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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, January 3, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • C apital Press • H ermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • C hinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • C oast Weekend • Seasi de Signal • C annon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon M arketplace • C oast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • F armSeller.com • Seasi de-Sun.com • N orthwestOpinions.com • D iscoverOurCoast.com MIKE FORRESTER Pendleton Chairman of the Board STEVE FORRESTER Astoria President TOM BROWN Bigfork, Mont. Director KATHRYN B. BROWN Pendleton Secretary/Treasurer JEFF ROGERS Indianapolis, Ind. Director OUR VIEW OTHER VIEWS A few major decisions will be made this year that will affect the area well into the future. What are they? We’re glad you asked! Here are four that we are most interested in watching play out in The crux of the levy would station to serve downtown and the North Hill. City council has since commissioned a $75,000 needs assessment to study the current building and what should be included in a new one, should voters give the OK. The drug becomes legal for recreational use in the state on July line of them for Pendleton voters. 1. Talk is already underway for ways And while Oregon voters have to pay for city streets, and a levy has already made that decision, local been proposed as a possible solution. municipalities still have to decide how they will handle normalization Major decisions were made on of the long- forbidden drug. in 2014, but A few decisions project Medical more are coming marijuana shops this year — but not we make this are currently time soon. year will have any Permits banned in Umatilla were County and most denied by the long-lasting cities around these Oregon Department effects for the of State Lands parts. So if people were banned from in 2014, dealing region. selling marijuana a major blow to to patients with a the future of coal legitimate medical need, you can transfer station planned for the bet there won’t be a lot of arms Columbia River near Boardman. open to businesses hoping to fuel That decision has since been recreational use. A majority of appealed and the herky-jerky Umatilla County residents did vote movement through the courts against legalization. continues. An appeals hearing is But the county has created a scheduled for Dec. 7-15. marijuana committee — the only one like it in the state. And while it hasn’t accomplished much at this lot of progress to one conclusion or point, the commissioners will rely the other will be made. on the recommendations that spring from it. Every year we think this could Cities may have their say on be the year that the Umatilla the matter, too. But before they Basin secures more water from do, courts will decide if those city the Columbia River, causing an decisions are legally binding. explosion in irrigated agriculture production. Eastern Oregon voters will have But we’re going out on a limb to the opportunity to vote on the future of Blue Mountain Community year. College. The dominoes are all aligned A levy to modernize buildings — from support in the governor’s and build new structures surprisingly mansion to the state capital, failed last year. But it has since been from tribal governance centers to rebooted and rethought after a more environmental and agricultural thorough public process and will go associations. before voters in May. Another defeat We think there will be no kicking would muddy the way forward the can the road, and a decision will for BMCC, but public support of be made in the upcoming legislative its modernization and improved session. technology could set it on a new If it is, we think the region, path. especially the north and west parts Voters in the city of Pendleton may also decide the fate of a greatly. Farmers here just have to separate modernization and infrastructure bond for the city. That won’t be negatively affected. And decision never made it to voters that irrigators can get plenty of last year because of a ballot snafu, production out of a relatively small though the city was ready to put it percentage of river water racing out forward. to the sea. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. T Hens, unbound more than cage-free eggs. This belies the arguments that the conversion welfare law in recent history — California’s Proposition 2 — took effect January 1. The measure, which passed by a landslide vote in 2008, requires egg and some meat far more humane conditions than they did before. No longer will baby calves (veal) or gestational pigs be kept in crates so small they cannot turn around expensive; it just shows that many producers failed to take advantage of Mark Bittman Comment egg-laying hens may not be held in “battery” cages that prevent them from spreading their wings. The regulations don’t affect only hens kept in California. In 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that extended the protections of Proposition 2 to out- cannot sell an egg in California from a hen kept in extreme For an industry that has been able to do pretty much what it wants, bans some of the most egregious practices. Does limiting the new housing standards to all birds, and its taking effect, to adequately prepare. What have they been doing have failed. That Proposition 2 is supported by a majority of people in the country’s biggest agriculture state, and that its legitimacy has been supported by courts, shows the direction in which the raising of animals is headed. Gestation crates are on their way out, and battery cages will soon join them. With this measure, the table is set for similar action in states all over the country. “We’ve worked on passing anti- That Proposition 2 is supported by a majority of the people in the country’s biggest agricultural state shows the direction in which the raising of animals is headed. mean the end of cages? Maybe. It might become impractical for growers to build bigger cages; that is, it might be easier simply to keep hens in groups that meet the new minimum area required per bird and so keep the hens “cage free.” That’s not a panacea, but it is an improvement. numbers, but the courts have said that it “establishes a clear test that any law to have the investigative acumen of Columbo to determine if an egg farmer is in violation.” Hens must be able to spread their wings without touching a cage or another bird. There is, however, another new state regulation — the so-called shell egg food safety regulation, aimed at reducing salmonella — enacted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. This requires a minimum of 116 square inches per bird, compared with the current 67 square inches, which is less space than an 8-by-10 photo and just a tad more than a standard iPad. Proposition 2 trumps this rule, and birds probably need more than 116 square inches to spread their wings. In fact, many experts think something closer to 200 square inches is more realistic. But some farmers may think they can get away with 116; law enforcement will determine whether they’re right, and noncompliance is a criminal offense. The new regulations will probably raise the price of eggs. Surprisingly, as producers in California switch production systems to comply with the new law, eggs raised by so-called conventional means sometimes cost 10 states now,” says Paul Shapiro, a senior director at the Humane Society of the United States. At least three other states are to take up similar legislation in 2015. The most important part of the new law may be that every whole egg sold in California must adhere to the standards set by Proposition 2, regardless of where it’s from. And since California can’t raise all the eggs eaten by its citizens, millions of those eggs — perhaps as many as a third consumed in the state — will come from elsewhere. From Iowa, for example, where more than 14 billion There are just over 3 million people in Iowa, and nearly 60 million laying hens.) There has been talk of shortages, but they would be short-lived. So, in California, just as you had to meet higher emission standards than required by federal law if you wanted to sell cars, now you must meet higher welfare standards for hens if you want to sell eggs. Whether farmers comply, or disobey, or leave the business remains to be seen. But Proposition 2 means a new norm; eventually it will be, well, normal. Just how high are the standards set by Proposition 2? “By itself, the law means that many millions of animals will no longer be held in cramped cages, and that’s huge,” says Shapiro. “But the message it sends to the as usual — that is, subjecting animals to torturous conditions for their entire lives — is no longer going to be acceptable.” Mark Bittman writes (mostly) about food for the Times Opinion pages, and is The Magazine’s lead food columnist. He is the author of “VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00” and “How To Cook Everything.” YOUR VIEWS I arose early this morning thinking about the recent assault on the law enforcement in my country. This assault is being spread across this great country by radical, racist agitators in top governmental positions. I feel, as one person, there is little I can do that will affect this great nation of mine and yours. But perhaps we can start locally to make an impact. We are fortunate we have (in my opinion) dedicated to serve and protect me and you. As teachers, we can resolve to teach children gives a command, be obedient and honor that command. In all of the recent cases in the news where citizens were killed, disobedience and lack of respect for law enforcement was the cause of their deaths. every effort I can so he doesn’t feel he has to approach my car with one hand on his weapon. Likewise, I challenge all Pendletonians to show their patriotism with an attitude of respect for our law enforcement. Let them see we appreciate and respect their efforts to protect and serve us. Thank you for putting your lives on the line to protect ours. friends who care about us. As Pendletonians we can resolve to show respect and obedience LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
