This is going to be a very quick and dirty diary, but I've been meaning to do it for days now and simply haven't gotten the chance.
But I want to direct all Okies' attention to a bill by Don Justice which passed the Oklahoma Senate Rules Committee, and defines animal waste as non-hazardous. This is infiltration by Tyson, et al, plain and simple, although Justice is pawning it off as commonsensical:
"There is a real concern among the agriculture community that animal waste could be lumped in with nuclear waste. If that happened it would be devastating to the state and the industry," said Justice, R-Chickasha. "I know that in the rural areas when you’re hauling livestock there are times when the manure spills out. We certainly don’t want too see having to rope off those areas and coming in to treat that material as hazardous. This is a practical thing – it’s just something we need to clear up before people misunderstand and misidentify."
Justice goes on to characterize animal shit:
When we’re looking at animal manures we’re really looking at plant nutrients, and in a sense recycled plant nutrients because animals take in the plant nutrients and then the plant nutrients are left behind.
Hoo boy.
As an editorial in my local paper stated:
Would you eagerly consume a spoonful of chicken feces, or gleefully roll in a vat filled with fresh cow manure? No, you wouldn't, and if forced to commit either perversion, wouldn't your first subsequent act be to rid yourself of the contaminant with water?
If Sen. Ron Justice gets his way, the difference between that water and the excrement you'd be trying to wash away might be less substantial than you'd think. This Republican lawmaker from Chickasha wants animal manure classified as "non-hazardous"
[...]
As for Mr. Justice, a couple of low-key, free-range chicken farmers in Cherokee County said they'd gladly set aside a bucket of muck for him to sample. If he's not willing to give it a go, he needs to back off his claim that dung isn't dangerous.
So, in essence, Justice's head is so deep up the backend of agribiz and Tyson that he somehow missed the recent e. coli events, among other things.
The bill itself can be read here.
We need to get to work on this. I'm sure movement within the state is underway to defeat this, but I've been too busy to keep abreast of it. I'll start trying to dig up info and post it here, but I wanted to send the first shot across the bow and not delay any longer, just because I have to get my own manure ::oh my!:: dug into the garden beds. hehe.
I'll try and remember to post about this most days until we get some movement going and until I know all Okies here on dKos know about it.
Now: I'm off to plant pecan trees ...