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Kelley J. Donham,¹ Steven Wing,² David Osterberg,¹ Jan L. Flora,³ Carol Hodne,¹ Kendall M. Thu,⁴ and Peter S. Thorne¹

¹College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; ²Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; ³Department of Sociology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA; ⁴Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA

Abstract
A consensus of the Workgroup on Community and Socioeconomic Issues was that improving and sustaining healthy rural communities depends on integrating socioeconomic development and environmental protection. The workgroup agreed that the World Health Organization's definition of health, "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity," applies to rural communities. These principles are embodied in the following main points agreed upon by this workgroup. Healthy rural communities ensure a) the physical and mental health of individuals, b) financial security for individuals and the greater community, c) social well-being, d) social and environmental justice, and e) political equity and access. This workgroup evaluated impacts of the proliferation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on sustaining the health of rural communities. Recommended policy changes include a more stringent process for issuing permits for CAFOs, considering bonding for manure storage basins, limiting animal density per watershed, enhancing local control, and mandating environmental impact statements. Key words: animal confinements, environmental impact, livestock, mental health, odor, poultry, right-to-farm legislation, swine. Environ Health Perspect 115:317–320 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8836 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 14 November 2006]

This article is part of the mini-monograph "Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions."

Address correspondence to P.S. Thorne, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, 100 Oakdale Campus, 176 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000 USA. Telephone: (319) 335-4216. Fax: (319) 335-4006. E-mail: peter-thorne@uiowa.edu

This workshop was supported by grant P30 ES05605-14S from the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at The University of Iowa and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 10 November 2005 ; accepted 13 November 2006.