From Nancy Hansen, 350 Ag Team

Facts on Common Thread of Farmers Testifying at Congressional
Hearings on the 2023 FARM BILL:

Countless farmers, testifying at committee hearings on the Farm Bill for 2023, are saying the
same thing over and over – we want farming that improves the well-being of farmers, as well as
crop outcomes, while protecting the environment with sustainable practices.
These are the priorities that have come up in mainly Senate Committee Hearings:
– Sufficient access to land and resources for young farmers, indigenous and
peoples of color
-Priority to sustainable practices (e.g., use of grasses, cover crops and trees to
protect from flooding and to save water)
-Use advice from trusted and reliable sources (e.g., Trout Unltd., land grant colleges,
American Farm Trust, indigenous practices, conservation districts) – to get to better solutions
for farmers – less expensive and healthier, with fewer regulations that take less time and money
for compliance.

Just Say NO: Sample Letter on CAFOs:
Representation from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) has not occurred once at
any of the numerous Congressional committee hearings.
In the meantime, the numbers are increasing – Washington’s numbers, with relatively few
operations compared to other states, is now at 100 larger CAFOs, with only 24 of these
regulated by Ecology for effluents in the run-off from operations. That ratio is he norm.
EPA’s only commitment at this time is “to study” the issue at this time. This is not enough and
not soon enough to deal with problems already documented – water contaminated with nitrates
from manure allowed to get to national waters and air quality near these plants, mainly located
in communities already experiencing health and environmental problems. These issues are
supposed to be regulated by EPA, and studying at this time, is not enough. (A moratorium on
new facilities would be very reasonable to expect from Congress.)
See Fact Sheet, “Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15” (in references below) on EPA’s recent
decision for action on the issue.
EPA has included CAFOs in the recent update Jan. 2023, of, but is not timely considering the
urgency of the CAFO explosion.
Congress has had introduced the “Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act of 2023” – House H.R.
805 and S272. Why have hardly any members of Congress signed on to either of these bills?
Is it due to the fact that these operations are operating without regulation now and basically
under the radar?
Help is needed from our Congressional representatives – hopefully, to slow down this industry
that is creating havoc. (See article below on the advertising that is coming out on the industry,
further misleading Congress and the people.)
Thank you for your support.
REFERENCES:
Support by American Federation of Government Employees FOR HR805 AND S272
—increase funding for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to hire and train more inspectors to ensure food safety
—prohibit certain harmful drugs from being administered to the animals prior to
slaughter and allow food inspectors to test for hazardous drugs given to animals
before slaughter
—end dangerous high-speed slaughter lines and self-inspection system by
employees whose primary focus is on ensuring swift mass production
—provide additional funding to the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA)
* American Federation of Government Employees
(represents 670,000 employees)
References:
July 6, 2022 Yakima Herald
https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/ecology-opens-public-comment-period-for-courtordered-rewrite-of-animal-feeding-operation-permit/article_45d863cf-81b6-5070-ab97-75ff7480d1bc.html
October 2022 Petition to EPA
https://waterkeeper.org/news/waterkeeper-alliance-and-other-groups-petition-epa-to-improveoversight-of-water-pollution-from-concentrated-animal-feeding-operations/
EPA Fact Sheet “Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15” Jan. 2023
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-01/ELG Plan 15 Fact Sheet.pdf
https://www.desmog.com/2023/04/18/meat-industry-advertising-big-oil-climate-change-ncba-nppcc