Clean Water Act Rule & Peaches Fight Cancer

Clean Water Act Rule & Peaches Fight Cancer plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a Clean Water Act rule that will undergo a 90-day public comment period beginning in 2 to 3-weeks from now. EPA Deputy Chief of Staff Arvin Ganesan says their proposal clarifies what waters are eligible for protection under the Clean Water Act and what waters are not. He says EPA worked with Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and other ag officials in putting the rule together.

GANESAN: The administrator often says that farmers and people that work in agriculture are the first stewards of the land and know the land better than anybody else. So this proposed rule that we want comment on contains numerous exemptions for all sorts of conservation activities that farmers routinely practice and are endorsed by the NRCS.

A Washington State University food scientist and colleagues at Texas A&M have found that compounds in peaches can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells and their ability to spread. Writing in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, the researchers say the compounds could be a novel addition to therapies that reduce the risk of metastasis, the primary killer in breast and many other cancers. The compounds could be given as an extract or, judging from the doses given mice in the study, two to three peaches a day. The study also underscores the value of good nutrition in preventing cancer.

Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray.

There has been a mixed reaction from the agriculture community regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Water Act rule announced this week. Some ag organizations are calling it an ag friendly announcement and say that the rule keeps many agricultural exemptions in place while adding a few new exemptions, and encourages farmers and ranchers to enroll in conservation programs. Other ag groups, such as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association retort that the EPA's proposal to put even more waterways, streams and wetlands under protection of the Clean Water Act "is a vast overreach", and that such a proposal will be costly for cattlemen who will in many instances have to obtain expensive and burdensome permits to do even the most ordinary of everyday chores, such as moving cattle across a wet pasture. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters that she believes "the new rule will improve the Clean Water Act and reward farmers and other landowners for long-standing conservation practices." The EPA also stresses that the proposed rule is supported by the latest peer-reviewed science. Whether you agree or disagree, you will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed rule for 90 days from publication in the Federal Register.

Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.