Lawmakers move to halt growth of certain facilities amid health and safety fears: 'There needs to be more monitoring and education'

Lawmakers in Oregon have called for a ban on livestock farms in high-pollution areas. 

As Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, Senate Bill 80 proposes halting the construction and expansion of new and growing dairy and livestock farms. 

Sustainable farming and environmental groups support the bill to protect Oregon's groundwater management areas. These areas are highly contaminated with nitrate pollution that is worsening. 

Cattle and dairy farms contribute to nitrate pollution because of the manure they apply to fields and the wastewater they create from food processing. 

Nitrates are linked to significant human health risks, including cancer in adults and "blue baby syndrome" in infants. 

The bill aims to prevent the nitrate pollution problem from getting worse by limiting the number of farm animals in vulnerable ecosystems. 

"We really need action to stop pollution at the sources, and so preventing new sources of pollution allows us a little bit more time to address those existing sources rather than continuing to pile on," said Amy van Saun, a Center for Food Safety senior attorney. 

However, some groups oppose the new bill because they say it would overburden an already overregulated industry. 

Opponents believe the bill would adversely affect Oregon's livestock farms and the livelihoods of the people who work on them. Critics also claim that the bill would just encourage livestock companies to find loopholes in the law rather than actually addressing the pollution problem. 

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Bans like Senate Bill 80 are indeed only effective in reducing pollution if followed and enforced. In the past, Oregon legislators have abandoned plans to restrict farms further, opting instead for water use and construction reforms. 

Fortunately, innovative thinkers are developing viable ways to help farmers affected by pollution and revolutionize the agricultural industry to make our food supply more sustainable. 

A Lewis and Clark College law professor, Michele Okoh, suggested, "There needs to be more monitoring and education for well owners. Because at the end of the day, if you find the contamination and you can't do very much about it, then you can't protect your own health." 

In an OPB Facebook post sharing the news, one social media user commented, "I like a good burger or steak just as much as the next guy, but it's hard to enjoy when one has dysentery. It's not oppression to ask ranchers to protect our water supply."

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