“Imaginary cow” scandal shines spotlight on urgent need for a mega-dairy moratorium
Salem, OR – Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. is suing Easterday Ranches after losing more than $225 million dollars in imaginary feed, calves and cattle. The scandal came to light as Easterday expects to receive a draft permit any day from the Oregon Department of Agriculture for a nearly 30,000 cow mega-dairy on the former site of Lost Valley, a mega-dairy shut down by Oregon authorities after more than 200 environmental violations.
In response, the Stand Up to Factory Farms coalition released the following statement:
“Today’s news about Cody Easterday allegedly ripping off Tyson Fresh Meats for hundreds of millions of dollars for nonexistent feed and cows only reinforces the urgent need for the state of Oregon to immediately rein in mega-dairies. These serious allegations underscore that Lost Valley Farm’s owner, Greg te Velde, is not the only “bad actor” among mega-dairies, as the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the dairy lobby would have us believe. It is vital that the Oregon Department of Agriculture immediately deny the Easterday permit application for a new mega-dairy in Eastern Oregon.
But denying the permit is not enough. It’s been clear for years now that these facilities housing tens of thousands of cows and producing waste on par with many cities are mega-polluters regardless of the operators. It is time for Oregon legislators to enact a mega-dairy moratorium to protect our state from irresponsible mega-dairy operators and prevent harms from massive industrial dairies until regulations are in place to protect Oregonians.”
Stand Up to Factory Farms 