the last Bush budget proposed to terminate a number of agricultural research projects in order to come in at a lower budget number, knowing full well that this needed research was likely to be restored by Congress."
But what on earth is pig odor research? To find out, we spoke with Jacek Koziel, an agricultural engineer who specializes in livestock odor at Iowa State University and who has helped the ARS team quantify odors for their experiments varying the pig's diet.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
What is pig odor?
We've shown that the odor is a mixture of several hundred different gases, but there are only a handful of gases that really give it the characteristic livestock odor. To me, the top one would be p-cresol. This is a phenolic compound that we've shown is present right at the source—that is, very close to the farm—but it is also one that carries far downwind. Even when you smell it at very dilute concentrations, you would think there are some livestock nearby. Then, there are also a couple other gases that belong to volatile fatty acid groups.
We associate these smells with fecal matter or waste in general. Those aren't necessarily pleasant experiences. On the other hand, you can find similar smells in a number of foods. When the smells are associated with the visual image of cheese or wine or some other food product they aren't necessarily considered offensive.
Why is pig odor a problem?
Typically, pig odor is a localized air quality problem. We usually just have low concentrations of these potent odorous gases such as p-cresol, and those are not necessarily immediately dangerous to our health. However, odor problems are often a starting point for litigation. This is a real problem for many farmers large and small, but small operations in particular can go out of business because of this litigation. This is a real issue to many people. The need to do fundamental research on odor, on controlling odor, and on gaseous dust emissions from livestock is still there. There's no question about it.
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16 Comments
Add CommentWhat a bunch of smarthy jerks. Trying to justify spending millions of our money to take the stink out of manure so the pig farmers and comunities could live in harmony. What a bunch of pig poop. First, if you move next to a farm, it will smell. Get used to it or dont move there. Second if it is detrimental to the farmers, then they can pay for it. I cant belive SA published such an article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI've been following this company called Enzyme Environmental Solutions. They have an odor remediation enzyme product specifically engineered to combat the pig odor problem. They have initial contracts in South Korea for 56 million over the next couple of years. Do a search for EESO
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy use harmful ultra-violet light when naturally occurring enzymes, when combined properly, will do the job very well, and without any adverse effects or by-products.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSince when did SA get political? I thought science and politics would never be intertwined. Stop whining about the last administration. Its clear what side of the fence youre on. Congratulations, youve identified yourself. Like one former comenter said, get used to it, you move next to a pig farm, its going to smell. I could think of alot more things to spend $410 BILLION dollars on. Like the economy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey're not spending $410 billion on stopping pigs from smelling. It's simply one of the very many projects included in this science bill. It's also one of the ones Senator McCain jumped on. All this article does is explain the research done and why it is deemed necessary by some people. Also, while you can repeat "when you move next to a farm, it will stink" as often as you like, it's still a useful research project: this way we can improve quality of living for those people and optimize land usage. The solutions found apparently also have applications in other areas, up to and including bathroom odours.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn closing, while I don't know whether or not this research deserves funding, I don't feel the topic alone deserves the sneering response it is given.
McCain is a sore looser, a multi-time flunky. Look at McCain's idol "Bush". He made it number six on the top ten worst presidential list. What can you expect from a looser like McCain. Anything Obama and the democrats come out with McCain and his flunkies are going to find a fault with it. They can't seem to break the verbal abuse cycle the republicans got themselves in. The stimulus package is designed to create jobs in America and clean up our environment that the republicans destroyed with their oil, coal and wars. Studying pig odor is a job, a stinking one, but a job that will provide an income for a lot of people. Why are the republicans so dead set against creating jobs and health care in a healthy environment in America?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think the reason is mainly because the republicans aren't aware that the bottom 98% of Americans even exist. Science doesn't concern itself with appealing to big businesses or wealthy families, so it's a natural target for the GOP every time a budget is released. I'm glad the democrats have enough majority to get some decent science passed for once. It's about time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnyway, about the odor thing, I would question its value initially, but considering that its applications are potentially -very- extensive (considering that it can be used in lots of human environments as well), I think it's worth looking into. Bear in mind that when even farm country needs its market centers, or else how will produce get around? Market centers mean lots of people, and most of these people aren't farmers. So the smell kind of bothers them. I see some people saying these people should just go somewhere else if they don't like it; how will our food production get along if everyone did that? The bottom line is that we need to stop making fun of research just because it doesn't chime with our visions of lofty advances of technology. Trust me, something good comes out of even the most menial and basic (and yes, sometimes silly) research there is, so please try to afford some people the benefit of the doubt.
The question is not whether or not this is good research. The question is whether or not we should make it a Federal case, specifically earmarked in the Federal budget. As with any earmark, it assumes the Congressman who put it in knows enough about scientific research to decide from among the millions of possible projects, which is the local project deserving of the Federal taxpayer's money.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am glad that John McCain is "at it again". You may like a particular earmark. I might too. But when we put all of them in one stew, it stinks more than your pig manure.
Has anyone looked at our economy lately? Does anyone care? Or do we care about something that has been around with us for thousands of years and guess what, we put up with it! The smell of pig manure is the smell of pig manure plain and simple. Lets spend this money where we need it, like giving it to the people instead of Wall Street. I said lets not get political since this is a science article. Oh wait, thats right, liberals want to mix their fake science like global hoaxing, I mean global warming into the deal because they have nothing else to back up their argument with except science blown up into galactic, biblical proportions. This in turn apparently gets their voice heard due to false fear. Whats next, are we going to see an article about pig fumes causing acid rain, or maybe terrorists might spread anthrax by mixing it with pig food which causes a deadly gas when expelled from the anus of swine. Whats next guys?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe smell apparently has a big impact on local property values. Eliminate that (so to speak) and local property values go up, increasing the available credit and buying power of the local populace. Also, expanded operations are better tolerated by the community, bringing increased job opportunity. And, since locating closer to populations becomes possible, they can actually pay their workers less while having them take home as much or more due to the shorter drive to work.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAll in all I'd say this research has the potential to pay for itself, and then some, by increasing the tax base and boosting local economies all over the farm belt.
In view of this scientific research and interview, i feel deeply grateful for the benign deeds undertaken by the professor who has been engaging in the field related to the studying and experiment of the environment issues.Nowadays ,more and more people focus their attention on their own health and the environment ,as is often the case even in the world stage where the political leaders of different countries are most concerned about.Consequently,i strongly recommend that the federal government in US or even the other countries in the world should restore or establish the program related to the environmental protection which serve as a crucial role in our modern society .Although the odor or gases of emission from the large or small farm can not lead to immediate unhealth of the human beings,it can stiil make the people feel disgust or irrigated when passing by them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This gives me a great idea. I can create for myself a high paying job and do the public a big service. I'm putting in for one of them earmarks so I can do a study on why congress is so stupid.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm pretty darn sure what congress is using for brains is the same reason pigs stink, but of course I'll conduct extensive research before I jump to that conclusion, I'm sure after few 100 million I'll have the answers.
HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This gives me a great idea. I can create for myself a high paying job and do the country and big service. I'm putting in for one of those earmarks so I can conduct extensive research as to why congress is so stupid.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI 'm pretty sure what they are using for brains is the same reason pigs stink, but of course I'll conduct extensive research before I jump to that conclusion. I'm sure after a few million I'll have the answers. Just think between the my study and the pig study we could soon have this country smelling like a rose.
Out of smell out of mind.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHas anyone read http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters The official lobbyist porkers want the SWINE out of the flu's name for good reasons. Out of sight out of mind. Nothing taste better that pork spun around ("The Other White Meat") by politicians through the media.
What an insane idea unhealthy agri-pig farm conditions and infected pigs being a danger to pork eaters. Up against the wall! Doesn't anyone know these piglet farms create billions in revenue. Money talks > amen and so be it > so NOW all others can sit down & shut their pie holes.
Anyone of important in our government will not listen or reveal what Rolling Stone has in 2006. With good reason.
The stimulus had the perfect pork earmark to be paid by taxpayers and carefully spun to benefit the people who lived close by. No need to check the water near the swine manure lagoons > now is there?
Many know that our well paid, beloved, public servants have strayed, long ago and are Corporation Servants. Question everything > we all must research to find the truth.
Next flu outbreak, in September, be prepared we'll have a new name for the Swine flu. The officials in charged learned their lessons. No worries...this September our smart leaders know that the average world citizens will forget dutifully with fear jump gladly through all the spun around hoops they offer in the media.
Clean up the pork farms? Heck NO not when they can and will stop the smell and spin the spin. Pigs are cheap and people may even cheaper in the end.
This is just in my humble SAD > oh so sad opinion.
Stupid? Stupid like a fox. With research their stupidity will show you there is a method to their insanity. Stupid to us and oh so SMART for corporations. I am just learning this. Listen to both parties, all the news stations on the left and right and you'll sees a pattern that looks the same. Read articles on the independent sites and watch the politicians in action. The puzzle will start coming together. We the people are sadly NOT on their agendas to serve. Money talks and so we may be the stupid forgetful ones that need your studying.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf it be done on the cheap it be ok, some stuff like this has been done on the cheap. http://environmentalodour.blogspot.com
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