Baltimore—Environment Maryland released a petition today signed by 55 area farmers
and others in the agriculture industry urging Governor O'Malley to require
large agribusinesses like Perdue and Tyson to be more responsible for their
animals’ manure.
"Everybody wants a vibrant, healthy Chesapeake Bay, and we
all want a vibrant, healthy agriculture industry in Maryland. We certainly can
have both. To get there, everyone needs to pay their fair share to restore our
precious bay and all the waters that feed it," said Tommy Landers, a Policy Advocate with Environment Maryland.
"Every child knows that if you make a mess, you should help
clean it up. The problem is chicken processing companies are not paying their
fair share. Many farmers and others are doing their part, but the big guys like
Perdue and Tyson need to step it up. These companies own the chickens but not the chicken manure, and that manure contributes
to the bay’s poor condition. We and the farmers who signed our petition urge Gov.
O’Malley to hold these companies more responsible for their animals’ manure," added
Landers.
The Chesapeake Bay is
a cultural and natural treasure that has suffered from decades of excess
pollution. Environment Maryland argues that everyone who contributes to the
bay’s decline should pay their fair share towards bay restoration. Large
agribusinesses shouldn’t be let off the hook, they say, when their growers’
operations pollute local waters. The group recruited local farmers to sign
their petition, so that Gov. O'Malley and the businesses themselves would hear
the message directly from farmers.
"The last thirty years
of voluntary programs and incentives have accomplished little to address the
nutrient problems in the bay. It is time to hold the poultry industry
accountable for the pollution they generate," said William Morrow of Whitmore
Farm in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Morrow is one of the farmers who put his name on
Environment Maryland’s petition.
"The amount of manure
these companies generate in Maryland is equivalent to that of many small towns
and cities. Any company generating that volume of manure should be regulated,"
added Morrow.
"Chicken producers could provide grants and other money to implement real-time, low-cost monitoring of water, air, and groundwater. Also, the governor and chicken processing companies could work together to provide money and support for cost-share best management practices for farmers," said Laird Wise, a farmer and petition signatory from Trappe, Maryland.
Big chicken companies
raised nearly 300 million chickens in Maryland alone in 2008, and throughout
the Delmarva Peninsula these companies' birds produce nearly a million tons of
manureevery year. When too much manure
is applied on land, nutrient pollution can leach into local groundwater or
runoff directly into streams and creeks. That pollution eventually makes its
way into the bay where it contributes to the bay’s annual dead zones. According
to the Chesapeake Bay Program, animal manure contributes to 17% of the nitrogen
and 26% of the phosphorous pollution loads throughout the bay.
So far the petition
has been signed by 55 farmers and others in the agriculture industry who reside
or do business in Maryland. Below is the petition text and list of signatories.
Petition Text
Dear Gov. O’Malley,
As your administration
crafts new plans to restore the Chesapeake Bay, I urge you to require large
poultry producers like Perdue and Tyson to pay their fair share to help clean
up the Bay. Maryland’s Watershed Implementation Plan is your opportunity to
create more equitable economic opportunities for farmers across the state.
For decades, companies
like Perdue and Tyson have been able to suppress their prices by avoiding
responsibility for pollution created by their animals’ manure. This pollution
is a leading source of the Chesapeake Bay’s environmental degradation.
If you required
poultry processors in Maryland to be responsible for their pollution, they
would have a tangible incentive to help their growers manage the animal manure
properly. This would help level the playing field for those who are already
engaged in more sustainable farming practices.
I urge you to make
poultry processors legally responsible for their pollution, because Maryland’s
consumers, farmers, and waterways deserve better.
Petition Signatories
Farmers
