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1.
PROPOSITION 2 PASSES; IMPLICATIONS
By a landslide 63% to 37% vote ( http://tinyurl.com/yrmac3
) Californians have become the first in the nation
to pass a measure essentially banning conventional
battery cages for chickens. Proposition 2 ( http://tinyurl.com/68v77o
) also bans the intensive crating of pregnant pigs
and of calves used for veal. Each side raised some
$8 million, with about 150 corporations contributing
that amount to oppose Prop 2 and more than 17,000
supporters donating that amount for it. California
regulators will determine how the law will be implemented
and enforced. The American Veterinary Medical Assn.
(AVMA), which did not support Prop 2, is calling for
animal welfare specialists and veterinarians to be
involved in the rulemaking "to make sure that
resulting changes in animal housing actually improve
conditions for the animals that they are meant to
help."
Eggs
David Demler of Demler Enterprises, which produces
1.6 million eggs a day, said it would be cost prohibitive
to dismantle the company’s 2-foot-by-2-foot
cages and replace them with larger ones. The cages,
which contain up to seven birds each, cost about $11
per bird. Retrofitting them would run about $30 per
bird, according to Demler. He says the only affordable
way to comply with the law will be to eliminate cages
and put birds on the floor. Doing so will reduce the
number of birds, cutting egg production and as much
as doubling the retail price of eggs, Demler contends.
However, California’s egg industry has been
declining due to reduced egg consumption, and one
third of the shelled eggs consumed in the state are
produced elsewhere. "There is no reason to expect
any significant change in the price of any eggs. That
applies to eggs from cage-free hens too," said
Daniel Sumner, the primary author of a University
of California study on the economic effects of Prop
2.
Pigs
“Just when is the sow considered pregnant? The
date she is bred or when that pregnancy is confirmed
using ultrasound?” asks economist Steve
Meyer. He explains: “Most producers who
are moving to group housing for sows, including Smithfield
Foods, plan to place sows in individual pens after
weaning and through 30-35 days post-breeding…This
‘breeding stall’ practice can help producers
achieve productivity levels near those of farms that
use individual housing for sows all the way through
gestation. The voluntary agreement made by Colorado
producers to phase out gestation stalls [see: http://tinyurl.com/5qnytk
] specifically allows these breeding stalls.”
(Regarding the Colorado agreement, BEEF’s Troy
Marshall elaborates: “…livestock interests
realized they didn’t have the dollars or political
clout to compete with HSUS on a statewide ballot initiative”:
http://tinyurl.com/5kjlrn
).
The Kansas City Star recently ran a
detailed article about the fight over confinement
farming (see first source below). In it, John
Ikerd, an agricultural economist professor emeritus
at the University of Missouri, states about crated
pigs: “These hogs are living on top of their
manure…How would you like to live your life
on top of an outhouse?” A video tour of a confinement
pig farm is on the KCS site at: http://tinyurl.com/5pu8a5
Next?
"California often is a bellwether, so it’s
likely this ban will be pushed in other states,"
said National Pork Producers Council president Bryan
Black, "We certainly don’t expect the Humane
Society to stop with California." Mitch Head,
a United Egg Producers spokesperson, agrees: "HSUS
is trying to march state by state, commodity by commodity."
Brent Gattis, an agribusiness lobbyist, expects animal-protection
advocates to pressure the Democratic-controlled Congress
to enact similar standards nationwide. Industry consultant
P.
Scott Shearer agrees, commenting: “This
vote will have a major influence on animal welfare
issues in the 111th Congress.” See also (PDF
link): http://tinyurl.com/6noup7.
FACTORY FARMS UNDER FIRE
The Kansas City Star, Karen Dillon, October 30, 2008
http://www.kansascity.com/637/story/865837-p3.html
CALIFORNIA PASSES PROP 2
Feedstuffs, Rod Smith, November 10, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/58n7mz
CAN THEY SURVIVE? FARMERS WORRY ABOUT IMPACT OF PROPOSITION
2
The Bakersfield Californian, Courtenay Edelhart, November
7, 2008
http://www.bakersfield.com/137/story/603627.html
PROP. 2 UNLIKELY TO RAISE EGG PRICES, STUDY SAYS
Los Angeles Times, Carla Hall and Jerry Hirsch, November
6, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-farm6-2008nov06,0,284958.story
CME: PROPOSITION 2 NOT SO DUMB AFTER ALL
The Poultry Site, November 10, 2008
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/16388/cme-proposition-2-not-so-dumb-after-all
CALIFORNIANS VOTE AGAINST GESTATION CRATES
Meat & Poultry, Bryan Salvage, November 6, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/6xnpja
CALIFORNIA LIVESTOCK VOTE RAISES FEAR IN IOWA
Des Moines Register, Philip Brasher, November 10,
2008
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081110/BUSINESS01/811100330/-1/ENT06
VOTERS APPROVE ANIMAL WELFARE INITIATIVE
National Hog Farmer North American Preview, P. Scott
Shearer, November 7, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/59km65
(scroll down a bit)
2.
OBAMA ON AGRICULTURE; OTHERS ON OBAMA
In a Time magazine interview, then-presidential-candidate
(and now President-elect) Barack Obama spoke of the
open letter ( http://tinyurl.com/6o3vmt
) that Michael Pollen published to the then-undetermined
future U.S. president: "I was just reading an
article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about
food and the fact that our entire agricultural system
is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture
sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases
than our transportation sector. And in the mean time,
it's creating monocultures that are vulnerable to
national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high
food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings
in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for
the explosion in our healthcare costs because they're
contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart
disease, obesity, all the things that are driving
our huge explosion in healthcare costs.” Subsequently,
the Obama campaign issued a statement saying that
Obama "was simply paraphrasing an article he
read. He believes there are a lot of factors that
contribute to obesity, heart disease and other health
problems, but he certainly doesn't blame farmers":
http://tinyurl.com/5u57hj.
The outline of Obama’s plans for
rural America can be found at: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/
Asked what he would say to Obama if he had a minute
to speak to him about the environment, energy, climate
and food policy, Pollen replied: "I would urge
the new president to appoint a Food Policy Czar in
the White House…The USDA is largely a captive
of the farm lobby and can't be counted on to protect
the public health when formulating farm policy; responsibility
for food safety is, absurdly and fatally, divided
between different agencies,” the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Food and Drug Administration. See the Grist
source below for Pollen’s full response and
those of numerous other food and environmental activists.
“Time will tell, but the most concise interpretation
of what this election means from an agricultural view
is more grain and less meat production,” opines
BEEF’s Troy Marshall. He notes that Obama achieved
a significant victory and will enjoy significant majorities
in both houses of Congress. (The campaign isn't over
yet in three Senate races: Alaska, Georgia and Minnesota.
If the Democratic Party wins them all, they could
have the 60 votes needed to bypass Republican attempts
to block the Democrats’ legislative efforts.
Three House races also remain too close to call (California,
Ohio and Virginia) but Democrats have already obtained
firm control of the House.) Marshall predicts “the
influence of rural America will continue to erode.”
THE FULL OBAMA INTERVIEW
Time, Joe Kline, October 23, 2008
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/10/23/the_full_obama_interview/
GOING UP? PART 4
Grist, November 10, 2008
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/11/10/101340/28?source=daily
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE OBAMA ERA
BEEF, Troy Marshall, November 7, 2008
http://beefmagazine.com/cowcalfweekly/some-thoughts-on-the-obama-era/
STUMP TIME AGAIN IN STATES WITH CLOSE RACES
USA Today, Ken Dilanian, November 12, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-11-11-senate-races_N.htm
3.
TYSON'S GLOBAL PLAN FOR INDUSTRIAL MEAT PRODUCTION
Tyson Foods, the largest of U.S. meat
companies (PDF link: http://tinyurl.com/6awesp
), innovated the vertical-integration strategy that
dominates meat production “wherein,” according
to environmentalist Tom Philpott, “mega-packers
breed, slaughter, and process farm animals -- mostly
leaving the risky job of raising them to farmers working
on contract.” The company’s domestic profit
potential has been sapped by chronic overproduction
of chickens, export bans on U.S. beef, and increasing
grain prices. "We have done about as much in
the United States as we can do," said Don Tyson.
(See also: MOODY'S DOWNGRADES TYSON FOODS: http://tinyurl.com/5rckpq
) He plans to expand the company by industrializing
and consolidating meat production in countries where
a growing middle-class population can now afford to
eat meat and visit drive-through windows, explains
analyst Chris Bledsoe, in a quest to attain global
domination of the industry. Such countries offer lax
environmental codes and plentiful low-wage labor,
notes Philpott.
Tyson has bought two major Brazilian poultry companies
and purchased majority ownership in another plus one
in India and three in China. Agriculture is the livelihood
of nearly 65% of India’s 1.2 billion people
and the government restricts the size of farms, causing
analysts to be skeptical of Tyson’s success
there. Brazil, with its traditional large plantations
and ranches, is expected to be more amenable and Tyson
plans to make Brazil its global export base. “Tyson
is actively pursuing a nightmare vision for the globe.
Let's hope Tyson's relations with the incoming Democratic
administration are much chillier than his notoriously
cozy ones with the Clintons,” Philpott writes,
“Six years ago, a former organizer named Luiz
Ignacio "Lula" da Silva won election as
Brazil's president amid a wave of popular hope. Lula
so far has largely failed to challenge agribusiness
interests. Let's hope he stands up to block Tyson's
plan to make Brazil CAFO to the world.”
DON TYSON SAYS MEAT COMPANY SEEKS GLOBAL
GROWTH
Associated Press, Christopher Leonard, November 2,
2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFHTcoVSSa1VTD3PHZKUWsnriSiwD94709A85
MEAT WAGON: ALL THE WORLD'S A CAFO
Grist, Tom Philpott November 11, 2008
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/11/10/13149/672/
4.
INDUSTRIALIZING CHINESE DAIRY FARMING
"The idea of dairy farming is actually
to bring in U.S. technologies to do technology transfer
so we can teach people in China how to do dairy farming
correctly," explains the chief strategy officer
of the HuaXia Dairy Farm. Founded four years ago by
Charles Shao, an information technology specialist
from California, HuaXia is one of the top 20 largest
dairy farms in China. Of the 5,000 cows there, imported
from Australia or New Zealand, the 1,000 used for
milking produce 30 tons of milk a day. In recent years,
government reformers have been promoting dairy farming
to millions of farmers as an alternative income source.
Like the rest of its food production and supply chain,
China’s dairy system is highly fragmented. With
its imported equipment and technology, HuaXia is set
to help overhaul the way millions of Chinese dairy
farms operate. The company is already working with
the U.S. Grains Council as a demonstration farm and
training center for Chinese farmers. It hopes to gain
the seal of approval for quality and safety from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Photos and a webcast
of this story is on the NBC News site (see source
link below).
DAIRY FARMING AMERICAN-STYLE IN CHINA
MSNBC, World Blog, October 29, 2008
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/29/1606019.aspx
5.
AGRIPROCESSORS: DEAD & DYING BIRDS; $10 MILLION FINE
On Halloween, nearly half the chickens
coming down the conveyor belt at Agriprocessors (
http://tinyurl.com/5eyf2e
) were already dead, many so rotted that their legs
would fall out of their body when worker Oscar Andres
tried to pick them up. “It’s really hard
in the close conditions that we work — this
bad smell was everywhere. It’s like we work
and throw up at the same time. Even myself, I was
throwing up. It’s really, really bad —
but they never stop. They keep us going and going,”
he said. The previous day, the former CEO of the Iowa
slaughterplant, Sholom Rubashkin, was arrested on
charges relating to the employment of undocumented
immigrants. That same day, a bank sued Agriprocessors
for defaulting on a $35 million loan, stating that
it believed that “millions of chicks and chickens
[and other animals] in the Borrowers’ inventory
are in danger of starving to death.” A local
priest reported hearing from workers that trucks full
of poultry had been sitting at the plant for days.
A reporter documented two tractor-trailers full of
abandoned turkeys near the slaughterplant. The estimated
1,000 birds had no water or food and some appeared
to be dead (photos and video at: http://tinyurl.com/62o8rw
).
Agriprocessors faces nearly $10 million
in civil penalties for repeat labor law violations
dating back to January 2006 (see: http://tinyurl.com/5eyf2e
). It has filed for bankruptcy and is seeking to restructure.
Five company executives face more than 9,000 child-labor
law violations, including for employing children younger
than 16. Their trial begins on April 20th. Mr. Rubashkin
has been released on a $1 million bond but is required
to wear a GPS ankle bracelet, restrict his travel
to northern Iowa, and surrender his and his wife's
passports. The plant, the largest U.S. kosher meat
operation, is operating at a limited rate. Shortages
and soaring prices are said to be causing many Jews
to go vegetarian. See also: http://www.forward.com/articles/14157/
AGRIPROCESSORS’ BANKRUPTCY LEAVES
IOWA TOWN FLAILING
Forward, Nathaniel Popper, November 6, 2008
http://www.forward.com/articles/14522/
GRUESOME SCENES FROM THE POULTRY LINE ARE A SIGN
OF AGRIPROCESSORS’ TROUBLES
Forward, Nathaniel Popper, November 2, 2008
http://www.forward.com/articles/14484/
IOWA MEATPACKER FINED NEARLY $10M FOR VIOLATIONS
Associated Press, Nigel Duara, October 29, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6D19n6iXOIscqxYjzf5ujU_auQQD944AO4G0
FORMER MANAGER AT IOWA SLAUGHTERHOUSE ARRESTED
Associated Press, Nigel Duara, October 30, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i0NolsCsG4FlMxidnIGYywL3ms-gD94535Q84
KOSHER MEAT SHORTAGE IN US TURNING JEWS INTO VEGETARIANS
Arutz Sheva (Israel International News), Tzvi Ben
Gedalyahu, November 12, 2008
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128359
6.
NB. CATTLE STARVED TO DEATH, MORE EXPECTED THIS WINTER
So far this year, some 240 cattle in
Nebraska are believed to have starved to death. "We're
having whole herds of hundreds of cattle being neglected,"
said Steven Stanec, executive director of the Nebraska
Brand Committee, a state agency that helps police
the cattle industry. The per-ton cost of hay has risen
by about 80% as high commodity and fuel prices have
encouraged farmers to stop raising hay, which is mostly
used to feed cattle in winter and early spring. "There's
no excuse for livestock starving to death," said
an angry Temple
Grandin when told of the Nebraska cases. "You
can always sell them. They might not be at a good
price, but you can always sell them."
In Red Willow County, Nebraska, 111 starved cattle
were found last January. Some of their bodies were
frozen in a pond where they had broken through the
ice trying to get water. Another 140 emaciated cattle
were still alive. The rancher reportedly couldn’t
afford the high price of hay. No charges were brought
against him because the county did not want to incur
the expense, estimated at $80,000, of taking custody
of the surviving cattle during court proceedings.
Similar decisions are not uncommon in close-knit rural
areas, according to the Humane Society of the U.S.,
and farmed animal abuse does not evoke the level of
public outrage as does abuse to cats or dogs.
In April, 25 cows were found dead in a Nebraska pasture.
Ted Robb and Dustin Dugan pled guilty to misdemeanor
charges of improperly disposing of the dead animals
after felony animal neglect charges were dropped.
The pair now face fines instead of jail time.
In mid-March at Carl Schurman’s
Nebraska ranch, 100 dead cattle were found stacked
in two piles. Schurman, a former county prosecutor,
said they died "mostly of old age, and some younger
ones got pneumonia." His pastures were nearly
stripped bare from overgrazing while grass in adjoining
pastures was about a foot high. State investigators
suspect the animals starved to death. No charges have
been filed. (The article includes photos.)
In October, officials found many of the cows in a
herd of about 80 near death at a defunct Nebraska
dairy farm. Hay prices are expected to increase this
winter and it is predicted that more cattle herds
will slowly starve in remote pastures.
STARVING CATTLE AMID HIGH PRICES FOR
FEED IN NEB.
The Associated Press, Nate Jenkins, October 24, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hFASSRxVoN3pMhWFlMRcTUyrieOQD940NFKG0
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