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Capital Press Editorial Board.
November 6, 2015
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the opinions of the authors but
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Opinion
Editorial Board
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Editor
Managing Editor
Mike O’Brien
Joe Beach
Carl Sampson
opinions@capitalpress.com Online: www.capitalpress.com/opinion
O ur V iew
Cancer declaration on meat must be put in perspective
he International Agency
for Cancer Research last
week decided to add
processed meat to its list of
carcinogens and to link red meat
to cancer.
The meat industry is
understandably upset. Having
your product linked to cancer, no
matter how slim that link might
be, is never good from a public
relations standpoint.
We think a full and fair
reading of the facts shows that
the IACR’s actions add nothing
to the debate that hasn’t already
been put forth.
The IARC classifies
substances on a scale of 1 to 4.
Substances such as processed
T
meat in Group 1 are classified
“carcinogenic to humans”
because there’s enough evidence
to conclude that they cause
cancer.
Group 2(a), the classification
of red meat, includes
substances for which IARC
has found “limited evidence
of carcinogenicity in humans
and sufficient evidence of
carcinogenicity in experimental
animals.”
In reaching its findings,
IARC did not conduct original
research. It instead evaluated
available literature, in this case
800 cancer studies.
The IARC is clear that items
classified as carcinogens don’t
carry the same risk. Even among
carcinogens, some things are
more dangerous than others.
Smoking and drinking, for
example, cause far more deaths
than eating meat.
IACR says that any person’s
individual risk of getting colon
cancer is pretty low, and eating
processed or red meat doesn’t
increase the likelihood by much.
According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
the incidence of colon cancer
in the United States is 38.9
per 100,000, and the mortality
rate is 15.5 per 100,000. By
comparison, the mortality rate
from accidents is 40 per 100,000.
Now, there’s no comfort in
being a statistical anomaly. If
you or someone you love are
among the few who actually
get colon cancer, these statistics
are dire. We would not suggest
otherwise. But if you are cancer-
free today, a ribeye or a pastrami
sandwich is unlikely to put you
over the edge.
In fact, a hot dog a day
increases your lifetime chance
of getting colon cancer from 5 to
5.9 percent.
The IACR says as much.
Noting that meat has nutritional
value and is an important
protein source for much of the
world’s population, it does
not recommend anyone stop
eating meat. Rather, it suggests
only that people limit meat in
a diet that also includes fruits,
vegetables and whole grains. It’s
the same advice the USDA, the
American Cancer Society and
the American Heart Association
have been giving for years.
So, it seems to us much ado
about nothing.
Unfortunately, the headline —
“Meat linked to cancer” — was
as far as most people may have
read. And that may scare some
people away.
But with major meat holidays
in the offing — Christmas roasts,
New Year’s Day hams and
abundant party trays — we think
most Americans will put the
story in its proper perspective.
It’s time for the Obama
administration to come clean
on potential national monument
By GREG WALDEN
For the Capital Press
e’ve seen this
movie before. A
lame duck pres-
ident uses the Antiquities
Act to declare huge swaths
of public lands off limits so
he can have an environmen-
tal legacy. Right up until the
night before he declared the
Grand Staircase Escalante
a national monument, the
Clinton White House told
the Utah congressional del-
egation no such plans were
in the works. And in his final
month in office, President
Clinton declared seven na-
tional monuments.
I fear the Obama ad-
ministration — urged on
by outside interests groups
and wealthy corporations
seeking a marketing niche
— is up to the same “dark-
of-night” declaration on the
Owyhee River canyon in
Eastern Oregon.
Last Thursday night, in
Adrian (population 177),
more than 500 people turned
out to a public meeting or-
ganized by state Rep. Cliff
Bentz to voice their deep
concerns about this possi-
bility. Extra chairs had to be
brought in to the local gym-
nasium, and people were
still standing in the aisles.
One person who wasn’t
there? Secretary of the Inte-
rior Sally Jewell. Although
I called on her or a senior
representative to attend the
meeting, no senior members
of the administration attend-
ed.
If they had, they would
have heard a message loud
and clear: Residents of
Eastern Oregon don’t want
another “Washington, D.C.
knows best” federal desig-
nation that would further de-
stroy our way of life.
Yet, despite this public
outcry, I believe the admin-
istration is playing hide the
ball from the public. The
Obama administration needs
to come clean about what is
has planned for these mil-
lions of acres of land in East-
ern Oregon.
Those of us familiar
with Eastern Oregon know
that the Owyhee River can-
yon in Malheur County is
home to some of the most
beautiful landscapes in the
country. We also know that
these lands are an important
part of the economic base
for Malheur County, which
generates more than $370
million annually in agricul-
ture business according to
Oregon State University, of
which $134 million comes
from cattle.
The Bureau of Land
Management and other fed-
eral agencies manage 4.5
million acres, or 73 percent
of the land in the county,
making public lands grazing
an integral part of most lo-
cal family ranch operations,
many of whom have cared
for this high desert country
W
Rik Dalvit/For the Capital Press
O ur V iew
Congress narrowly averts train wreck
W
hen Congress sees a
problem, by golly, it gets
right on it. Take immigration
reform, fixing the Endangered Species
Act, balancing the federal budget and
reining in federal agencies that skirt
the law.
Congress has jumped right on those
dire problems....
Oh, wait, Congress hasn’t done
anything on those issues. Nothing.
Nada. Zero. Zip.
What Congress has done is use its
collective imagination to cook up a
way to prevent trains from running
into each other.
Instead of requiring two engineers
to be on duty in a locomotive —
similar to the requirement that airlines
have a pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit
— or requiring engineers to jettison
their cell phones and other distractions,
Congress did one better.
Under the Rail Safety Improvement
Act of 2008, Congress required the
railroad industry to invent a new,
high-tech system to prevent trains
from wrecking. Mind you, this system
doesn’t exist, and it would require
railroads that compete against each to
work together. Oh, and it would cost
billions of dollars and take years to
develop.
But Congress was undeterred.
When it comes to spending Other
People’s Money, no one is better than
the denizens of the U.S. Capitol.
Not surprisingly, the railroads
were unable to meet the deadline for
inventing the Positive Train Control
system. Not only that, because
the deadline would be missed,
the railroads were faced with the
possibility of shutting down.
That’s one way to prevent train
wrecks.
The railroads said the congressional
deadline was impossible to meet, and
that Congress needed to at least give
the industry a deadline extension.
Congress delayed, until the whole
industry was just about ready to jump
the tracks.
Then, at the last minute, Congress
rammed through an extension of the
requirement, allowing the trains to run.
Whew. Once again, Congress had
created a crisis and swooped in at the
last minute to save the day.
This would be comical if it
weren’t so serious. Farmers, ranchers,
exporters, processors — and tens of
thousands of other businesses across
the nation — depend on reliable
rail service to move their crops and
products. One missed shipment could
set in motion a series of delays that
would create a disaster similar to the
one last winter when the International
Longshore Workers Union staged
a work slowdown at West Coast
container ports that cost the U.S.
economy billions of dollars a day.
Speaking of which, there’s another
problem Congress hasn’t fixed.
When in comes to on-time
performance and getting the job done,
Congress has no business telling the
railroads — or anyone else — how to
operate.
Congress needs to address the
issues at hand now.
We are told that they will be
addressed after the next election. If
that’s the case, don’t be surprised
if voters elect a lot of new faces to
Congress to do the job.
Readers’ views
Why organic farmers have
‘turned’ on NOP leader
The opinion piece “Another example of
a federal agency operating by fiat” (Oct. 30
Capital Press) misses the point as to why
many organic growers and processors now
feel Miles McEvoy must be replaced.
Miles is a personal friend. I have great
respect for him as an individual. But the
change in process for “sunsetting” synthet-
ic materials in organic production severely
weakens the entire organic industry and
should be reversed.
Synthetic materials were never intend-
ed to be permanently permitted in organ-
ics. The goal has long been that customers
should get the 100 percent organic they pay
for. But there were no organic substitutes
for a few needed items, so certain synthet-
ics were temporarily allowed until organic
substitutes could be developed. Strict sunset
rules required that at least 10 of 15 National
Organic Standards Board members approve
an extension of non-organic substances in
organic products. Organic replacements are
being developed. The system was working
as intended. The change initiated by Miles
McEvoy requires a two-thirds majority to
REMOVE a non-organic ingredient from
the “allowed” list. Given the industry repre-
sentation on the NOSB, this locks in these
synthetic ingredients that were supposed to
be phased out. This weakens the organic
food industry and harms all of us who seek
to provide our customers with real organic
food.
Jonathan Spero
Lupine Knoll Farm
Grants Pass, Ore.
Send Columbia River
water to California
The drought on the West Coast is caus-
ing serious impacts: drinking water, irriga-
tion and agricultural production, fish and
wildlife impacts, jobs and tax base.
If, as some are predicting, this will be a
long-term drought, all of us need to support
a planning/impact study of diverting Co-
lumbia River water flow — with an aver-
age 200,000 cubic foot per second flow at
Vancouver, Wash. — down 250 miles to the
California border, and perhaps over to the
Colorado River at Las Vegas, connecting to
existing canals. The failure to address long-
term consequences of continual drought are
really beyond comprehension.
William Riley
Soap Lake, Wash.
Guest
comment
U.S. Rep.
Greg Walden
since the 1860s. For gener-
ations, these local families
have been good stewards of
the lands. They’ve worked
cooperatively and collabora-
tively with federal agencies
to manage these lands with
an eye towards the long-term
viability of the range and
their family’s livelihood.
Much like thinning an
overstocked forest, grazing
helps reduce the amount
of fuel available to large
rangeland fires that threaten
watersheds and sage grouse
habitat in the arid climates of
southeastern Oregon. When
fires do start, the volunteers
in the Rural Fire Protection
Association are positioned
to respond promptly and are
highly effective, thanks to
their intimate knowledge of
local terrain and weather.
Over the years, these
ranchers have developed
springs and other water
sources that have supported
their cattle, but also count-
less numbers of wildlife that
share the range. The latter
benefit has been particular-
ly valuable during recent
droughts.
In towns like Adrian and
Jordan Valley, ranching is
the base of the community.
Whether through hiring em-
ployees, or buying needed
supplies for the ranch or their
family, they are injecting
money into the local commu-
nity.
A monument designa-
tion larger than the states of
Rhode Island and Connecti-
cut would greatly restrict or
eliminate grazing and other
productive uses of the land. It
will shake the foundation of
these communities and cause
harmful economic impacts to
the county and the surround-
ing region.
I’ve worked with my
colleagues in the House
to include language in the
funding bill for the Depart-
ment of Interior prohibiting
the creation of this nation-
al monument. Our farmers,
ranchers and rural commu-
nities are most affected by
the decisions made on pub-
lic lands. I will continue to
work to return the focus on
locally driven management
efforts, and stop these unilat-
eral actions that lock up our
public lands and negatively
impact our communities.
The Obama administra-
tion has done enough dam-
age to the West through their
overzealous regulations. We
don’t need a presidential
declaration locking up more
of our public lands and chok-
ing our local ranch economy.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden
represents Oregon’s Second
Congressional District,
which covers 20 counties
in Southern, Central and
Eastern Oregon.