Making Hay

925 Pigs Found Dead on Pennsylvania Farm, Your Voice Needed

 

by Gene

The investigation is ongoing, but preliminary reports indicate that starvation or some sort of mass disease are the likely cause of death for 925 pigs found on an abandoned property in Fulton County, Pennsylvania early last week. Authorities are calling it an “apparent act of animal cruelty.”

Whether these animals died of disease or starvation, to let them suffer in a barn with no way out and no help from human hands shows unconscionable neglect, and we are urging local authorities to prosecute those responsible for this intolerable tragedy.

The animals were found early last week by a prospective buyer who visited the property and discovered hundreds of dead pigs in varying stages of decay. The ASCPA is helping local authorities with the investigation and autopsies are underway. Evidence suggests that some of the animals tried to escape the confinement barn and bodies were found outside of the facility.

According to authorities and local media reports, the farm’s owner, Daniel Clark, left the property in August, and the pigs appear to have been dead for several months. We will keep you updated on this case as it progresses, but in the meantime, we are asking people to contact the local District Attorney to urge prosecution.

It is important for citizens to speak out for the hundreds of animals who suffered so terribly at the hands of their negligent “owners.” We need the public to rally around this case so it doesn’t disappear into obscurity. Authorities and the media need to know that people care and that farm animals have feelings and deserve to be treated with respect. Animals exploited for food are so demeaned today that when we read news articles about their suffering and death, these animals are often referenced in terms of their monetary value. It’s important to remind the public that pigs and other farm animals are individuals with feelings. They are intelligent and sentient, just like cats or dogs. These pigs died a horrible, merciless death, struggling for freedom, and no one came to their rescue. Imagine if these were dogs found starved to death by the hundreds in a warehouse. The public would be outraged, and that should be the case here too.

Please contact the Fulton County District Attorney to ask that he seek justice for these pigs and prosecute the responsible parties to the fullest extent of the law.

 

New Study Reveals Power of Plants

 

By Allan Kornberg, MD

A groundbreaking new study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine made national headlines yesterday as mainstream media outlets like CNN reported on its findings and gave Americans plenty of food for thought. Following more than 85,000 female and roughly 44,500 male subjects without heart disease, cancer or diabetes over a span of 20 to 26 years, the study explored the correlation between low-carbohydrate diets based on either animal or plant-based proteins and mortality rates, ultimately revealing  the positives of vegetarian alternatives.

According to the study, subjects who consumed low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets centered on meat and other animal products had a 14 percent increased risk of dying from heart disease and a 28 percent risk of dying of cancer, while those whose diets emphasized plant-based proteins and fats had a 23 percent lower risk of succumbing to heart disease, as well as a 20 percent lower mortality rate overall. While no study is perfect, and all are subject to certain limitations, these numbers speak volumes about the potential of healthy plant-based foods to improve our quality of life.

As a physician who has long been aware of the good plant foods can do, the results of this study come as no shock. Nonetheless, it is always encouraging for me, and doubtless many of you, to see such awareness grow and result in an ever-expanding body of research that compels us to reflect on the foods we consume and consider choices that not only more positively impact our own lives, but also the world at large. After all, we truly are what we eat and the time has never been riper to embrace the power of plants – not only to benefit our health, but billions of suffering farm animals and our ailing planet too.
 

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.

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.

Change in the Air

 

by Gene

I’ve often seen “scientific” studies used to defend cruel, unjust institutions like factory farming so I was skeptical when I saw an article in an agribusiness journal entitled “Study examines link between high-protein diet, bone density” (Meatingplace.com, 7/7/2010) a few weeks ago. The research was funded by the National Pork Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and I expected the same sort of reductionist self promoting conclusion that is commonly arrived at by industry funded “science.” Instead, the study found that high protein diets including lean meat was associated with a loss of calcium in the bones. Those on a plant-based diet fared better.

Then, a couple weeks ago Meatingplace.com published a provocative article entitled, “How can food retailers become more sustainable? Use less meat.” It described a presentation at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists that suggested that the food industry should move toward “lower intensity agricultural products,” and that means using fewer animal-based foods.

And, yet another veggie friendly Meatingplace.com article recently reported: “More menu items are being labeled as ‘healthy,’ according to Mintel Menu Insights. These items saw a 65 percent increase between the second quarter of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010. Vegetarian labels on menu items rose by 12 percent between the second quarter of 2007 and the second quarter of 2010. More than half of diners who say they’re eating healthier food when they eat out do it by adding more fruits and vegetables.”

It is encouraging to see these subjects published in agribusiness trade media and showing up in concrete data. At the end of the day, agriculture should seek to feed the world by producing food in an ecologically efficient way that’s affordable, especially to those who need it. The best way to do that is to grow plants instead of animals for human consumption.

Now, if only our U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines advocated for a plant-based diet, rather than allowing the meat, dairy and egg industries to insert their products into government recommendations. The Dietary Guidelines, released every five years, are up for revision this year, and thankfully the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee produced a report urging that Americans modify their diets to become more plant-based. The final 2010 Guidelines are now being crafted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Farm Sanctuary, in conjunction with Lewis and Clark Animal Law Clinic submitted comments to the USDA and HHS making recommendations for the 2010 Guidelines. We applauded the Dietary Guidelines Committee for advising that we move toward a more plant-based diet, and urged that the final Guidelines help facilitate a shift in dietary habits. You can read our comments here.

Although agribusiness is deeply entrenched in Washington, DC and in institutions that influence how we eat, there is a growing recognition of the many costs associated with our animal-based food system, and citizens are starting to make more healthful and conscientious food choices. As consumers and policy makers learn more about the consequences of our food choices, and seek to improve how we eat, the food industry will be forced to change.

Change for Chickens (and the Nation)

 
 

by Gene

In Ohio, half a million citizens signed petitions this year to place a measure on the statewide ballot to outlaw veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages. As the deadline to submit those signatures approached last month, agribusiness came to the table and agreed to phase out veal crates and gestation crates and to disallow any new battery cage operations from being constructed in Ohio. The fact that agribusiness leaders agreed to phase out veal crates and gestation crates, and put a moratorium on new battery cage facilities, is significant, indicating that these systems are coming to be widely recognized as unacceptable. Although we weren’t able to achieve a full phase out of battery cages at this time in Ohio, the signatures gathered for the initiative will remain valid and they can be submitted in the future if need be.

It is critical to continue educating consumers and pushing for an end to battery cages. So far, two states, California and Michigan, have passed laws to phase out battery cages, and we expect that number to grow in the coming years. And this week, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law that prohibits the sale of eggs from facilities that do not adhere to California’s battery cage ban. California is the nation’s most populated state and it represents a huge market for eggs and other products so banning the sale of battery cage eggs in California is extremely significant and will go a long way toward pushing egg producers to move away from these cruel confinement systems.

Just 10 years ago, there were no laws in the U.S. to outlaw inhumane enclosures like veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages. Today, eight states (Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, California, Michigan and Ohio) have taken steps to ban at least one of these cruel systems, and more are sure to follow. Finally, the cruelty of factory farming is being challenged, and changed.

Important Progress for Farm Animals in Ohio

 

by Gene

Over the past year, more than 500,000 Ohio citizens signed a petition aimed at placing an initiative on the statewide ballot this November to ban cruel factory farming practices. Those signatures gathered by tireless volunteers, many of whom were Farm Sanctuary members, were to be submitted this week, kicking off an initiative battle to be waged over the course of the next several months. However, at the eleventh hour, as it became clear that we had enough signatures to make it on the ballot, agribusiness came to the table and an agreement was brokered by Ohio’s Governor Stickland. Here’s what came of the agreement pertaining to farm animals:

• A ban on veal crates, to be phased out within six years, as outlined in the ballot initiative.
• A ban on new gestation crates in the state after December 31, 2010. Existing facilities are grandfathered, but must cease use of these crates within 15 years.
• A permanent moratorium on permits for new battery cage facilities in place immediately.
• A ban on the transport of downed cows and calves for slaughter, as outlined in the ballot initiative.
• A ban on strangulation and other forms of on farm killing that are not included in euthanasia standards as outlined by the American Veterinary Medical Association and part of the ballot initiative.
• Enactment of legislation establishing felony-level penalties for cock fighters.

This agreement didn’t accomplish everything we would like, as quickly as we would like, but we will continue raising awareness and actively fighting to ban these intolerably cruel systems. And, if agribusiness doesn’t comply with this agreement, we have the option to go back to the ballot with the 500,000 signatures already gathered.

Ohio has been known for its exceptionally weak animal protection laws and, as the second largest egg producer, it is among the most entrenched factory farming states in the U.S., so these developments are especially important. The moratorium on new egg laying facilities includes putting a stop to plans for a six million hen battery cage operation that was in the final stages of approval. And no less than six new gestation crate facilities were in the works in the state. We have driven a spike into the cogs of factory farming and agribusiness leaders are finally coming to recognize that treating cows, pigs, chickens and other animals as mere production units is inconsistent with popular sentiments.

When citizens speak up, change is inevitable. Agribusiness never would have come to the table had it not been for all the volunteers giving their time and commitment to this cause by gathering signatures and gaining endorsements. We are proud to have stood alongside these volunteers as well as several organizations working toward one common goal to end cruel factory farming practices in Ohio. The movement to protect farm animals is gaining momentum, and the reforms announced this week in Ohio will reverberate in Washington, D.C. and send ripples across the United States.

Challenging Big Ag’s Influence on Government with the Healthy School Meals Act

 

by Gene

I recently attended the 100 year anniversary celebration of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). Located in Beltsville, Md. just outside of Washington, D.C., BARC occupies nearly 7000 acres and is "The World's Largest Most Diversified Agricultural Research Complex" according to its website. BARC researchers have been engaged in numerous efforts to maximize agricultural productivity and marketability. It was BARC scientists who genetically altered commercial turkeys to have white feathers instead of their natural dark feathers, creating a breed called “Beltsville whites.” Unlike their natural counterparts, white feathered turkeys don’t have dark splotches on their carcasses, so they are more attractive to consumers.

BARC, like other USDA operations, is too close to agribusiness, and it is used to promote and validate questionable industry practices and to support bad consumer habits. There were displays and materials promoting the dairy industry and the consumption of cows’ milk at the BARC event, including hand outs from the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association (MDA), which as part of its mission “builds demand for milk and dairy products and enhances the image of the dairy industry on behalf of dairy farmers.”

One of MDA’s brochures distributed at BARC was entitled “Milk & More.” It states, “Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yogurt are important throughout life. In childhood, the key words are ‘growth’ and ‘habits.’ Childhood is a period of growth, and dairy nutrients – especially calcium – are essential for growing bones. Childhood is also the time to form good dietary habits, such as the habit of getting enough dairy every day.” Actually, consuming too many animal products, including dairy, is a bad habit that afflicts most U.S. citizens, and our health is suffering as a result.

As most of us grow up and develop lifelong habits, we are indoctrinated to eat foods that make us sick. Tragically, a major contributor to this problem has been our nation’s school lunch program, which purchases agribusiness commodities and markets them to school kids at the expense of supporting good health. The dairy industry is very influential in our government so its products are heavily promoted. In fact, cow’s milk is given to every child receiving a federally funded meal, even those who are lactose intolerant. This contributes to bad eating habits, which can last a lifetime.

Animal agriculture is busy urging legislators and the USDA to continue promoting meat and dairy products in school lunches, but there is now a very important proposal, The Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870, to promote plant-based alternatives. This bill, authored by Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) will go a long way toward instilling better eating habits in children and thereby improving our nation’s health.

Please contact your representative and urge him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 4870. Please also contact Representative George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, to urge him to support H.R. 4870. The federal school lunch program is being discussed on Capitol Hill now, so please call today!

 

The Power on Your Plate

 

by Gene

Millions of gallons of oil are spreading across the Gulf of Mexico, killing wildlife and threatening coastal communities. This environmental disaster makes it clear that there are costs associated with our dependency on fossil fuel. These costs are usually hidden well and they often seem out of our hands – challenges for businesses and governments to take on, but too large and unseemly for one person to make a real impact.

I am reminded of a 2008 New York Times article entitled “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler,” in which the author, Mark Bittman, compares oil to meat. He writes, “Like oil, meat is subsidized by the federal government. Like oil, meat is subject to accelerating demand as nations become wealthier, and this, in turn, sends prices higher. Finally—like oil—meat is something people are encouraged to consume less of, as the toll exacted by industrial production increases, and becomes increasingly visible.” Bittman’s piece compares the amount of fossil fuels needed to produce a meat meal versus fossil fuels needed for a plant-based meal and illustrates that the meat meal requires 16 times more!

Although the negative consequences of excessive oil and meat consumption are usually hidden, a growing bed of evidence is making these issues harder and harder to ignore. In 2006, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization released a report called “Livestock’s Long Shadow.” The report states that animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change and “emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” It didn’t take long for industry to challenge that report in attempts to debunk the conclusion that animal agriculture contributes more to climate change than transportation. In April of this year, James McWilliams wrote a piece for Atlantic Monthly challenging the rash of media articles that jumped on this industry-led PR campaign. McWilliams rightly concluded, “No matter what the exact figure, the environmental case against industrial meat production remains powerfully convincing.”

Now, the United Nations’ Environment Programme has published a new report called “Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Production and Consumption: Priority Products and Materials.” It identifies the largest contributors to environmental impacts and pressures, citing “food” and “agricultural materials, especially animal products” as priority areas of concern. Referring to this report, The Guardian newspaper published an article under the heading “UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet,” that states, “A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change.” 

There are many things in this world that are out of our control and where we may feel helpless to make a difference. But, that’s not the case with food. We can each exercise a large degree of control over what we eat, and by making food choices that are consistent with our own values and interests, we can make the world a better place. Choosing to eat plants instead of animals lightens our environmental footprint, including our dependency on oil, and it improves and saves lives, both human and non-human. Of that, we can be certain.

 

Another Video Exposing an Industry that Treats Animals Like Trash

 

by Gene

Last month, an investigative video showing abuses at an Ohio dairy farm surfaced, which led to cruelty charges being filed against at least one individual who was caught on tape maliciously beating cows and calves with pitch forks and metal rods. This month, another disturbing video that exposes the systemic suffering that occurs at our nation’s hatcheries has been released. It shows unwanted ducklings and chicks being discarded like garbage, and others injured as they get caught up in the factory farming machinery.

How has it come to this? Why are living animals literally treated like trash? It’s the result of an agribusiness attitude that sees animals as mere tools of production. When the animals are of no economic use, they are discarded by the easiest and cheapest means available. In the case of chicks at the hatchery they are commonly ground up alive. Farm Sanctuary investigators have also documented live chicks thrown in trash bins or dumped in manure spreaders and spread on a field like manure.

Along with sick, injured or disfigured chicks who are killed because they are not considered economically viable, millions of healthy day old chicks are also killed every year. These are the male offspring of commercial egg laying chickens, and they are of no economic use to the industry. They don’t grow fast enough to be raised profitably for meat, and they will never lay eggs, so they are killed right after they hatch.

Unfortunately, laws protecting farm animals from cruelty are grossly inadequate, and farm animals experience egregious abuse every day across the U.S. Thankfully, citizens are learning about the lives and deaths of farm animals through undercover investigations or other means, and they are rightly appalled. Change is in the air. With increasing awareness, there is a growing push to bring laws more into line with societal values, and there is also a growing interest in veganism.

In the meantime, we are calling for the Santa Cruz District Attorney’s office to reconsider prosecution in this case. Our one consolation from this latest investigation is that we were able to bring 38 of these ducklings to safety at Farm Sanctuary.