|
1.
Preview: WorldWatch Institute Describes Impact of Global Meat Industry
The WorldWatch Institute recently published a paper entitled "Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry," written by Danielle Nierenberg. The paper includes a detailed analysis of the animal welfare, environmental, and public health consequences of factory farming, which the author says has "almost completely taken over Europe and North America." Nierenberg provides a robust critique of modern-day concentrated animal farming based on more than 200 primarily academic and industry citations. The WorldWatch Institute is a US-based think tank that conducts research and analysis of global environmental, social, and economic trends.
The WorldWatch Institute has graciously given Farmed Animal Watch permission to share with our readers the full content of Chapter 1 of "Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry." Please be sure to watch for this special edition of Farmed Animal Watch next week.
"Towards Happier Meals in a Globalized World," WorldWatch Institute,
9/29/05
http://www.worldwatch.org/press/news/2005/09/29/
2. Studies Show Capacity for Fish and Invertebrates to Feel Pain, Suffer
Two recent studies suggest that fish
and other invertebrates may feel pain and experience
fear and other complex emotions that contribute to
their ability to suffer. The first study includes
a paper from a University of Birmingham (England)
researcher that says that invertebrates respond similarly
to vertebrate animals when exposed to noxious stimuli.
The author uses this response to stimuli as a basis
for invertebrates being able to experience pain, but
also notes that some people believe such responses
are only reflexes. The paper goes on to draw a possible
distinction between less "complex" invertebrates such
as insects compared with cephalopods, including octopuses,
squids, etc. The paper is published in the Journal
of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research
and concludes with the perspective that greater care
should be provided to invertebrates in lab environments.
Another study conducted by students from the University
of Guelph (Canada) provides evidence that fish respond
to fear similarly to other animals who are more commonly
believed to be sentient. According to one researcher,
"There is more evidence that fish do have some level
of consciousness than there is evidence against it,
and it is logically more likely that fish are sentient
animals than they are not." The research is focused
on determining whether or not fish have the neuro-anatomical
structures that allow them to have consciousness and
experience pain and suffering. The series of ongoing
studies is being conducted by the University of Guelph's
"fish welfare group" and is sponsored by the Animal
Welfare Institute and the Center for Alternatives
to Animal Testing.
1. "A Question of Pain in Invertebrates," ILAR Journal, 10/16/05
http://dels.nas.edu/ilar_n/ilarjournal/33_1_2/V33_1_2Question.shtml
2. "What Fish Feel," AWI Online, 10/14/05
http://www.awionline.org/pubs/Quarterly/05_54_04/05_54_4p19.htm
3.
Chicken Welfare: Canadian Battery Cages; Controlled Atmosphere Stunning
BATTERY CAGES: The
Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals (CCFA) is using
the results from an undercover egg farm investigation
in Southern Ontario to put pressure on retailers to
ban battery cage eggs. The coalition has also released
an in-depth report on Canada's egg industry and the
welfare of hens, including criticism of the lack of
legislation to protect these birds from harm. The
report describes battery cage systems, the illnesses
and ailments they cause, and the natural behaviors
that they limit or preclude. According to CCFA's website,
Canada has 26 million hens kept for egg production,
98% of whom are confined to battery cages. The coalition
is asking the public to stop buying "cage-farmed"
eggs, and is pressuring Loblaws, a major Canadian
food retailer, to add a special label to packages
of cage-farmed eggs. CCFA is also asking Loblaws to
move toward having at least 50% of its eggs for sale
produced by cage-free hens.
STUNNING: An article from July written by Dr. Temple Grandin and published on MeatPoultry.com describes the use of controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) for birds raised for their flesh. CAS has been implemented with different techniques, including the use of inert gases versus carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as single-stage versus multiple-stage stunning systems. Grandin briefly analyzes the primary CAS methods available, noting that some systems may cause broken wings from excessive flapping or "gasping" resulting from CO2 usage. The use of inert gases is generally preferred by animal protectionists for this reason, but Grandin notes that such systems have so far performed poorly. According to Grandin, the "best technology" is a two-stage carbon dioxide-based system that uses low levels of CO2 for a full two minutes during an initial induction phase. She says this technology is already in place at one US farm where it is "working well." Finally, Grandin notes that a Michigan engineer is developing a CAS system that will integrate with traditional chicken farming systems that "dump" the birds onto conveyer belts prior to stunning.
1. "Battery Cages and the Welfare of Hens in Canada," CCFA, Oct-2005
PDF File (1.2 MB): http://www.humanefood.ca/docs/BatteryReport.pdf
2. "The Truth about Canada's Egg Industry," CCFA, 10/12/05
http://www.humanefood.ca/eggindustry.html
3. "Activists Go after Loblaw in Fight against 'Cruel' Treatment of Laying Hens," MacLeans, 10/12/05
http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/news/shownews.jsp?content=n101283A
4. "Hatching Innovations in Poultry Stunning," MeatPoultry.com, 7/1/05
http://www.meatpoultry.com/feature_stories.asp?OSF=0&ArticleID=72792
4.
USDA Publishes First Annual Report on the State of Animal Health
The US Department of Agriculture's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published
the first edition of a new annual document entitled
the "United States Animal Health Report." This first
volume provides an extensive overview of the U.S.
animal health system, including its infrastructure
and the agencies that comprise it, as well as a detailed
review of government programs and initiatives. The
report includes the organizational charts for APHIS
and its related agency, Veterinary Services, and lists
state agencies with responsibility for animal health.
It also describes in some detail the various certification
programs and disease surveillance plans designed to
improve and maintain animal health in the US.
The report includes one chapter entitled "Demographics
of US Livestock, Poultry, and Aquaculture Production
in 2004," which may be of interest to readers. In
it APHIS provides a concise overview of the number
of animals farmed by industry (measured by "inventory")
and the geographic distribution of those animals throughout
the US. The report covers all major types of farmed
animals, including poultry, farmed fish, pigs, cows,
sheep, and horses, but less information is offered
for poultry and aquaculture operations. All data is
based on the US Census of Agriculture, which is conducted
every five years by the USDA's National Agricultural
Statistics Service.
It is interesting to note that, according to the report,
the number of federally-inspected slaughterhouses
dropped by 4% from January 2004 to January 2005. The
actual number of federal facilities decreased from
855 slaughterhouses in 2004 to 825 in 2005. Similarly,
the number of state-inspected slaughterhouses decreased
by 5% over the same period, from 2,289 facilities
in 2004 down to 2,116 in 2005.
1. "The 2004 US Animal Health Report," USDA / APHIS, August 2005
PDF File (11 MB): http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/2004_us_animal_health_report.pdf
2. "New USDA Report Examines Animal Health," Meatingplace.com, 10/18/05
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=14993 (Registration)
5.
Report Says Farmed Animal Waste Emits up to 70% of
All Ammonia in US
A new report from the US Department
of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) describes
how the country's disconnected environmental policies
may in fact encourage pollution. The report tells
us that, "Regulations to restrict animal farm emissions
to the water might inadvertently increase emissions
to the air, and vice versa." Laws such as the Clean
Water Act may thus encourage farmers to take measures
that increase air pollution. In response, ERS officials
recommend that farms take an integrated approach to
environmental protection. The ERS report provides
a simulation showing both economic and environmental
benefits from simultaneously taking into account all
current and upcoming regulations, including those
that cover both air and water pollution.
According to the report, "animal agriculture produces a variety of pollutants, including organic matter, urea, ammonia, nitrous oxide, phosphorus, methane, carbon dioxide, pathogens, antibiotics, and hormones." In particular, animal farming is responsible for up to 70% of all US ammonia emissions. Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs) represent the largest farms measured by number of animals and broken up into small, medium, and large CAFOs (see below for a full definition of CAFOs). These farms account for a disproportionate amount of pollutants generated by large volumes of animal waste. Despite representing less than 5% of all farming operations in the US, CAFOs produce nearly half (47%) of the country's animal waste.
The total amount of waste produced by farmed animals is approximately 500 million tons, (presumably per year, but no timeframe is indicated in the report). CAFOs alone account for about 235 million tons of animal waste.
"Managing Manure to Improve Air and Water
Quality," USDA / ERS, Sept-2005
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ERR9
6.
Farmed Animal Statistics: Definition of a CAFO
The definition of an animal feeding
operation (AFO) includes any facility that keeps animals
confined at least 45 days in a 12-month period, and
for which no grass or other vegetation is provided
in the confinement area during the normal growing
cycle. The definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operation (CAFO) was established by the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act,
and was last revised in late 2002. The rule defines
large, medium, and small CAFOs as determined by thresholds
of numbers of animals, per the table below. Note that
small CAFOs must be specifically designated as such
and are not otherwise subject to EPA regulations.
Additionally, medium CAFOs only include facilities
where animals or animal waste comes into contact with
groundwater, either directly through access to such
water or via drainage ditches and pipes.
The following table summarizes the EPA-established "size thresholds" for CAFOs, by animal farming sector.
| Animal
Sector |
Large CAFOs |
Medium CAFOs |
Small CAFOs |
Chickens other than laying hens
(other than a liquid manure system) |
125,000 or more |
37,500 - 124,999 |
Fewer than 37,500 |
| Laying hens
(other than a liquid manure system) |
82,000 or more |
25,000 - 81,999 |
Fewer than 25,000 |
| Turkeys |
55,000 or more |
16,500 - 54,999 |
Fewer than 16,500 |
| Ducks (other
than a liquid manure system) |
30,000 or more |
10,000 - 29,999 |
Fewer than 10,000 |
Laying hens or broilers
(liquid manure systems) |
30,000 or more |
9,000 - 29,999 |
Fewer than 9,000 |
| Swine (under 55 pounds)
|
10,000 or more |
3,000 - 9,999 |
Fewer than 3,000 |
| Sheep or lambs |
10,000 or more |
3,000 - 9,999 |
Fewer than 3,000 |
| Ducks (liquid manure system)
|
5,000 or more |
1,500 - 4,999 |
Fewer than 1,500 |
Swine (over 55 pounds)
|
2,500 or more |
750 - 2,499 |
Fewer than 750 |
| Cattle or cow/calf
pairs |
1,000 or more |
300 - 999 |
Fewer than 300 |
| Veal calves |
1,000 or more |
300 - 999 |
Fewer than 300 |
| Mature dairy
cattle |
700 or more |
200 - 699 |
Fewer than 200 |
1. "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - Final Rule," EPA, Feb-2003
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm
2. "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations - Clean Water Act Requirements," EPA, Feb-2003
PDF File (357kb): http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/cafo_brochure_regulated.pdf
7. Other Items of Interest
"Low-Stress Weaning," Cattle
Network, 10/11/05
A rancher-published newsletter for the cow farming industry suggests that farmers allow for "low-stress weaning" by providing more time for calves before taking them away from their mothers. The author recommends letting herds sort themselves into pairs rather than having farmers physically manipulate the animals into groups, and weaning them across a fence for up to five days before separation.
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=11286
"Scientists Launch Sheep Breeding Program,"
Sydney Morning Herald / AAP, 10/14/05
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), a wool industry trade and research group, is funding a $2 million project to breed sheep resistant to "flystrike," potentially eliminating the practice of mulesing. Some sheep in Australia have been born naturally with bare backsides, and now scientists will attempt to replicate those traits in two experimental flocks of 600 sheep each. The research project will last five years, but AWI is also pursing short-term, non-surgical alternatives to mulesing.
http://tinyurl.com/cmjhr
(smh.com.au)
"Strain of Avian Influenza Highly Resistant
to Tamiflu," News-Medical.Net, 10/16/05
Despite hopes that the Oseltamivir (or Tamiflu) may
reduce the potential for a worldwide avian flu pandemic,
a recent case in Vietnam suggests the virus is already
resistant to the drug. Based on limited evidence so
far, Tamiflu appears to slow the advance of avian
influenza, but not stop it. A paper appearing in the
journal Nature suggests that other drugs
be considered in addition to the more than 80 million
doses of Tamiflu currently being sought by the US
government alone.
http://news-medical.net/?id=13777
|
![[missing header image]](../images/faw_fish.jpg)
![[missing header image]](../images/newsletter_ico.jpg)