1. COCKFIGHTING: OKLAHOMA RESISTANCE; NEW MEXICO NEXT
Temporary restraining orders (TROs) have been issued for 6 southeastern Oklahoma counties which prevent violators of the recently passed cockfighting ban (see issue #92) from being arrested or prosecuted. The TROs were issued on behalf of cockfighting proponents who are challenging the legality of the ban. They claim the law is too vague, too broad, interferes with interstate commerce, infringes on economic rights and deprives individuals without offering compensation. According to one TRO, some 50,000 people are involved in cockfighting in Oklahoma, which has about 2 million roosters used for that purpose. A temporary injunction against the ban has been granted for 3 of the counties until a Feb. 24th hearing can be held. The state is appealing the judge's decision. Hearings on the other TROs are to be held in mid-December. The public has been warned that anyone engaging in any of the prohibited activities in the interim could be held liable.

 

Similar to the 2-decades-old dog-fighting statute, the new law makes cockfighting and breeding, raising, selling or transporting birds for the purpose of fighting punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or fines of up to $25,000. Possession of cockfighting paraphernalia is also prohibited. A state senator has said he will try to cut the penalties. The State Agriculture Commissioner and the District Attorneys Council have claimed confusion about the law, and local law enforcement officials have expressed reluctance to be "chicken police." Cockfighters are attempting to skirt the law by paying native American tribes for licenses which allow them to hold cockfights on tribal land. Cynthia Armstrong, with the Oklahoma Coalition Against Cockfighting, said: "The state has an obligation to enforce the law. These kind of stalling tactics by the game fowl breeders are just desperate measures." Governor Frank Keating said it is "constitutionally suspect" for a judge to question the constitutionality of a proposal which was overwhelmingly approved by voters. Additional lawsuits are anticipated, and the matter could end up before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It previously ruled in favor of the constitutionality of the petition that put the referendum on the ballot.

 

New Mexico is being targeted next in the campaign to outlaw cockfighting in every state in the union. Cockfighting is now only legal in Louisiana and parts of New Mexico.

 

"Injunction Stops Cockfighting Ban in Three Counties," The Oklahoman, Mac Bentley, 11/19/02
"Cockfighters Turn to Indian Tribe," KOKI Fox 23 News (via AR-News).
"Judge Blocks Cockfighting Ban," Associated Press (The Oklahoman), November 8, 2002.
"Cockfighters to File More Lawsuits," Tulsa World, Chuck Ervin, November 21, 2002.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=021121_Ne_A13_Cockf
"Campaign will target cockfighting in NM," El Paso Times, Darren Meritz, November 18, 2002.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20021118-44237.shtml

 

2. INDUSTRY/ACADEMIA RESPOND TO PIG REFERENDUM; IOWA NEXT
In response to the passage of the gestation crate ban in Florida (see issue #92), the National Pork Board said voters were unaware of scientific information and management practices. The article explains the resolution passed earlier this year by the American Veterinary Medical Association which addresses sow housing (see issue #88), and discusses the $400,000 allotted by the Pork Checkoff for pig welfare research in 2002. Ed Pajor, assistant professor of animal sciences at Purdue University said: "Different housing systems have different advantages and disadvantages but it is clear from numerous studies that systems that give sows more room can work just as well as gestation stalls. The current issue is more one of economics and social policy about how animals are raised than it is science." He continued, "I'm talking to more producers who are considering putting in group systems as they plan to expand or renovate their facilities. Raising animals in groups requires different management procedures and trade-offs." The article details some of these differences. Dr. Pajor said other measures that would help industry address public concerns include developing industry guidelines, establishing certification programs, and allowing 3rd party audits of production facilities. 

 

Iowa, the nation's top pig-producing state, will be the next state targeted in the effort to eliminate gestation crates. A 2-year campaign is to begin in early December. Almost 2/3rds of the nearly 6 million female pigs used for breeding in the U.S. are kept in operations that use gestation crates. Iowa has about 1.1 million sows. The state has no provision for a citizen-sponsored ballot measure but animal protection advocates believe many Iowa voters would support such a ban. David Madsen (see issue #88) of Heartland Pork Enterprises counters, "Those of us who raise pigs know that the primary means a pig has of expressing itself is aggression. Their primary interaction is biting - vulva biting, ear biting, leg biting. They need protection from themselves." Mark Honeyman, associate professor of animal science at Iowa State University, comments: "I'm convinced you can manage gestating sows in other ways [than crates] and we've got good research to show it." He mentioned types of alternative production systems that have similar economic returns as those from confinement buildings.

 

"Pork Board: Florida Voters ‘Uninformed' Re: Sow Crates," AgWeb News, Julianne Johnston, November 7, 2002.
http://www.agweb.com:80/news_show_news_article.asp?file=AgNewsArticle%5F20021171244%5F612&articleID=92756&newscat=GN
"The Welfare of Sows in Gestation Crates: A Summary of the Scientific Evidence," Free Farm Animals, Farm Sanctuary.
http://www.freefarmanimals.org/gc_evidence.htm
"Voter Impact on Swine Production May Come to a State Near You," Purdue University, 11/9/02
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/021108.Pajor.stalls.html
"The Confinement Question," Des Moines Register, Jerry Perkins, November 17, 2002.
http://www.dmregister.com/business/stories/c4789013/19728513.html

 

3. AQUACULTURE: THE "BLUE REVOLUTION"
Seafood accounts for 16% of global animal-protein intake, up from 14% in the early 1960s. It has been several decades since there has been enough wild fish to sustainably meet demand. About half of the world's wild fisheries have been exhausted. Aquaculture is the world's fastest-growing food industry, with production increasing more than 10% a year. Farmed fish and shellfish supply 30% of all seafood consumed worldwide, up from 10% 2 decades ago. Aquaculture is being promoted as the "Blue Revolution," an aquatic version of the Green Revolution which vastly multiplied agricultural output in non-industrialized countries. As the Green Revolution was criticized for its heavy reliance on synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, critics are warning of the environmental havoc of the Blue Revolution. A large salmon farm may dump as much liquid waste into the sea as a small city. Sea lice thrive in the densely packed pens, boring holes in the skin of fish and feasting on their flesh. Schools of fish inevitably escape through torn nets, flooding or accidental release during transport. Once free, they spread disease and compete with wild fish. Feed conversion is also inefficient, with 2-5 pounds of other fish needed as feed to produce 1 pound of farmed salmon. Antibiotic use is another concern.  Environmentally better techniques are expensive and difficult to employ on a large-scale basis. Shrimp farming is said to be particularly destructive. The shrimp industry is considering adopting a universal certification process that would require compliance with siting of ponds, waste treatment, chemical usage limitations and disease management. By 2004, labels will be mandatory in the U.S. indicating whether seafood is farmed or wild.             

 

The Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform is a coalition of environmentalists, fisherman and tribes who have launched the "Farmed and Dangerous" campaign: http://www.FarmedandDangerous.org It has released a report on consumer hazards of farmed fish and is calling for a West Coast boycott of farmed fish. The aquaculture industry says the report is panic-mongering by environmental extremists: http://www.salmonfarmers.org/media/recent6.html Farmed salmon outpaced the wild salmon catch with 55% of the market for the first time in 2001, and some say the matter is really one of economics with each side fighting for market share. Both the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society are urging consumers to avoid salmon from farms, which they say are the equivalent of factory farming. Articles on the overfishing and boycotting of particular fish species can be found at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1113/p15s02-lifo.htm and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6938-2002Nov5.html USA Today recently featured an article on the health hazards (particularly mercury poisoning) of fish consumption: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2002-11-04-fish-1acover_x.htm

 

"Is Fish Farming Safe?" Time, Global Business, Terry McCarthy & Campbell River, 11/17/2002.
http://www.time.com/time/globalbusiness/article/0,9171,1101021125-391523,00.html
"Scientists Debate Farmed Salmon," Statesman Journal, November 5, 2002.
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=51210
"Seafood Industry Decries ‘Farmed and Dangerous' Salmon," Statesman Journal, Laurence M. Cruz and Timothy J. Gonzalez, November 21, 2002.
http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=52125

 

4. THE MORALITY OF CLONING
AgResearch, a New Zealand government-owned institute (see issue #87), claims to be the most efficient in the world at cloning animals. Six percent of the cattle and sheep it clones survive from embryo to 3 months. Nearly a quarter of the calves and lambs born there, cloned from adult animals, have died within their first 3 months of life. This compares to about 5% with normal animals. Another 5% died after weaning, which compares to about 3% with normal animals. Additionally, some calf fetuses have been aborted and some cows used as surrogate mothers were killed when fetuses grew too big to be born normally.("Large offspring syndrome" occurs when cloned fetuses grow up to a third larger than normal.) Caesarean sections have also been performed. An AgResearch's cloning program leader notes that in 35 cases so far where cloned calves have normally produced their own calves, there was no evidence that defects have been passed on to the next generation. He notes, "We are constantly monitoring pregnancies and detecting any that we suspect are developing abnormally, and we would either terminate that pregnancy early in gestation....or we may sacrifice the cow to recover the material for further scientific study." The Herald article includes differing viewpoints on the morality of cloning.

 

In the U.S., the FDA is expected to publish a white paper by January 1st outlining safety data and a technical approach for assessing cloning, both for food and animals. Next spring, the agency plans to publish a proposed policy and accept public comment before finalizing a policy. HSUS has asked the FDA to ban the sale of products from farmed animal clones: http://www.hsus.org/ace/15431 The FDA is said to be unlikely to focus on concerns about animal welfare. Agency officials believe cloning does not immediately appear to cause any more harm to animals than do other reproduction technologies. See: http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2002/news02.nov.html#nov0201 Due to animal welfare considerations, Europeans are not expected to be as accepting of animal cloning as are scientists and regulators in the U.S. Notes a spokesperson for Cyagra, a leading U.S. farmed animal cloning company, "Farmers aren't concerned any more with asking whether this is going to be normal. Now they are saying, ‘How much more can I get out of this animal?'"

 

"Cloned animals dying at AgResearch," New Zealand Herald, Simon Collins, November 11, `02.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storyprint.cfm?storyID=3004259
"Cloning raises morality questions," New Zealand Herald, Simon Collins, November 11, 2002.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storyprint.cfm?storyID=3004242
"Meet the Cloned Cash Cow," The Guardian, Suzanne Goldenberg & James Meek, 11/16/2002.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/genes/0,2759,395698,00.html
"Agribusiness a No-Show in Clones-for-Food Debate," Star Tribune, Sharon Schmickle 10/14/02
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/3360860.html

 

5. ATKINS DIET STUDY RESULTS SCORNED
A recent study shows that people on the high-protein, high-fat, low carbohydrate Atkins diet (see issue #84) lost more weight and had better cholesterol and triglyceride counts than people on a traditional American Heart Association (AHA)-approved low-fat diet. The study, funded by the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation, which was founded by the author of the Atkins diet, has irritated mainstream health experts. Criticisms include the small number of people involved in the study and the fact that neither the participants' diets or exercise levels were monitored according to accepted nutrition study standards. One leading nutrition expert dismissed the study, pointing out that epidemiological evidence does not support it. Calling it a scam, a registered dietician with the AHA said it will only serve to further confuse the public. Yet another, noting the study's 6 month duration, said the real challenge isn't losing weight so much as keeping it off. "Hepatitis C is effective at helping people lose weight, too, but that's no more healthy than suggesting people should not eat a basic balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and grains," she said. A statement on the study issued by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a major critic of the Atkins Diet, can be found at: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-19-2002/0001844721&EDATE=

 

"Knives Drawn Over Atkins Diet Study," San Francisco Chronicle, Kim Severson, 11/19/2002.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/19/MN166042.DTL

 

6. VEGETARIAN FOR A DAY
Both a health organization and an environmental organization have recently come out with campaigns urging people to go vegetarian one day a week. The Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is teaming up with the Meatless Monday Campaign, Inc., to try to reduce saturated fat and calories in Americans' diets. The campaign calls for people to eliminate meat from their meals one day per week to explore healthier alternatives and increase awareness of the toll meat consumption takes on human health and the environment. By advocating moderation, the objective is to lower American consumption of meat 15% by 2010. Scheduled to launch in 2003, the campaign will include an extensive web site, and provide recipe ideas and nutritional information and advice.

 

The David Suzuki Foundation is enlisting celebrities to encourage other Canadians, particularly political leaders, to join in the Nature Challenge. The Challenge consists of 10 simple ways which the Foundation has found that people can most effectively take responsibility for themselves and the environment. Choosing at least 1 day a week to eat meatless meals is one of the ways. People in Canada, the U.S. and Australia consume more meat per person than every other country in the world. The Foundation explains how this is unhealthy and environmentally costly. Participants will receive an e-mail newsletter each month with helpful tips.

 

Meating Place, the web site for Meat Marketing & Technology Magazine, notes that meat alternatives are now "giving meat competitors a run for their money." Gardenburger, in particular, is noted as diversifying its product line. The company's soy-based Herb Crusted Cutlet is "designed to offer a versatile, meatless makeover for recipes that call for breaded pork, veal and chicken preparations." Gardenburger's vice president of marketing states, "Increasingly, contemporary cooks are looking for alternatives to meat, whether for health, safety or ethical reasons." In another Meating Place article she explains, "By pushing the imagination, you can take meatless eating to new heights." http://www.meatingplace.com/meatingplace/DailyNews/oop/qnohit_g.asp?ID=9713

 

"School Introduces National ‘Meatless Monday' Health Campaign," Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, press release, October 7, 2002.
http://www.jhsph.edu/Press_Room/Press_Releases/meatless_monday.html
"David Suzuki, Ron MacLean, Karen Kain, Mary Walsh, and Robert Munsch launch Nature Challenge," David Suzuki Foundation, November 4, 2002.
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/News_Releases/web_of_life11040201.asp
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/WOL/Challenge/Meals.asp

 

"New Meat Analog Cutlet Designed to Replace Pork, Veal and Chicken in Recipes," Meating Place Daily News, Bryan Salvage, September 3, 2002.
http://www.meatingplace.com/meatingplace/DailyNews/oop/qnohit_g.asp?ID=9740