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Capital Press Editorial Board.
February 17, 2017
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the opinions of the authors but
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Opinion
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Editor
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John Perry
Joe Beach
Carl Sampson
opinions@capitalpress.com Online: www.capitalpress.com/opinion
O ur V iew
‘Food system’ works just fine, thank you
W
ashington state
legislators are in a bind.
They are checking
every pants pocket and all of the
Capitol’s couch cushions looking
for change.
The reason: They need to
scrape together enough cash to
keep the state Supreme Court off
their backs after it ordered them
to spend more on education.
Since the Legislature is
looking for ways to save money,
we have a suggestion. Reject
House Bill 1562, which would
continue the state food policy
forum.
First some background.
In 2012, then-Gov. Christine
Gregoire directed state agencies
to get together and examine food
policy and food-related programs
and issues.
Five years later, that simple
concept has burgeoned into
Washington State Food System
Roundtable. Not one of the 28
members is a farmer, yet they
produced a draft prospectus
laying out how the “food system”
ought to operate over the next 25
years.
Among the recommendations:
• Minimize greenhouse gases.
• Support breastfeeding.
• Decrease “toxic diesel soot”
from food-related transportation.
• Increase the number of
“climate friendly” farmed acres.
• Increase fish populations.
• Reduce or eliminate tax
incentives for non-food crops.
You get the idea. There are
many ideas but few relate to food.
The irony about food system
forums and roundtables and
other similar efforts is the U.S.
has the best food system in the
world. All a person has to do is
visit a grocery store. Plentiful
fresh meats, fruits and vegetables
are available year-round, prices
are reasonable, customers have
a wide choice of items and
organically grown items are
widely available for those who
prefer them.
For people who need it, help
is readily available in the form
of SNAP food stamps and WIC
coupons for mothers of young
children.
Many markets even help
customers bag their groceries.
For customers who cannot make
it to the store, some grocers offer
delivery.
We’re not sure what the food
policy forum can do to improve
it. Probably nothing.
That’s why we think it prudent
that the legislature just let the
forum, and its $259,000 budget,
quietly fade away.
It’s not about feeding children
in need. It’s not about helping
farmers produce more affordable
food. It’s seems to be mainly
about far-ranging discussions and
producing reports.
No matter what this forum
advocates, the real food system,
which includes farmers, ranchers,
processors, distributors and
retailers, will continue to feed
Washington’s 7.1 million people.
And they will continue to be
sustainable and environmentally
friendly, not because the
legislature or some food system
forum told them to, but because
it’s the right thing. They’ve been
doing it for generations.
Managing water resources:
Where do we go from here?
O ur V iew
Oregon Ground Water Association
I
Pre-emption of local GMO
regulations must remain
B
iotech critics are calling on Oregon lawmakers to
overturn a prohibition against local government
restrictions on genetically engineered crops
because the state has not enacted regulations.
Such regulation that is required should come from the
state. Voters with little first-hand agriculture experience
can be easily swayed by emotional arguments short on
facts and long on fear mongering.
Legislators agreed.
In 2013, the Oregon Legislature passed a law that pre-
empted cities and counties from setting their own rules
over seeds, which blocked most local ordinances banning
genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Groups that opposed the pre-emption bill say state
inaction since it was passed has justified the passage of
House Bill 2469, which would carve out an exemption
allowing local GMO regulations.
“Oregon farmers can’t wait another four years to
protect themselves from this harm,” said Amy van Saun,
a legal fellow at the Center for Food Safety nonprofit
group.
Beyond ideological resistance to GMOs, the practical
concern for organic growers and some conventional
farmers is a fear that their crops will be contaminated
through cross-pollination.
That’s a reasonable fear, as accidental contamination
of a farmer’s organic crops would render them unsellable
in the organic market. But there is scant evidence that
anyone in Oregon has yet been so harmed.
In 2015, Oregon lawmakers passed House Bill 2509,
which created mediation protocols for growers who
believe nearby farming practices are interfering with
their operations.
Because of an error in that law, the Oregon
Department of Agriculture actually lacked the authority
to implement the program.
Nonetheless, since the law was passed the agency has
received no requests for mediation under the program.
Growers can seek similar mediation through the USDA,
but none have expressed interest to that agency, either.
It is possible that growers are working out problems
with their neighbors without involving government.
That’s what good neighbors do.
The lack of official complaints does not minimize the
potential for cross-pollination contamination or other
issues. And the unintended release from field trials of
Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass that has taken hold
in Malheur and Jefferson counties is evidence that things
can get out of control.
We are not arguing against a reasonable regulatory
scheme that does not favor one type of crop or farming
practice over another.
We are against 36 separate regulatory schemes,
particularly those that impose outright bans.
n recent months, water in
Oregon has become a topic
of much interest, ground-
water in particular.
Some opinions have paint-
ed a dire picture of the state
of the water resources in Ore-
gon, and have cited poor man-
agement by the Oregon Water
Resources Department as the
cause. The Secretary of State
recently completed an audit of
the OWRD, with findings that
basically show the department
to be understaffed and over-
worked.
The members of the Or-
egon Ground Water Associ-
ation (OGWA), made up of
ground water professionals
of every discipline and rep-
resenting the state’s ground
water specialists, see things
from a very different perspec-
tive. Currently there are many
groups and parties actively
pursuing more sustainable
water use practices through-
out Oregon. The question now
being posed is: “Where do we
go from here?”
The OGWA would encour-
age Oregon’s water manage-
ment to focus on long-term
sustainability, considering all
water uses and users equally.
The first step for improving
management of this vital re-
source is developing a better
understanding of water use
in the state. The OGWA is in
support of providing addition-
al money to the OWRD from
the state’s general fund specif-
ically targeted to improve data
collection and research to fur-
ther our knowledge in the use
of this resource.
A recommendation from
the OWRD audit included
improvements in the well in-
spection program on newly
constructed wells. Coupled
with the need for improved in-
formation as the basis for wa-
ter management standards, the
OGWA also supports efforts to
review every newly construct-
ed well report to ensure com-
pliance with well construction
standards. A review of every
well log is important to ensure
the standards are consistently
followed and to prevent further
declines of water levels, which
in some areas are attributed
Readers’ views
Provide more
balance in Trump
coverage
As a dairy farmer that works
hard to be informed about what is
happening with this new adminis-
tration, I have been following the
Capital Press quite closely in the
months following the election.
I am really fed up with the blan-
ket approval you give this admin-
istration despite the fact that so far
what Trump has presented agricul-
ture with is anything but positive.
1. He waited until a couple days
before inauguration before even an-
nouncing the Secretary of Agricul-
ture, a warning signal that he has
placed agriculture and food policy at
the bottom of his priority list.
2. He wants to and is active-
ly seeking to export and incite the
workforce that all sectors of our ag-
ricultural system heavily depend on
with no mention of implementing an
effective legal system for people that
are here now working on America’s
farms.
3. I found the title of last week’s
front page article “Ag reaction split
on Trump’s withdrawal from TPP”
to be far from accurate and actually
quite misleading. Most of the reaction
in the article is negative. Ag groups
and individual farmers are freaking out
about the loss of potential trade oppor-
tunities for commodities and the labor
issue and you are failing to recognize it
and cover it honestly.
4. Your failure to cover the human
Guest
comment
Oregon Ground Water Association
to commingling of aquifers in
improperly constructed wells.
Ground water reserves may
also be increased through the
processes of aquifer recharge
(AR) and aquifer storage and
recovery (ASR). These ap-
plications, supported by the
OWRD and the OGWA, in-
volve taking surface water
during low-demand times and
storing it underground for use
when ground-water demand is
much higher. AR and ASR are
processes which hold much
promise for stabilizing and
maintaining ground water sup-
plies throughout the state.
The OGWA also supports
statewide conservation ef-
forts. While OWRD has the
task of managing Oregon’s
water resources, everyone
who uses water in Oregon has
the responsibility to use wa-
ter without waste. There are
many organizations, agencies
and utilities that are actively
promoting and funding proj-
ects to improve the efficiencies
of irrigation water delivery
and application. The OWRD,
through Senate Bill 839, has
provided $8.89 million in
funding for irrigation efficien-
cy projects, helping to improve
water use efficiencies.
The OGWA is encouraged
by the improved efficiencies
and management of water
use in Oregon. However,
continued improvements in
our understanding, and in the
evolution of how we use this
resource must endure. The
OGWA would like to encour-
age Oregon residents to sup-
port advancement in sustain-
able management and water
use practices in this state.
The above was written
by the Government Affairs
Committee of the Oregon
Ground Water Association.
The OGWA is a nonprofit
association made up of well
drillers, pump installers,
geologists, hydrogeologists,
engineers and others who
work in the groundwater are-
na. The president is Michael
Klobes. For more informa-
tion, call 503-390-7080 or go
to www.ogwasite.org.
Letters policy
side of the negative rhetoric that has
been spewed at the workforce we de-
pend on in agriculture is beyond un-
ethical. These people work their tails
off to produce America’s food. They
deserve some respect and they deserve
to have agriculture stand up for them.
Cover the issues pertaining to ag-
riculture and Trump in a more honest,
balanced fashion, please! There are
people in ag who aren’t happy about
the writing on the Trump wall!
Rebecca Lampman
Bruneau, Idaho
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