Friends of Rural New York

What’s really interesting is that the permit is permission to pollute and even when CAFO operators do pollute, the NYSDEC does nothing about it,

SUBSIDIES SUBSIDIES EVERYWHERE
CAFO OPERATORS ARE ON WELFARE

EFARM Program Application Package
Request for State Assistance and Instructions

Dear Farm/CAFO Owner:

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) has initiated a new Financial
Assistance to Business (FAB) Program for farmers whose businesses are permitted by the New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and designated as concentrated
animal feeding operations (CAFOs).  The Environmental Farm Assistance and Resource
Management Program (EFARM) is made possible by Governor George Pataki’s 1996 Clean
Water/Clean Air Bond Act Program.  EFARM includes funding assistance to farmers for
comprehensive nutrient management plans (CNMPs) as required by DEC general permit Nos.
GP-04-02 and GP-99-01. 

EFARM is designed to help CAFOs in New York State pay for CNMP development and annual
updates in order to comply with State/Federal environmental quality regulations. Through
EFARM, farmers can obtain reimbursement grants of up to $8,000 toward their completion and
approval of the CNMP and/or up to $2,000 annually for 5 plan updates required for the 2005-
2009 cropping seasons. 

So-called environmentalist doesn’t know much about good stewardship. Who is advising him? Marty Mack?  Mack is a buddy of Peter Wright. Wright is the ethically challenged architect of the CAFO model.

Eliot Spitzer held this rally at one of the largest factory farms in New York State. This is the same farm that is allegedly responsible for pollution of the Cortland-Preble sole source aquifer.
The problem of factory farms is one of the most critical pollution,economic and health problems in New York State. Spitzer may be good on some environmental issues but on this one he sucks.
His main advisor on the issue is Marty Mack. Mack is also close friends with Peter Wright who is a principal architect of the CAFO model and has helped to export the model all over the world.
We have a long list of farmers and citizens that have repeatedly complained to the AG’s office about various CAFO problems. They are told that the AG cannot (or is it will not) help.
So sad.... so very, very sad.

http://www.news10now.com

Thousands attend annual Dairy Day parade
6/7/2006 7:13:32 AM
By: Ryan Dean

It was a dairy busy Tuesday in Cortland County. Democrats gathered at the Dairy Development International in Homer to meet with Gubernatorial Candidate Eliot Spitzer to discuss the importance of agriculture.

“Here we are on a dairy farm...It’s great to smell, it’s great to see, my kids are huge consumers and I just love it!” Spitzer said.

Spitzer mingled with the crowd and let the farmers know he’s thinking of them.

“I’m a fan. I’m a supporter. I’ll do everything I can to make sure the state supports the agricultural sector...we’ve got to do it.”

June 22, 2006
Animal Rights Groups Ask New York to Ban Foie Gras

By ANTHONY RAMIREZ
“Delicacy of despair,” or one of the heights of fine dining?

In a novel legal strategy, animal rights advocates demanded yesterday that state regulators in Albany help decide the fate of foie gras, made from the engorged livers of ducks and geese. It is a buttery but costly staple of four-star restaurants everywhere, especially those in New York City.

Advocates have long criticized the production of foie gras for pâté or another use, calling it cruel to the fowl because they are force-fed, usually with long plastic tubes, for four weeks before slaughter. Their livers grow in size by at least six times.

In a 16-page petition, the Humane Society of the United States and others, including New York residents, asked the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets to use a law ordinarily applied to food like rotten or mislabeled beef.

The groups want foie gras declared an “adulterated” food within the meaning of Article 17, Section 200 of the Agriculture and Markets Law. The agriculture commissioner would then have the option of banning foie gras.

New York State law, in part, defines adulterated food as “diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid or decomposed.”

Carter Dillard, director of farm-animal litigation at the Humane Society, based in Washington, said in a telephone interview that the petition “doesn’t speak to whether there’s a health risk or not” in foie gras itself.

“We’re going by the letter of the law,” he said. “And the weird thing about foie gras is we have three world experts, 10 veterinarians, 4 independent studies and 12 published articles that will tell you this is a diseased product.”

Eric Ripert, executive chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin, the acclaimed French restaurant in Manhattan, uttered a long sigh in an interview. “We can criticize how foie gras is produced,” he said, “and be concerned about the health of the duck and blah, blah, blah, O.K., fine.”

But many food processes are cruel, Mr. Ripert said, including the farming of chicken and fish. “To me, it’s more cruel to chew on an oyster, which is live, because it must have feelings,” he said. “Still, I am not ready to become a vegan.”

In California, where vandals have attacked restaurants serving pâté de foie gras and declared it a “delicacy of despair,” a 2004 law is set to eliminate the production and sale of foie gras by 2012. In April, the Chicago City Council banned foie gras within city limits. The ban began this month.

New York State is the largest producer of foie gras in North America (France is the world’s largest producer). Animal-rights activists have been unsuccessful in persuading the Legislature to ban the sale and production of it.

The Humane Society argues that the production of foie gras results in “hypertrophied livers” that are “pathological,” citing, among others, a 1998 study by the European Union Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare.

A spokeswoman for the agriculture department in Albany, Jessica A. Chittenden, said the department had not yet formally received the petition and could not comment on it.

But as an example of one of the most common adulterated food products, she cited misleadingly labeled hamburger that contained added soy or fat. “Rodent-defiled” meat is another example, she said.

Ariane Daguin, owner of D’Artagnan, a leading distributor of foie gras products based in Newark, reviewed the Humane Society’s petition after it was e-mailed to her. She said she was familiar with research criticizing foie gras production, including research cited by the society. For example, in one cited study hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver, is not a disease of ducks but of cats, she argued.

“I am infuriated by such research,” she said.

Like Ms. Daguin, Michael Ginor, founder of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, in Ferndale, N.Y., argues that engorging the liver is a hastening of a natural process whereby fowl store calories before a long migration. At 7,000 ducks a week, Hudson Valley is the leading producer of foie gras products in North America.

Mr. Ginor likened force-feeding to the treatment of confined cattle, which reach 400 pounds after two years, he said, compared with grass-fed cattle, which reach that weight after four years. He also said that foie gras ducks were 16 weeks old at the time of slaughter, compared with 8 weeks or less for ducks roasted or grilled in restaurants.

But Mr. Ginor acknowledged that it was unlikely that the liver of a duck in the wild or on a free-range farm, which typically has a liver weighing three ounces, would grow to restaurant-quality levels of 19 ounces or more without force-feeding.

“To me, the issues are, one, are the ducks sick?” Mr. Ginor said. “And the U.S.D.A. looks at every duck pre- and post-mortem, so it’s not a diseased product. And, two, can it make people sick? Foie gras has been eaten by people for 5,000 years, and if it caused any disease we’d probably know it by now.”

The ancient Greeks mention fattened geese in the fifth century B.C.

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Stae agencies claim fois gras factory is in full compliance. Ha! That’s what they say about most every complaint!

North Country Gazette
Chestertown, NY
6/6/06

WASHINGTON--The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has filed a notice of intent to sue Hudson Valley Foie Gras for more than 900 documented violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Such notice is required under the Clean Water Act before suit may be filed in federal court.

Last month, the State of New York granted Hudson Valley Foie Gras more than $400,000 in taxpayer funds to expand its facility that violently force-feeds birds to produce foie gras-a paté made from the diseased livers of ducks and geese. State officials publicly defended that decision by claiming that the factory farm is in compliance with all applicable state laws.

However, in the legal notice filed Tuesday with Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the HSUS documents Hudson Valley Foie Gras’s alleged longstanding track record of polluting the state’s waters in violation of the Clean Water Act. According to the State’s own records compiled from Hudson Valley’s monitoring reports, the facility has allegedly committed more than 900 known violations of federal and state environmental laws since 2001, including illegal discharges of chlorine, fecal coliform, and ammonia into the Middle Mongaup River. Since the incidents are self-reported, the factory farm may have also caused other unreported discharges and violations.

“The State of New York apparently thinks that more than 900 violations of the Clean Water Act constitute full compliance with applicable law,” stated Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president of Animal Protection Litigation for The HSUS. “It’s inexcusable for the State to be funding a facility that not only cruelly force-feeds animals, but also flouts federal and state environmental laws.”

The production of foie gras is one of the most notorious practices in the animal agribusiness industry. To enlarge the birds’ livers, producers force-feed them for two to four weeks, shoving a pipe down their throats two or three times each day. This can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and organ rupture. The birds’ livers become diseased and can enlarge more than ten times the normal size, making it difficult for the birds to move comfortably. Often, the birds are intensively confined in filthy warehouses.

In 2005, Assemblyman Jack McEneny (D-Albany) introduced a bill that would ban the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese in New York. Due to animal welfare concerns, California and more than a dozen countries have banned the production of foie gras, and Chicago recently banned its sale.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization with 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. The organization is on the web at hsus.org. 6-06-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette

Stae agencies claim fois gras factory is in full compliance. Ha! That’s what they say about most every complaint!

North Country Gazette
Chestertown, NY
6/6/06

WASHINGTON--The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has filed a notice of intent to sue Hudson Valley Foie Gras for more than 900 documented violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Such notice is required under the Clean Water Act before suit may be filed in federal court.

Last month, the State of New York granted Hudson Valley Foie Gras more than $400,000 in taxpayer funds to expand its facility that violently force-feeds birds to produce foie gras-a paté made from the diseased livers of ducks and geese. State officials publicly defended that decision by claiming that the factory farm is in compliance with all applicable state laws.

However, in the legal notice filed Tuesday with Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the HSUS documents Hudson Valley Foie Gras’s alleged longstanding track record of polluting the state’s waters in violation of the Clean Water Act. According to the State’s own records compiled from Hudson Valley’s monitoring reports, the facility has allegedly committed more than 900 known violations of federal and state environmental laws since 2001, including illegal discharges of chlorine, fecal coliform, and ammonia into the Middle Mongaup River. Since the incidents are self-reported, the factory farm may have also caused other unreported discharges and violations.

“The State of New York apparently thinks that more than 900 violations of the Clean Water Act constitute full compliance with applicable law,” stated Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president of Animal Protection Litigation for The HSUS. “It’s inexcusable for the State to be funding a facility that not only cruelly force-feeds animals, but also flouts federal and state environmental laws.”

The production of foie gras is one of the most notorious practices in the animal agribusiness industry. To enlarge the birds’ livers, producers force-feed them for two to four weeks, shoving a pipe down their throats two or three times each day. This can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and organ rupture. The birds’ livers become diseased and can enlarge more than ten times the normal size, making it difficult for the birds to move comfortably. Often, the birds are intensively confined in filthy warehouses.

In 2005, Assemblyman Jack McEneny (D-Albany) introduced a bill that would ban the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese in New York. Due to animal welfare concerns, California and more than a dozen countries have banned the production of foie gras, and Chicago recently banned its sale.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization with 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. The organization is on the web at hsus.org. 6-06-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette

Groups Unveil New York’s “Dirty Dozen” Awards
“Winners” Asked to Step Up and Make Necessary Changes

(Albany) On Thursday June 1st, community and environmental groups across the state unveiled the “winners” of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition’s (CEC) Third Annual “Dirty Dozen” Awards to draw attention to pollution and environmental health problems in New York State.  Each Dirty Dozen award is a pair of worn children’s shoes, mounted to a plaque featuring the name of the winning site and carrying the message:  “NY’s Children ask: Will you take the necessary steps to right these wrongs?” Each award is unique and represents how children are particularly vulnerable to toxic exposures.
“Winners” highlighted in Albany include: General Electric and the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation for Dewey Loeffel Landfill Superfund Site; Lafarge Building Materials and the NYSDEC for the Ravena Tire Burning Project; Hopewell Precision, Inc for groundwater contamination and vapor intrusion; and IBM for 19 Superfund sites across NY State.  Other winners, highlighted today in media events in Buffalo, Long Island and Buchanan, include Cheektowaga’s “Toxic Triangle”, the EPA for Peter Cooper superfund site, West Valley Demonstration Project, Keyspan’s Northport and Port Jefferson Power Plants, Indian Point Power Plant, New York Organic Fertilizer company and Willet Dairy, a factory farm in Cayuga County.
“The awards this year focus on how the environmental problems we’re highlighting are affecting our children and our future.  I’d like the winners this year to “walk a mile in these shoes”- the shoes of the children affected by groundwater contamination, the waste site with no warning signs, or the air pollution in their schools and homes,” said Laura McCarthy, Program Associate with Citizens’ Environmental Coalition.  “The goal of this award is to get the bad actors to take “steps” in the right direction.  We hope this event will encourage them to do so.”
A selection committee evaluated nominations from across the state.  It was comprised of environmental professionals, public health experts, and worker health and safety advocates:  Dr. David Carpenter, State University at Albany School of Public Health; Roger Cook, Western New York Committee for Occupation Safety and Health; Jonathan Bennett, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health; and Bobbi Chase Wilding, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition.
The Dirty Dozen “winners” were selected based on the severity of the threat they pose and the unwillingness of the polluters and government officials to adequately address the situation. 
See attached list for descriptions of the winners with quotes from each nominating group.
Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC) is the leading statewide environmental health advocacy organization working to eliminate pollution and protect human health and the environment in New York. For over twenty-three years, we have accomplished this by serving as the nexus of grassroots organizing, statewide policy advocacy and national collaboration.  Citizens’ Environmental Coalition is already accepting nominations for next years’ awards.  Visit cectoxic.org for more information on our work.

###

Activist Brought Our Attention To Hideous Cruelty Says Reader Feedback from Rochester’s Alternative News
5.31.06

ANIMAL RIGHTS

In a world filled with pain and suffering --- the war in Iraq, genocide in Darfur, poverty in the City of Rochester --- we seem unable or unwilling to stop any of the misery. There is pain and suffering on a massive scale that we all have a part in, however. We Americans turn our heads away and are afraid to look at where our animal food comes from.

We know deep down that it is not a pretty picture. It is brutal, violent, ugly, bloody. What happens to the chickens, cows, pigs in our nation’s factory farms is pure evil. The only people who do know what happens at these farms are the corporations who make millions off of these animals --- and the animal-rights advocates who have chosen not to look away.

Ninety-eight percent of our animal food comes from factory farming. More than nine billion animals are slaughtered each year in this country. A corporation can do anything it wants to a factory-farm animal; in some states, these animals are exempt from virtually all cruelty laws.

When someone like Adam Durand of Compassionate Consumers decides to commit civil disobedience --- sneaking into Wegman’s egg factory farm --- to document and bring to light the pain and suffering of 750,000 chickens --- he should be applauded, not vindictively sentenced to six months in the Wayne County jail for the low-level misdemeanor of trespassing.

When the plight of animals has been brought to a whole new level --- when we acknowledge that they feel pain and fear --- we will all benefit. Think how inconceivable it will be to wage war, to let someone needlessly die of starvation in Africa, or have homeless people wandering the streets of Rochester, if we aren’t even harming animals anymore. Then the selfless acts of people like Adam Durand will be viewed in the proper context.

Andrew Dunning, Rosedale Street, Rochester

PUNISHMENT WAS SEVERE

Thank you for your May 10 article, “Of Food and Felonies.” Adam Durand, who sneaked into one of the state’s largest egg-producing operations, received a six-month jail sentence. This punishment seems very severe; the district attorney does not seem interested in real justice.

Mr. Durand deserves to be recognized for his courage to record numerous animal-cruelty violations at the plant. Consumers have a right to know about how the eggs they buy are produced. This egg farm supplies eggs to Wegmans.

William McMullin, Mt. Morris, Michigan