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Environmental Groups Sue US EPA to Strengthen Regulation of Large Livestock Operations

A coalition of environmental organizations, including Food & Water Watch, has filed a lawsuit in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The lawsuit comes after the EPA denied two petitions filed in 2017 by the groups seeking stricter oversight of major hog, cattle, and chicken operations. The suit requests the court to reconsider changes outlined in those petitions, including defining which farms must comply with federal regulations and specifying discharges exempt from regulations. The groups accuse the EPA of enabling polluters by not taking immediate action, emphasizing the need for enhanced regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations to prevent water pollution.

Environmental Groups Petition Ninth Circuit for Review of EPA’s Refusal to Revise Clean Water Act Regulations for CAFOs

A coalition of 13 environmental groups, including Food & Water Watch, Center for Biological Diversity, and North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, is challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) denial of a 2017 petition for rulemaking urging EPA to revise Clean Water Act regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations. Plaintiffs are represented by Food & Water Watch and the Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School. The petition for review is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Media Outlets' Recipe Sections Lack Climate-Consciousness, Says New Report

A recent report by the Better Food Foundation and Sentient Media has shed light on the incongruity between responsible climate reporting and recipe curation among mainstream media outlets. The study analyzed eight prominent United Kingdom and United States news outlets and found that five of them, known for their climate reporting, primarily feature meat-based recipes, with lamb and beef, known for their high emissions. Strikingly, none of these outlets predominantly showcase plant-based recipes. Only The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Yahoo News had less than half of their recipes classified as "omnivorous." This study underscores the media's potential to promote climate-friendly plant-based diets.

Singapore-Based Ocean Vessel Operator Pleads Guilty to Marine Environmental Crimes in Connection with Illegal Dumping off the Coast of Southern California

Singapore-based Zeaborn Ship Management (Zeaborn) pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to crimes relating to the illegal dumping of oily bilge water and disposal of garbage off the coast of San Diego. Under the plea agreement, Zeaborn will pay $2 million in penalties, $500,000 of which will go to the protection of marine resources in or around the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. The company’s captain and chief engineer both admitted to roles in the crimes and pleaded guilty to felony failure to maintain accurate record books as required under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. The three defendants will be sentenced at a hearing on December 1, 2023.

University of Guelph Researchers Develop More Sustainable Plant-Based Meat

Researchers at the University of Guelph have utilized corn protein called zein (a waste product of corn meal) to replicate meat texture in plant-based alternatives. Zein offers a more natural and sustainable option compared to synthetic ingredients found in existing plant-based meats. The team discovered a method to create a gooey texture by mixing zein with starch and plant protein, eliminating the need for energy-consuming extrusion. Unlike gluten or methyl cellulose binding additives, zein is digestible and gluten-free. The innovation aims to address both sustainability and health concerns associated with traditional meat consumption and synthetic meat alternatives.

EPA Denies Petition for Rulemaking for CAFO Regulations, Announces Establishment of “Animal Agriculture Water Quality Subcommittee”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected a petition for rulemaking from Earthjustice and over 50 other organizations. The petition requested that the EPA revise Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations to include a rebuttable presumption that Large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) with wet manure management systems discharge pollutants. Under such a presumption, CAFOs would need to obtain permits under the CWA unless they could show that they do not discharge pollutants. The EPA responded that while the agency “shares [the petitioners’] deep concern for addressing sources of pollution to the nation’s waters, and . . . sources of harm to human health and the environment,” the requested action was “not meaningfully distinguishable” from previously vacated regulations. In its denial, the EPA articulated its intent to comprehensively review its existing CAFO program to “determine how best to strengthen the CWA permitting program for CAFOs, including as it applies to Large CAFOs using wet manure management systems.” The EPA also announced the establishment of an “Animal Agriculture and Water Quality” subcommittee within the existing Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee.

Federal Court Rules that EPA Violated the ESA with Freshwater Cadmium Criterion

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated the Endangered Species Act in 2016 when it failed to assess harms to endangered species before increasing the levels of the heavy metal cadmium allowed in U.S. waters under the Clean Water Act. The court vacated the EPA’s chronic freshwater cadmium criterion and remanded the criteria back to the agency. The court did not vacate the EPA’s 2016 acute freshwater, chronic marine, and acute marine cadmium criteria. The ruling is the result of a 2022 lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity.

Influence of Meat and Dairy Industries Hinders Green Alternatives against Climate Crisis, Study Reveals

A study exposes the immense power of the meat and dairy industries in the European Union and United States, obstructing the advancement of eco-friendly alternatives needed for addressing the climate crisis. The analysis of lobbying, subsidies, and regulations highlights a stark disparity, with livestock farmers in the EU receiving 1,200 times more public funding than plant-based or cultivated meat groups. In the US, animal farmers received 800 times more. The study, published in the journal OneEarth, also reveals significant lobbying expenditures by meat producers, overshadowing those of alternatives.

Canada Geese Being Euthanized to Promote Wild Rice Restoration in a Lake Superior Estuary

Efforts to restore wild rice in the St. Louis River near Lake Superior involve euthanizing Canada geese, drawing opposition from animal protection groups. The St. Louis River estuary, once abundant with wild rice beds, suffered from pollution and habitat changes. Geese have hindered restoration, eating rice plants at a crucial growth stage. Nonlethal methods like decoys and hazings were tried but “roundups” were eventually employed, leading to geese euthanasia. Critics call the method cruel, favouring non-lethal alternatives. Despite the cultural significance of promoting wild rice for the Ojibwe, concerns persist that more geese will move in to replace the removed animals.

Federal Court Denies Federal Agencies’ Motion to Dismiss ESA Case Relating to EPA Approval Process for Limits on Aquatic Cyanide Pollution in Washington State

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion to dismiss filed by several federal agencies in a lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to “perform statutorily required consultations with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service” pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prior to the EPA’s approval of Washington state limits on aquatic cyanide pollution. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell concluded that the EPA has an “ongoing obligation” to ensure those standards do not imperil endangered species and that the plaintiff had pleaded “sufficient facts to assert that defendants violated [consultation regulations under the ESA].”