As a longtime proponent of NC State, primarily due to its education and support of agriculture in this state and around the world, I was shocked at the level of ignorance of this writer/editor. I can only hope that age, immaturity, inexperience and having a completely idealistic worldview are the only excuses for allowing such an article to be included in this paper. While many articles such as these have been written ad nauseam in the “liberal media,” I simply say to them “bless their hearts.” But to have an agricultural university such as NC State allow such a biased viewpoint on one of the state’s top industries to be written as fact and not opinion is inexcusable. The article states that swine operations have continued to grow in size and concentration since 2013. I would be interested to know where the writer received his information of this expansion, as a moratorium has been in effect on new swine operations since 2007. The issue of hog waste, and its application to crops, has been researched and evaluated for many years. Swine operations are one of the most regulated industries in the country, second only to nuclear power plants. No person, including smelly hog farmers, wants to negatively impact the environment, and there are laws in place to ensure the waste is disposed of responsibly. To reference Wendell Murphy as “one of the worst examples of big business negatively impacting the environment,” while willingly accepting his millions of dollars in donations to NC State, reflects the very definition of hypocrisy. I certainly hope Mr. Murphy reads this propaganda before he sends one more dime to this university. As a Duplin County native and resident, I can attest to the fact that not I, nor my children, nor anyone I have ever known who has just walked out of a hog house, have EVER been ridiculed for smelling like hog waste. Absolutely ludicrous!! Hog farming is not a glamorous job, but having a direct impact on feeding this world is a beautiful way of life. The only people who disagree with this logic are those that have never been tasked with the responsibility to make such a difference.