As a long-term reader of the Tribune I was disappointed to read your editorial on livestock facilities (“Megafarms need tighter controls,” March 16). You have fallen victim to emotionalism and hyperbole.
Good journalism would require a bit of research into the subject matter before commenting, but all journalists left that behind a long time ago. I don’t mind your opinion as much as the out-and-out hyberbole you use to justify it.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, livestock is responsible for 16 percent of all agricultural-related pollution. By my math, that means 84 percent of agricultural pollution comes from somewhere else (row crop farming). Why don’t you come out in support of more intensive regulations on row crop fertilizer and chemical applications?
