One aspect of these choices is whether the federal government should build on the regulatory approach of the Clean Water Act and other environmental protection laws, or rely on agriculture programs that are based on voluntary participation and incentives to attract participation with local delivery systems providing technical assistance, cost-sharing, and education. Ongoing efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture are merging aspects of both approaches, but many stakeholders remain cautious about these efforts. A third dimension is the role of information about many aspects of animal waste. On the one hand, a lack of technical information about these complicated problems and relationships limits discussions of effective responses. At the same time, forces that oppose agricultural concentration and industrialization for social, philosophical, or other reasons are using the environmental debates as an avenue for raising their concerns.
Numerous responses are underway and others are being considered.
Environmental protection advocates who cite possible threats to water quality and human health have been joined by others with rural social and economic concerns in pressing for action. Supporters of large-scale commercial agriculture caution that actions should proceed carefully to avoid needless regulations, higher food costs, and other adverse effects on individual agricultural enterprises. Farm Runoff in California Box 2. Animal Agriculture and Odor Problems Box 3. Kansas Conservation Initiatives Box 4.