Making Hay

Rotten Inside and Out

by Gene

The recent recall of half a billion eggs contaminated with salmonella is another reminder about how harmful industrial animal farming is. Thousands of consumers have been sickened, experiencing diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever, and while no deaths have been reported, salmonella can be life-threatening, especially to people with weakened immune systems.

Hopefully the attention garnered by this recall will help raise awareness about the bigger issue of factory farming and food related illnesses in our country. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control estimate that “foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year.” We cannot expect healthful, wholesome food to come from a rotten system where living, feeling animals are treated like commodities.

Roughly 95% of the eggs sold in the U.S. come from hens in battery cages - small wire enclosures that are lined up in rows, stacked in tiers in huge factory farm warehouses. A single building can hold more than 100,000 birds, who are packed so tightly that they cannot even stretch their wings. The hens are unable to engage in basic natural behaviors and suffer both physical and psychological disorders, and just like other animals (including humans) who are subjected to extreme stress, they are more susceptible to disease.

Besides being denied a healthy environment, egg laying hens are also denied wholesome food. Agribusiness is always looking to save on feed costs because it is among their largest expenses. One way to do so is to feed hens the bare minimum, as an agricultural publication advises “…a hen consuming less feed is more efficient and profitable.” Another way is to add waste and slaughterhouse by-products, including chicken parts, to the hens’ feed. Such feedstuffs may be cheaper, but they can also increase the risk of salmonella and other diseases.

Agribusiness seeks to increase profitability, and that often means cutting corners and passing costs onto others. Whether its tax payers stuck with cleaning up environmental pollution, neighbors of factory farms whose property values are diminished, or consumers whose health and well being is jeopardized, factory farms should be made liable. Those who were made ill and harmed by these contaminated eggs should be able to recuperate their losses.

The massive egg recall we see in the news today is the result of a factory farming system that is rotten through and through. In the absence of a major overhaul, and unless agribusiness is made responsible for the negative consequences of its actions, we will likely see similar contamination and recalls in the future, and animals and people will continue to suffer needlessly.

Create Change. Join the 2010 Walk for Farm Animals

by Beth Begany

Every fall for the last 20 plus years, compassionate people have walked for farm animals in communities across North America. The number of people and the number of Walks is growing, reflecting the increasing concern about the way farm animals are treated. A record-breaking 75 Walks are already planned in communities across North America!

This year we’ve seen some pretty amazing and heartening movements toward compassion. In California, the tail docking of dairy cows has been outlawed, as has the sale of whole eggs from chickens raised in battery cages. Ohio has seen the voluntary acceptance by industry of modest humane considerations for farm animals as well as the halting of the construction of new battery-cage facilities – all important progress for farm animals.

But there have also been tragedies. One of the most poignant was the release of footage showing workers punching and abusing cows and calves on the Conklin Dairy Farm in Ohio, or the truck accident on I-94 in northern Indiana that left cattle burning on the side of the road. We regularly get calls here at Farm Sanctuary about some situation of outrageous abuse, because it’s happening every day.

Sometimes we can bring these animals to safety, as we’ve done with Jay, and remove these individuals from an industry that regards them as mere objects to be exploited. On a larger scale, we can advocate for better laws that protect farm animals to drive a spike in the cog of factory farming, as we have with Ohio and California this year.

This work is hard. It can feel at times overwhelming, as if we take a step forward only to take a half-step back – which is where the Walk for Farm Animals comes in. Whether you want to celebrate our progress, take a stand against cruelty, meet like-minded people, recharge your activism, educate others, or raise vital funds for Farm Sanctuary, the Walk presents an opportunity to do something positive and productive for farm animals.

Caring is the essence of the Walk for Farm Animals. Walking shows we care. Donating our time and resources shows we care. All of this adds up and sends a powerful message that we will not accept the abuse, mistreatment and neglect of farm animals in our name. It demonstrates the best of our humanity in the face of some of the worst of it.

So, I urge you to get involved in the Walk, whether you register to participate or make a pledge of support.

Remember: We can all contribute in our own way and inspire hope and create change for farm animals.

Rescued Bull Illuminates Problems with Livestock Transportation

 

By Gene

Jay the bull cheats death. On the way to the slaughterhouse, the truck carrying Jay and his companions rear-ended another vehicle in Chesteron, Indiana, causing the truck to burst into flames. Cattle spilled out into the road – some were stumbling around, still on fire, while others lay on the ground, dying from injuries and burns. Eighteen of the 34 animals involved perished. Of the 16 remaining, all were accounted for and subsequently transported to the slaughterhouse … all except Jay. This resilient bull instead spent more than 12 hours on the lam, eluding authorities and captivating the hearts of the local community, which thought of him as a sort of bovine folk hero. Eventually, he was captured and brought to the Porter County Animal Shelter. Soon after Farm Sanctuary was alerted to his situation, we offered to give him refuge.

Though Jay’s story has a happy ending, livestock transportation accidents happen too frequently and rarely are the animals involved so fortunate. In fact, a similar story emerged from Omaha, Nebraska last week. A truck hauling 176 pigs tipped over while attempting to negotiate a curve and some of its living cargo fell out. Twenty of the pigs died in the crash while two others had to be euthanized later on. Thousands of farm animals are killed or injured in similar accidents throughout the country each year. It is because of statistics like these, not to mention stories like Jay’s, that livestock transportation remains an important concern in the realm of animal protection.

In Farm Sanctuary’s 2006 report on the subject, we identified two primary problems with livestock transportation: the possibility of highway accidents and the manner in which animals involved in those accidents are treated. Effectively, even if an animal is lucky enough to survive an accident, that individual can be injured or killed in the ensuing events. Animals can be struck by passing vehicles, die while waiting to be rescued, be inappropriately handled by first responders who aren’t trained for such circumstances, or, like Jay’s friends, be simply whisked off to slaughter as though nothing had happened.

This system cannot continue on the way it has been. As farm animal advocates, it is our duty to speak up on behalf of those who cannot speak up for themselves and make sure their interests are heard.

To learn more about the subject of livestock transportation, please read our report.

Top photo: Jay at the Porter County Animal Shelter.