Finding The Silver Lining

Bad news/good news, they always seem to go hand in hand. Take the data release controversy with the Environmental Protection Agency. When the EPA oopsed big time and gave numerous environmental groups access to over eighty thousand American farmers’ and cattle ranchers’ personal information it was difficult to see that anything good could come out of the situation. Now however, there are numerous livestock industry spokespeople that say some good can come out of the situation after all. How so you may wonder. As of yet, no criminal activity has ensued with the release of the personal information, which included names, e-mail addresses, home and cell phone numbers, home addresses, and even next of kin, and the major fallout surrounding the EPA’s release of personal producer information seems to have changed the tenor of the debate in D.C.. Indeed, a prime example, Amendment to the 2013 Farm Bill #1011, submitted by Senators from Indiana and Iowa, would protect farmers and ranchers  by prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from disclosing their private and confidential information to the public.