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1.
KFC CANADA AND PETA REACH AGREEMENT
“The mock-meat market remains
small, but with the KFC deal it's about to get a whole
lot bigger,” declared Canada’s Globe and
Mail newspaper. After five years and more than 12,000
protests at KFC restaurants and KFC executives’
homes, and seven months of negotiations, KFC Canada
and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have
reached an agreement. Priszm Income Fund, which owns
461 Canadian KFC restaurants, has agreed to:
- add a vegan ‘chicken’ item to
the menu
- phase in purchases of all chickens from suppliers
that use controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK). KFC
Canada is the first major restaurant chain to make
such a commitment.
- improve its animal welfare audit criteria
to reduce the number of broken bones and other injuries
suffered by birds.
- urge its suppliers to adopt better practices,
including improved lighting, lower stocking density
and ammonia levels, and a phase-out of growth-promoting
drugs and breeding practices that cripple chickens.
- and form an animal welfare advisory panel
to monitor the changes and recommend further advancements.
Most of the 300 independent Canadian KFC franchisees
have agreed to abide by the terms. PETA has agreed
to call off its Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign in
Canada.
“Our preference is to have nothing negative
attached to our brand,” explained KFC Canada
President Steve Langford, “Once I got involved
and we actually met face to face, we found out that
we had no differences of opinion about how animals
should be treated.” Previously, Langford said
he had visited slaughterplants to compare the electric
shock technique with the gas method (CAK). “To
me there is no comparison,” he remarked, noting
that some birds remain conscious after the shocks.
PETA will continue to press KFC in the
U.S. and elsewhere to follow suit (see: KentuckyFriedCruelty.com). "We look forward to learning whether our
Canadian franchisee’s action has any positive
benefit on the humane treatment of poultry,”
said KFC owner Yum! Brands in a released statement.
See also: http://tinyurl.com/6q3pss
FINGER LICKIN' TOFU: KFC GOES VEGAN
Globe and Mail, Josh Wingrove, June 4, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/3w5ucz
'KENTUCKY FRIED CRUELTY' COMES TO AN END
The Canadian Press, June 1, 2008
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2008/06/01/5739946.html
KFC CANADA AND PETA REACH AGREEMENT
World Poultry, June 2, 2008
http://www.worldpoultry.net/home/id2205-46608/kfc_canada_and_peta_reach_agreement.html
KFC CANADIAN FRANCHISEE, PETA IN ACCORD
Courier-Journal, Alex Davis, June 2, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5ekct4
2.
SOUTH KOREA RIOTS AGAINST U.S. BEEF
“South Korean politics are on
the brink of meltdown after spiralling public hysteria
over ‘mad cow’ disease in American beef
unleashed a weekend of mass protests and pitched battles
between [tens of thousands of] demonstrators and riot
police,” reports the Times Online. The rioting
follows nearly daily demonstrations since an April
18th agreement to resume imports of U.S. beef (see:
http://tinyurl.com/6jw9zx
). It was banned by South Korea in December 2003 after
a BSE-infected cow was discovered in Washington state.
Prior to that, the country had been the third-largest
importer of U.S. beef.
A pact reached in 2006 permitted only boneless beef
imports from cattle under 30 months old. The imports
began last year but were cancelled in October after
banned tissue such as bone were found. The April 2008
agreement included virtually all type of U.S. beef
and scrapped nearly all the restrictions previously
imposed as a safeguard against “mad cow”
disease. The agreement was required by the U.S. for
its approval of a sweeping free trade agreement between
the two countries. It followed a U.N. ruling, which
supported the U.S. assertion that its beef is safe,
and it fulfilled the agreement made by the South Korea
in 2006.
In an attempt to calm the public, the
South Korean government has twice delayed resumption
of the imports and has requested that cattle age 30
months or older not be sent. President Bush agreed
to the request but the measures to assure it are voluntary
ones. This has not put the Korean public at ease.
Two demonstrators have set themselves on fire in protest,
and demonstrations by as many as a million people
are anticipated. The entire Korean cabinet has offered
to resign over the matter. A Korean delegation is
visiting the U.S. but the Bush administration is refusing
to renegotiate the deal: http://tinyurl.com/6c5ktc.
The New York Times has published a recap of the U.S.
BSE situation entitled Questions on U.S. Beef Remain:
http://tinyurl.com/5vm3l2.
40,000 MARCH AGAINST US BEEF IN SOUTH
KOREA OVER FEARS OF BSE
Times Online, Leo Lewis, June 8, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5dgg9p
KOREANS TAKE TO STREET TO PROTEST AGAINST
IMPORTS OF U.S. BEEF
The Canadian Press, Kwang-Tae Kim, May 26, 2008
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/health/080526/x052608A.html
VICE FARM MINISTER TO VISIT U.S. TO DISCUSS BEEF
ISSUE
Yonhap News, June 9, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5e69zx
S.KOREA DELAYS CONTROVERSIAL US BEEF IMPORTS
Agence France Presse, June 2, 2008
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jEcbd2395jMkWIJ5mP66vmxYQL5Q
BOWING TO PROTESTS, S. KOREA IMPOSES NEW CONDITIONS
ON US BEEF IMPORTS
Voice of America, Kurt Achin, June 3, 2008
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-03-voa11.cfm
S. KOREA CABINET OFFERS TO RESIGN OVER
BEEF IMPORTS
Associated Press, Hyung-Jin Kim, June
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gliEd1Bi_qB68ysYSDK2b_vze2ygD916VLK80
3.
EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES REJECT U.S. POULTRY IMPORT PLANS
Experts from the European Union's (E.U.)
member states have rejected European Commission plans
to lift a ban on imports of chicken treated with anti-microbial
chemicals to decontaminate them. The plan would have
lifted an 11-year ban on U.S. chicken. The Commission
had argued that the chemicals have been cleared by
the European Food Safety Agency, and it had proposed
that the chickens be rinsed afterward and clearly
labeled (requirements which U.S. poultry groups denounced:
http://tinyurl.com/6csnhu
). Members of the European Parliament, however, welcomed
the decision. "Member states made this decision
in tune with the opinion of European consumers, who
don't want to bow to American commercial pressure
and sacrifice their food production standards and
rules," said Monica Frassoni, co-president of
the Greens/European Free Alliance Group: www.greens-efa.org
The rejection has revived tensions between the U.S.
and E.U., which are meeting this week for a major
trade summit.
EU VETS REJECT US POULTRY PLANS
The Poultry Site, June 4, 2008
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/15072/eu-vets-reject-us-poultry-plans
4.
POULTRY ANTIBIOTIC CLAIM RESCINDED
On June 2nd, Tyson Foods announced it
was voluntarily rescinding its "Raised without
antibiotics that impact human antibiotic resistance"
claim on labels of poultry products. The next day,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a
release stating that the withdrawal was mandated upon
finding "that [Tyson] routinely used the antibiotic
Gentamicin to prevent illness and death in chicks."
The Poultry Site provides the following background
information: “In May 2007, the USDA approved
Tyson’s Raised Without Antibiotic chicken label
application, which noted Tyson's chicken feed ingredients
include commonly-used antimicrobials known as ionophores.
However, by fall USDA officials reversed their position
saying they made a mistake since some organizations
have narrowly classified ionophores as antibiotics,
though they are not used in human medicine. In December
2007, the USDA approved a new label and subsequently
issued industry guidelines for the claim ‘Chicken
Raised Without Antibiotics That Impact Antibiotic
Resistance in Humans.’”
Both of the labels and related marketing
materials have become the subjects of a lawsuit by
two poultry competitors, a petition to the USDA by
three competitors, and a class action lawsuit said
to have been filed on behalf of consumers. The USDA
has said it will initiate a public process to review
policies on “raised without antibiotics”
claims for poultry. On a related note, see: http://tinyurl.com/5oqk6n
TYSON RIPS OFF ANTIBIOTIC FREE CHICKEN
LABEL
The Poultry Site, June 5, 2008
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/15060/tyson-rips-off-antibiotic-free-chicken-label
STATEMENT BY UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD
SAFETY DR. RICHARD RAYMOND REGARDING THE TYSON FOODS,
INC. RAISED WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS LABEL CLAIM WITHDRAWAL
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, June 3, 2008
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_060308_01/index.asp
5.
NYT EDITORIALIZES AGAINST CONFINEMENT FARMING
Referring to two recently released reports
on intensive confinement animal agriculture (see items
#1 & 2: http://tinyurl.com/5shf8b
), the New York Times (NYT) published an editorial
entitled The Worst Way of Farming. It states: “Millions
of animals are crowded together in inhumane conditions,
causing significant environmental threats and unacceptable
health risks for workers, their neighbors and all
the rest of us.” Attributing the “astonishing”
rise in the number and size of confined animal operations
to the structure of U.S. farm subsidies, the editorial
states: “the so-called efficiency of industrial
animal production is an illusion, made possible by
cheap grain, cheap water and prisonlike confinement
systems. In short, animal husbandry has been turned
into animal abuse….and ha[s] helped empty and
impoverish rural America.” Referring to the
Pew Commission report recommendations, the Times concludes:
“These are all useful guideposts for the next
Congress and a new administration.”
A subsequent NYT article entitled Ranchers Prosper
by Ignoring Factory-Farm Model explains: “Steaks
and loins from naturally raised pigs and cattle have
been an increasingly easy sell to fine restaurants
and upscale supermarkets. But until now, that hasn't
been true for fattier, more sinewy cuts such as pork
shoulder and beef chuck that ranchers have long been
forced to sell at commodity prices. The growing demand
by fast-food chains for those cuts is becoming…part
of the solution to marketing the [entire animal].''
Later that week the Times published
an article entitled How about Slaughterhouse Tour
Before Supper, Food Lover? See: http://tinyurl.com/64vkf8
and see: http://tinyurl.com/6mkoxc
THE WORST WAY OF FARMING
The New York Times, Editorial, May 31, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/opinion/31sat4.html?ref=opinion
RANCHERS PROSPER BY IGNORING FACTORY - FARM MODEL
The New York Times (The Associated Press), June 2,
2008
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Farm-Scene-Grass-Fed-Fast-Food.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
6.
FARM ANIMALS ANTI-CRUELTY ACT
The Farm Animals Anti-Cruelty Act was
introduced in Congress on June 5th by Congressmen
Christopher Shays (R-Ct) and Jim Moran (D-Va). H.
R. 6202 seeks to make a federal offense the killing,
mutilation, disfigurement, torture or intentional
infliction of pain or suffering, “without justification,”
on an animal held for commercial use. Also prohibited
would be the failure to provide food, water or shelter
to farmed animals. Penalties range from $500 to $100,000,
depending on the number of animals, and imprisonment
of not more than one year. The bill exempts: lawful
scientific or agricultural research; veterinary treatment
to improve the well-being of the animal; and exhibitions
such as at fairs. See: http://tinyurl.com/5hmx44
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