NCBA Takes Beef With EPA To Social Media
US - It is no secret that the nation’s oldest and largest national organisation representing the cattle industry has been on a quest to curtail the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) slew of regulations that many refer to as burdensome, costly and scientifically unfounded.
1 June 2011
2 minute read
In order to elevate the importance of protecting farmers and ranchers from unnecessary regulation, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is turning to social media. The video, themed Over Regulation All Across the Nation, was launched yesterday on NCBA's You Tube channel featuring EPA’s potential regulation of coarse particulate matter, more commonly called dust.
NCBA Chief Environmental Counsel Tamara Thies said the EPA’s “regulatory rampage” is getting a lot of attention but not enough.
“We need people to recognize what EPA is doing and work to stop this agency that is out of control,” said Thies. “Farmers and ranchers could go out of business if EPA continues regulating them out of options. This is a food security issue. Depopulating rural America is not good for anyone – including our struggling economy and consumers around the world who depend on US farmers and ranchers for safe, nutritious and affordable food.”
This issue has encouraged members of Congress to introduce legislation to prevent EPA from moving forward with regulating dust in rural America. US Representative Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) introduced, with bipartisan support, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 1633) that would block dust regulation by EPA in rural areas where state dust laws are in effect. Thies encourages individuals to contact their respective members of Congress and ask them to stand firm for family farmers and ranchers by supporting this legislation.
NCBA Director of Communications Mike Deering said social media is an effective and efficient way to take an issue to the next level.
“Transforming a very important issue into a fun, creative visual that entertains viewers while educating them about a particular subject matter can be done easily using YouTube and other social media tools. Social media allows you to reach a whole lot of people who are likely not familiar with the war EPA has declared on farm and ranch families throughout the United States,” said Deering. “We need to solidify our support within agriculture, but also rally the troops outside of our industry. This is bigger than just the cattle industry.”
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