Corporate Farming Notes
Increasingly, weeds resistant to glyphosate have created a perverse incentive for chemical companies to design new herbicide-resistant crops. Ironic, in that decreasing the use of 2,4-D and other herbicides was a common rationale for widespread use of glyphosate-resistant crops.
U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko has ruled that Nelson Faria Dairy based in Royal City, Washington, has caused extensive soil and groundwater pollution. The judge ordered the company to begin monitoring its groundwater, tile drains and soil.
Helen Reddout, Yakima Valley resident and president of the Community Association for Restoration of the Environment (CARE), said, “We have wells that are polluted with nitrates and organic matter from the dairies … but we can’t prove that. What’s important about this decision is that it does prove that.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), proposed a rule last fall that would require certain Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to provide information about livestock waste handling, storage and disposal. According to EPA, the rule will help ensure that CAFOs comply with requirements of the Clean Water Act, including provisions requiring operations to obtain an NPDES permit if they discharge pollution in the waters of the United States.
In support of the rulemaking, EPA referenced 68 studies that demonstrate that waste from industrial livestock operations are important contributors to surface water pollution. Fifteen of those studies directly link CAFOs to air and water pollutants with specific health or environmental impacts.
Of course, industrial livestock proponents like the National Pork Producers Council oppose the rule because, just as they believe meatpacking companies cannot be held responsible for their manipulation of livestock markets, they also seem to think that industrial livestock operations should not be held responsible for what happens to their manure.
Questions? Comments? Send them my way – John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org or 402.687.2100.
