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Environmentalists seek clean-air rules for mega-dairies

The number of family dairy farms in Oregon, which typically have a couple hundred cows, has plummetted more than 80 percent the past 15 years — from 1,133 down to 228 — according to the Oregon Dairy Farm Employment Report. As large factory-scale dairies displace smaller operations, that lowers costs for consumers.But some say the emerging breed of mega-dairies, known as confined animal feeding operations, bring worrisome environmental impacts, prompting a bill before the 2017 Oregon Legislature to require their air emissions be regulated. [node:read-more:link]

Seven reasons we're at more risk than ever of a global pandemic

The risk at hand: an infectious outbreak.Public health experts believe we are at greater risk than ever of experiencing large-scale outbreaks and global pandemics like those we've seen before: SARS, swine flu, Ebola and Zika.Experts are unanimous in the belief that the next outbreak contender will most likely be a surprise -- and we need to be ready."We're only as secure in the world as the weakest country," said Jimmy Whitworth, professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. [node:read-more:link]

Hey, You! Stop Eating My Yard!

The rise in popularity of wild vegetation like fiddleheads, mushrooms and seaweed is causing friction between foragers and landowners; ‘fry it up and eat it.’ Such tensions are becoming more common in Maine, where the rise in popularity of wild vegetation like fiddleheads, ramps, mushrooms and seaweed for uses from gourmet cooking to nutritional supplements is causing friction between foragers and landowners. It is also threatening the state’s unusual and centuries-old tradition of allowing public access to private property. [node:read-more:link]

Oregon's second largest dairy wins state OK, still needs water rights

The development of what would be Oregon's second-largest dairy received approval from state agencies, despite an unprecedented amount of controversy and public concern about effects on business and the environment. The Oregon Department of Agriculture issued a permit with more stringent groundwater monitoring requirements than ever before, but environmental and small-farm advocacy groups say that the requirements don't go far enough to protect the environment. [node:read-more:link]

Study: Grocery shoppers 'not informed at all' by labels

Label Insight surveyed more than 1,000 consumers about their dietary preferences and how they use labels to make informed purchasing decisions, according to Label Insight. Of those, 67% said it was challenging to learn whether a food product meets their needs by simply reviewing the package label, and nearly half said they were "not informed at all" about a product even after reading the label. [node:read-more:link]

Trapped by heroin: Lobster industry struggles with its deadly secret

Maine lobstermen are plagued by opioid addiction, leading to deaths, ruined lives and even fishing violations to pay for the habit. Some in recovery also recognize the challenge: Getting help to an intensely independent breed that rarely asks for it. For years, industry leaders and regulators ignored the drug use. They didn’t want to risk tainting the iconic image of the Maine lobsterman, that rough-and-tumble ocean cowboy who braves the elements to hunt lobster, the backbone of the state’s $1.6 billion-a-year industry. [node:read-more:link]

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