Factory farming dispute vexes Spain’s coalition government

MADRID (AP) — A spat over factory farming is causing tension in Spain’s left-of-center coalition government. The farm minister on Tuesday described the consumer minister’s criticism of the country’s livestock industry as “very unfortunate.” Consumer Minister Alberto Garzón told British newspaper The Guardian in an interview last month that intensive cattle production is “unsustainable,” damages the environment and produces poor quality produce. Garzón belongs to United We Can. The party is the junior partner with the Socialist party in Spain’s two-year-old coalition government. Garzón’s comments set off a storm. Representatives of the livestock industry and opposition parties have demanded his resignation.