In 2018, a coalition of concerned citizens brought to the Maryland legislature a proposed Community Healthy Air Act (CHAA), which would require animal agriculture operations to comply with air quality testing at their facilities. Of particular interest is Maryland’s eastern shore, where CAFO (confined animal feeding operations) poultry farming is suspected of causing adverse health effects for thousands of residents, including 25% of Wicomico County’s middle school students who suffer from asthma.
The CHAA logo envisions Maryland agriculture not as a community pollutant, but as a clean, safe and healthy part of Maryland’s economy: the ultimate goal of the Community Healthy Air Act. Colors from the Maryland flag were used to underscore the importance of this act for all Maryland residents.
