1. INDUSTRY WELFARE REFORMS
ConAgra Foods, Inc., a major packaged
food corporation, is urging its poultry suppliers
to considering slaughtering chickens using controlled-atmosphere
killing (CAS), the method recommended by People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Last September,
shareholders rejected PETA’s proposal to see
if such a switch was feasible.
Some studies show this form of killing is less inhumane
and improves meat quality and yield. A spokesperson
for Tysons Foods Inc., a ConAgra supplier, said he
was not convinced about CAS as it is still an emerging
technology. PETA is also targeting other companies
that use chicken – while Applebee’s shareholders
have twice rejected a similar proposal, McDonald’s
agreed in 2004 to study the method. Recently, the
organization asked Costco suppliers to use CAS. An
op-ed by Paul Shapiro, director of the Factory Farming
Campaign at the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS), in the July 12th Baltimore Sun, urges poultry
processors on the Delmarva Peninsula to switch to
CAS:
http://tinyurl.com/o49nt
Other industry reform actions, such
as the HSUS’s campaign to pressure grocery chains
to stop selling eggs from caged hens, are meeting
with some success (detailed in the Hartford Courant
article). Hens in battery cages cannot spread their
wings or engage in nesting, perching, dust-bathing
and other natural behaviors. Conventional producers
prefer the method because they say it is produces
cheaper eggs for consumers and keeps the birds more
free of diseases. Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) reports show the average price of a conventional
Grade A extra-large dozen was 89 cents, and a dozen
extra-large cage-free brown eggs averaged $2.50. Americans
on average spend only 9.9 % of their disposable income
on food, according to the USDA’s Economic Research
Service, a figure that has steadily declined over
time. To view expenditures since 1929, see: http://tinyurl.com/kvg8u.
The June 12 issue of Time magazine features a series of articles on food.
In one, entitled “Six
Rules for Eating Wisely,” author Michael
Pollan writes: “Spend more, eat less. Americans
are as addicted to cheap food as we are to cheap oil.
We spend only 9.7% of our income on food, a smaller
share than any other nation. Is it a coincidence we
spend a larger percentage than any other on health
care (16%)? All this ‘cheap food’ is making
us fat and sick. It's also bad for the health of the
environment. The higher the quality of the food you
eat, the more nutritious it is and the less of it
you'll need to feel satisfied.”
CONAGRA CALLS FOR NEW WAY TO KILL FOWL
The Associated Press, July 10, 2006
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13807236/
THE INSIDER: THE AWARD FOR GOOFY PRESS KIT GOES TO…
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Bill Virgin &
Craig Harris, July 10, 2006
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/276964_theinsider10.html
FREEING THE FLOCK
The Hartford Courant, July 8 2006
http://tinyurl.com/oh493
2. SALMONELLA & CAMPYLOBACTER
Salmonella bacteria is the leading cause
of foodborne illness in the US, according to figures
from the USDA. About one million cases of salmonellosis
are reported annually, with about 63% of those attributed
to meat and poultry consumption. Of these cases, about
9,000 people are hospitalized and about 250 die from
it. The annual cost of illnesses and premature death
from Salmonella is estimated to be around $1.5 billion.
Food & Water Watch recently released the names
of poultry processors with plants that failed federal
standards for Salmonella. They include the largest
operations in the U.S.: Tyson Foods, Pilgrim's Pride,
Goldkist, Perdue Farms, Wayne Farms and Foster Farms.
Of the seven largest U.S. poultry processors, only
one had a contamination rate below the 24% testing
standard set by the USDA. The consumer advocacy group
says its analysis of USDA Salmonella tests between
1998 and 2005 show direct evidence of the danger posed
by a reduction in testing. Last week, the USDA announced
it would focus its efforts on plants that continually
have positive Salmonella tests. Food & Water Watch
stated: “Had this new policy been in effect
from 1998 through 2005, up to 22 of the 106 plants
would not have been tested and found to be in violation.”
The group is asking the agency to ask federal legislators
to make microbial testing performance standards enforceable.
Needed legislation would also require the USDA to
publish the results of Salmonella testing for every
plant online. It also asked the USDA to abandon a
proposal to reduce the testing frequency at plants
that had already passed two testing periods.
Recent research from the New Zealand Food Safety
Authority found up to 90% of chicken meat sold fresh
at retail is infected with Campylobacter. Scientists
are recommending that supermarkets be banned from
selling it, in an effort to alleviate the country’s
worsening Campylobacter epidemic. Infection rates
for the pathogen in New Zealand have tripled in the
past 15 years to be the highest in the world –
three times higher than Australia and 30 times higher
than the United States – and researchers say
fresh chicken meat is the major cause. Otago University
scientists estimate that chicken meat causes about
50,000 human Campylobacter infections and 400 hospitalizations
a year, costing the country at least $40 million.
TOP POULTRY PROCESSORS FAULTED FOR HIGH
SALMONELLA RATES
Food Production Daily, Ahmed ElAmin, July 6, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/ortnz
SCIENTISTS URGE BAN ON SALES OF FRESH
CHICKEN
Sunday Star-Times, Emily Watt, July 9, 2006
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/0,2106,3725927a6005,00.html
3. DUCKS OUT OF WATER
"Ducks spend 80 per cent of their
time on water," explains zoologist Juliet Gellatley,
“They play, swim and feed in water." Ducks
need water to keep themselves clean, and they can
go blind if they are unable to rinse their eyes with
it. Despite this, most of the 18 million ducks raised
for meat in the U.K. have no access to water for bathing
and 90% of them are intensively confined, according
to a report by the animal protection organization
Viva!, which Gellatley founded. With 10,000 birds
to a shed, the stock density is about eight birds
per square meter. Producers say that such access to
water would spread disease. Although the U.K.’s
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA) and the Council of Europe recommend that ducks
have enough water to cover their heads and splash
their backs, Viva! says this rarely occurs and cannot
be enforced. The duck industry is said to be aware
of the criticism and close to finalizing a code of
practice. The article includes “feathered facts”
and considers alternative production practices and
possibilities.
WHY FARMED DUCKS ENDURE WORSE CONDITIONS
THAN BATTERY HENS
The Independent, Sanjida O'Connell, July 6, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1162749.ece
4. LATEST CASE OF CANADIAN BSE HAS U.S. WORRIED
On Thursday, Canada confirmed its seventh
case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or “mad
cow disease”). The 50-month old animal is the
country’s youngest known victim of the disease,
and was born after a limited ban on the inclusion
of high-risk material in feed had been instituted.
The animal’s age indicates there is a higher
level of infectivity than assumed by both Canadian
and U.S. authorities, given the disease incubation
period. In December 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) recognized Canada as a "minimal-risk region."
Under this classification, the U.S. will not again
close its borders to Canadian beef unless there are
two or more cases of BSE per one million cattle older
than 24 months in each of four consecutive years.
In other words, Canada can have up to 11 cases of
BSE and still be considered a safe country for cattle
exports. Canada is stepping up its safeguards. Last
month the government announced that, next year, cattle
tissues that could transmit BSE will no longer be
allowed in pet foods, chicken feed and fertilizer.
The U.S. feed ban is not as restrictive as Canada's,
and the new case may cause foreign markets to question
the effectiveness of North America's preventive strategies.
The USDA said it is sending experts to Canada to investigate
the finding. The seven Canadian cases do not include
an imported British animal and another one born in
Canada but discovered in Washington state.
CANADA'S SEVENTH CASE OF BSE CONFIRMED
CBC News, July 13, 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2006/07/13/bse-confirmed.html
CANADA CONFIRMS BSE CASE IN 50-MONTH OLD ANIMAL;
U.S. WORRIED
Meating Place, Pete Hisey, July 14, 2006
http://www.meatingplace.com/MembersOnly/webNews/details.aspx?item=16225
5.
WELFARE QUALITY CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
The 146-page Welfare Quality Conference
Proceedings are now available online. A valuable resource
on European farming, it covers European consumers’
views about farmed animal welfare, farmers’
engagement in animal welfare, results and recommendations
from the Welfare Quality Project, as well as legislation
and trade-related issues.
The website for the National Commission
on Industrial Farm Animal Production, mentioned in
last week’s issue of the digest, is: http://www.ncifap.org
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY IMPROVING ANIMAL
WELFARE: Welfare Quality Conference Proceedings
November 2005, Brussels, Belgium
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/sum_proceed_wq_conf_en.pdf
|
![[missing header image]](../images/faw_cows.jpg)
![[missing header image]](../images/newsletter_ico.jpg)