A trial with potential implications for Maryland's poultry industry began Tuesday with a lawyer for poultry giant Perdue claiming that an environmental group was looking for a way to "get Perdue" when it sued.
The New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance brought the lawsuit now being heard in federal court in Baltimore. The group claims that a Maryland farm raising chickens for Perdue polluted a nearby river, violating the federal Clean Water Act. The group says Perdue, which owns the chickens and monitors their growth, should be responsible for the pollution.
But lawyers for the chicken farmers and for Perdue, which is based in Salisbury, say there's no evidence of pollution. They say the farm operates just like others and that it would be unprecedented and catastrophic to the industry if its ordinary practices are found to pollute. Perdue, meanwhile, says that even if the farm is polluting, the company shouldn't be responsible for environmental violations at its contract farm.
Go ahead and keep messing with Perdue and when they shut their doors and go to NC where they are offering all kinds of tax breaks. Don't complain that there's no work here. Salisbury will go to the wayside just like Detroit. I'll be moving if it ever starts getting that bad around here.
ReplyDelete"Go ahead and keep messing with Perdue and when they shut their doors and go to NC where they are offering all kinds of tax breaks"
ReplyDeletesounds good in theory except these are federal laws (that's why this is being held in fed court in Baltimore) so NC is still governed by these laws 9:24
At this moment I'm listening to a DE call in radio show and I'm kinda siding with Waterkeepers. Perdue's contracts stipulate they own the chickens, dictate what they are fed and all the other day to day operations of raising the birds. It's seems if Perdue owns the chickens by their own admission then common sense dictates that they own the manure and should be responsible for it and not the contract growers.
I kinda think that deep down the growers could be rooting for Waterkeepers which could shift the responsiblity for the manure from them to the companies they contact with.
Noooo..... it's got nothing to do with all the golf courses and peoples manicured FERTILIZED yards and grounds... give me a break. Let's just sue Perdue so we can make a name for ourselves. And it's beside the point if Perdue goes to NC or DE. Would be disaterous for Salisbury. You missed the whole point 1045 to the first post.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a combination 11:25 and everyone needs to stop playing the blame game and admit they are responsible no matter how minute, get together and then do something about it.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me mad is that if you look at the court docs it doesn't appear as if Perdue is denying a pollution problem with the Hudson farm,but is passing the buck onto the cows the Hudson's also own.
It's like they thrown the Hudson't to the wolves-yeah there's a problem but it's not us-it's the cows!
9:24 so what you are saying is that Perdue is basically too big to fail?
ReplyDeleteThat's is what has ruined this country. Certain companies having a monopoly in a given area. They have managed by lobbying for over regulation, high fees, etc to run off all the independant processing facilities over the last 30 or 40years and now the growers have no other option but to be under a contract type of arrangement.
I know that in VA when Pilgrim's Pride (turkey) closed down the growers formed a co-op and purchased the plant. They are now having to grow less turkeys (less manure) and are making more money. They still employ processors and office/maintainace help so no one has lost jobs but the majority of the profits aren't going to a big company anymore.
I think many commenters here missed a large point to the suit. Wasn't it discovered that the "manure" pile was treated waste from a legal waste water treatment plant treated and sold to the farm and approved for use as fertilizer? And, if so, how were positive samples found?
ReplyDeleteOr, am I wrong here?