When someone goes to the doctor, they expect their medical information will be kept confidential. In the same way, when producers work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they also want confidentiality.
Livestock and crop producers, for the most part, do not want the EPA sharing their names and other personal information with various organizations.
Currently, the EPA can release producers’ names, addresses, GPS location, and sometimes email addresses and phone numbers. Through the Freedom of Information Act, they released information for over 80,000 producers to environmental groups in February and April 2013.
A law prohibiting the EPA from sharing producer information needs to be passed. A significant step occurred when three U.S. Congressmen recently introduced legislation titled the Farmer Identity Protection Act. Continue>>>
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