Here are a few Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Madison Food Park.
Have a question? Please email us and we will provide answers where we can.
Have a question? Please email us and we will provide answers where we can.
Won’t residents of Great Falls vote on approving the Madison Food Park and its slaughterhouse?
No. The Cascade County Commission, through its primary officials on the ZBOA, have first and primary authority to approve compatible – or deny incompatible – proposed land uses. What is “compatible” is determined based on County zoning rules.
No. The Cascade County Commission, through its primary officials on the ZBOA, have first and primary authority to approve compatible – or deny incompatible – proposed land uses. What is “compatible” is determined based on County zoning rules.
The Slaughterhouse will bring lots of jobs to Great Falls, which we need.
The Slaughterhouse is projected to host, at full build-out, approximately 3,000 jobs. However, examination of slaughterhouses of this scale elsewhere in the United States indicates that the vast majority of those jobs would be menial, low-wage labor jobs. Further, industrial scale slaughterhouses typically see incredibly high employee turnover due to graphic, unsanitary, and harsh working conditions with low wages. Low wage jobs that entail significant emotional and physical hardship are not the type of economic driver our region needs.
The Slaughterhouse is projected to host, at full build-out, approximately 3,000 jobs. However, examination of slaughterhouses of this scale elsewhere in the United States indicates that the vast majority of those jobs would be menial, low-wage labor jobs. Further, industrial scale slaughterhouses typically see incredibly high employee turnover due to graphic, unsanitary, and harsh working conditions with low wages. Low wage jobs that entail significant emotional and physical hardship are not the type of economic driver our region needs.
I am a local rancher and will save time and money using the slaughterhouse.
The Madison Food Park slaughterhouse contemplates an industrial scale of animal processing that, according to similar examples across the nation, would not provide services to local ranchers due to contractual obligations with mega-farms and imported animals. To be profitable a facility this size would need to have contracts to import animals from mega-farms outside Montana to remain viable, thereby not helping Montana ranchers and farmers and in fact creating competition for their local products.
The Madison Food Park slaughterhouse contemplates an industrial scale of animal processing that, according to similar examples across the nation, would not provide services to local ranchers due to contractual obligations with mega-farms and imported animals. To be profitable a facility this size would need to have contracts to import animals from mega-farms outside Montana to remain viable, thereby not helping Montana ranchers and farmers and in fact creating competition for their local products.
The Madison Food Park slaughterhouse is sited for 8 miles outside of town, in the country. I wouldn’t see it, what’s the fuss?
The effects of a mega, industrial-scale slaughterhouse reach far beyond 8 miles. To begin, Great Falls is downwind of the sited location and would likely be subjected to a consistent stench associated with both animal rendering and liquid and solid animal waste. Similarly, the slaughterhouse would use hundreds of acres of wastewater lagoons equal to 36 football fields: these types of lagoons have been proven to leak, time and again, across the nation and thereby contaminate local groundwater and downstream waterways. Antelope Cr, Sand Coulee, and even the Missouri – which supplies Great Falls’ drinking water – are literally downstream of the enormous waste the slaughterhouse would create. Last but not least, the social and infrastructural impacts of the slaughterhouse would ripple through Great Falls in a powerful way, whether the demand for new housing, the likelihood of strain on local medical providers for healthcare, the burden on small and antiquated County roads used for hundreds of tractor trailers, or the new families and resulting burden on Great Falls’ school districts. Great Falls and Cascade County are unprepared for the significant, diverse, negative impacts the Madison Food Park Slaughterhouse would create.
The effects of a mega, industrial-scale slaughterhouse reach far beyond 8 miles. To begin, Great Falls is downwind of the sited location and would likely be subjected to a consistent stench associated with both animal rendering and liquid and solid animal waste. Similarly, the slaughterhouse would use hundreds of acres of wastewater lagoons equal to 36 football fields: these types of lagoons have been proven to leak, time and again, across the nation and thereby contaminate local groundwater and downstream waterways. Antelope Cr, Sand Coulee, and even the Missouri – which supplies Great Falls’ drinking water – are literally downstream of the enormous waste the slaughterhouse would create. Last but not least, the social and infrastructural impacts of the slaughterhouse would ripple through Great Falls in a powerful way, whether the demand for new housing, the likelihood of strain on local medical providers for healthcare, the burden on small and antiquated County roads used for hundreds of tractor trailers, or the new families and resulting burden on Great Falls’ school districts. Great Falls and Cascade County are unprepared for the significant, diverse, negative impacts the Madison Food Park Slaughterhouse would create.
I’ve heard the Slaughterhouse will hire local ranchers and farmers, use our products, and support our local economy.
This is a red herring with no guarantee. The financial backer of the Slaughterhouse is an industrial farmer from Canada with conceivable plans to ship his own animals to Great Falls for slaughtering because it would be cheaper here in the U.S. Moreover, the sheer scale of the MFP slaughterhouse and financial cost to operate the facility with the number of animals suggested in the 2017 Special Use Permit suggest that the facility would need more hogs, cattle, and chickens than currently exist in Montana to turn a profit. Other slaughterhouses of similar size across the nation contract with outside corporate mega-farms to keep costs low; available economic data shows it is far more likely that the MFP Slaughterhouse would work against helping local farmers and ranchers.
This is a red herring with no guarantee. The financial backer of the Slaughterhouse is an industrial farmer from Canada with conceivable plans to ship his own animals to Great Falls for slaughtering because it would be cheaper here in the U.S. Moreover, the sheer scale of the MFP slaughterhouse and financial cost to operate the facility with the number of animals suggested in the 2017 Special Use Permit suggest that the facility would need more hogs, cattle, and chickens than currently exist in Montana to turn a profit. Other slaughterhouses of similar size across the nation contract with outside corporate mega-farms to keep costs low; available economic data shows it is far more likely that the MFP Slaughterhouse would work against helping local farmers and ranchers.
Isn’t the MFP already approved and a done-deal? Aren’t we too late?
No! The financial backer, Ed Friesen, applied for a Special Use Permit to construct the MFP Slaughterhouse in late 2017 but withdrew the permit application for amendment after fierce public opposition. He has not since resubmitted the application and by the County’s rules the application is no longer pending and a new, full public process must occur before any authorization to construct the MFP slaughterhouse may commence.
No! The financial backer, Ed Friesen, applied for a Special Use Permit to construct the MFP Slaughterhouse in late 2017 but withdrew the permit application for amendment after fierce public opposition. He has not since resubmitted the application and by the County’s rules the application is no longer pending and a new, full public process must occur before any authorization to construct the MFP slaughterhouse may commence.
If the environmental impacts of the slaughterhouse are so bad, won’t the state environmental agencies stop the project?
Unfortunately, history tells us that Montana’s environmental agencies have made many bad decisions approving a variety of projects that ended up creating more harm than good in Montana. We, the people, must use science, facts, and the law to protect our quality of life and ensure those decisionmakers have all the data to support the denial of this industrial scale polluting facility. If we don’t speak up, no one will and we risk losing the very things that make our part of the world so special.
Unfortunately, history tells us that Montana’s environmental agencies have made many bad decisions approving a variety of projects that ended up creating more harm than good in Montana. We, the people, must use science, facts, and the law to protect our quality of life and ensure those decisionmakers have all the data to support the denial of this industrial scale polluting facility. If we don’t speak up, no one will and we risk losing the very things that make our part of the world so special.
What’s the deal with the City of Great Falls asking the Governor to do an impact study?
The City of Great Falls’ leadership listened to the legitimate concerns of both its Neighborhood Councils and hundreds of individuals when it unanimously passed a resolution requesting the Governor use his authority to order natural resource agencies study the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts the Madison Food Park Slaughterhouse would create on the region. In essence the resolution asks the Governor to help local decision-makers create informed decisions: a “look before you leap” proposition that’s not only common sense, its good policy that protects the City of Great Falls’ and its citizens from potentially serious economic, social, public health and environmental harm.
The City of Great Falls’ leadership listened to the legitimate concerns of both its Neighborhood Councils and hundreds of individuals when it unanimously passed a resolution requesting the Governor use his authority to order natural resource agencies study the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts the Madison Food Park Slaughterhouse would create on the region. In essence the resolution asks the Governor to help local decision-makers create informed decisions: a “look before you leap” proposition that’s not only common sense, its good policy that protects the City of Great Falls’ and its citizens from potentially serious economic, social, public health and environmental harm.
What can I do?
Let your friends, neighbors and fellow Montanans know that this project is still a potential threat to our community and quality of life. Follow @protectthefalls on social media to stay in the loop on upcoming public comments opportunities and future public forums. Learn more ways you can Take Action.
Let your friends, neighbors and fellow Montanans know that this project is still a potential threat to our community and quality of life. Follow @protectthefalls on social media to stay in the loop on upcoming public comments opportunities and future public forums. Learn more ways you can Take Action.