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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
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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.