The people of North Carolina need our help.
Last week, state lawmakers passed a law that would wipe away families’ and communities’ ability to hold polluters accountable in court. The so-called “North Carolina Farm Act” will give Smithfield — an international industrial pork producer that is already one of the most politically powerful corporations in the state — immunity for contaminating the air and water in communities where the company operates.
FIRST:
Please contact North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and ask him to VETO SB 711 and stand with North Carolinians who are fighting for clean air and water.
By vetoing this bill, Governor Cooper can send a strong message that, while North Carolina remains open for business, it also remains a place where quality of life and access to abundant and clean water and air is a priority.
Smithfield’s neighbors have been fighting for years to force the company to clean up its act. But instead of taking communities seriously, it continues spraying and dumping twice the amount of waste produced by the entire city of New York every single day. Yet industry lobbyists have convinced the North Carolina Legislature that they should be rewarded for such behavior with a get-out-of-jail-free card.
That’s just plain wrong, and must be stopped. Take a moment and send Governor Cooper a message today: He shouldn’t be rewarding those who are polluting the state and harming their neighbors. He should be looking out for North Carolina workers and families who call the state home.
THEN:
If you live in North Carolina, there’s more you can do: contact your state legislators and call on them to sustain the governor’s veto.
Share the reasons you want to make sure all North Carolinians have access to clean air and water, or use our sample script below:
Hi, my name is [NAME], and I’m from [PART OF STATE]. I’m calling/emailing to urge [REPRESENTATIVE] to stand up for North Carolina families and sustain the governor’s veto of S.B. 711.
Huge, industrial agriculture operations are contaminating North Carolina’s air and water. We shouldn’t be rewarding those who are polluting our state and harming our neighbors. We should be looking out for North Carolina workers and families who call this state home. This bill isn’t a referendum on support for North Carolina’s agricultural industry – it’s a get out of jail free card for some of the worst polluters in our state. Please support clean air and water for all North Carolina residents, and make sure one industry’s interests don’t come before our neighbors’ health. By sustaining the veto of S.B. 711, you can stand up for the health of every North Carolina resident and the well-being of our state.
