Guest guest Posted March 17, 2003 Report Share Posted March 17, 2003 Factory Farm Fallacy ENVIRONMENT Factory Farm Fallacy By now, it is a familiar ritual, acted out with depressing regularity. First, the Bush administration announces its newest eco-policy, touting it as a breakthrough in protecting the environment and/or the health of the American people. Then, environmentalists respond, punching holes in the official rhetoric and charging that the latest initiative is transparently pro-industry and a significant rollback of established standards. So it goes with the administration's changes to the rules regulating huge livestock operations, which a coalition of environmental groups is now challenging in federal court. As Environment News Service's J.R. Pegg reports, Washington claims the changes will help prevent waste produced by massive factory farms -- the largest of which can hold more than a million animals -- from seeping into nearby water supplies. In reality, conservationists say, the modified law violates the Clean Water Act, giving the livestock industry a free hand to dispose of animal waste however it sees fit. " Prior to the Bush administration's rule, Rogers explained, these large factory farms, known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), were not permitted to discharge any animal waste pollution. But under the administration's rule they are 'now expressly permitted to discharge waste into the environment,' Rogers said, and can do so based on permits that they are allowed to write themselves, without any government or public oversight. 'Polluters can't be trusted to write their own permits,' said NRDC attorney Melanie Shepherdson. 'It is like asking high school kids to write their own tests. They will make it too easy to comply and they will not protect public health.' " Gettingwell- / Vitamins, Herbs, Aminos, etc. To , e-mail to: Gettingwell- Or, go to our group site: Gettingwell Web Hosting - establish your business online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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