Farmed Animal Watch - May 9, 2002

1. FARM BILL CORRUPTED BY CONFERENCE COMMITTEE; PASSED
The Farm Bill, which sets agricultural policy for the country for the next few years, contained an unprecedented number of provisions for farmed (and other) animals. It did until the conference committee, which is supposed to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, obliterated them. The bill addressed cockfighting, "downers," and the "Humane Slaughter" Act, among other animal measures.

Despite rules limiting committee action to items on which the House and Senate differed, the parallel "downer" amendment was replaced with a token study. The cockfighting amendment did survive though felony-level penalties were eliminated and implementation was delayed for 11 months. Although the issue was not addressed by either the House or Senate version of the bill, the conferees agreed to force airlines to carry newborn baby chicks as ordinary mail. (Many chicks are crushed, frozen and overheated while in transit. See issues #27 & 31.) The conferees also opened the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to factory farm operations, making them eligible to receive $450,000 in federal grants - financial incentive for their expansion (see issue #66). Minimal care standards for birds, rats and mice used in research were also shot down, and measures restricting puppy mills and protecting bears were gutted.

Notes HSUS, "A handful of farm-state legislators working in the dim light of the conference committee -doing the bidding for puppy mill operators, cockfighters, cattlemen, biomedical researchers, and other animal-use industries- decided they would speak not only for the full House and Senate, but also for their [hundreds of] millions of constituents." The compromised Farm Bill has now been passed by both the House and Senate.

2. NEW GROUP AGAINST SABOTEURS
Stop Eco-Violence is believed to be the first group in the nation dedicated exclusively to tracking and identifying individuals who engage in illegal direct action on behalf of animals and the environment; revealing their funding sources; and uniting police, academics and "victims." Based in Oregon, the new group is headed by Executive Director Kelly Stoner, 28, a former spokesperson for Louisiana-Pacific (a building products company), and John Campbell, a conservative fund-raiser in Los Angeles. Nichols-Denzenhall, a Washington, D.C., public relations firm, is advising the group. Stop Eco-Violence intends to speak out on behalf of ranchers, university researchers, loggers, etc. It plans to join an aggressive industry campaign against groups who finance suspected activists. However, the group refuses to reveal its own budget or funding sources, explaining "We won't put our financial supporters' safety on the line." Its budget will not become a matter of public record for at least a year. Scoffing at the publicity campaign, David Barbarash, a spokesperson for the Animal Liberation Front, responded that to get saboteurs to stop "would mean stopping animal torture, stopping the destruction of the environment for profit and greed, and treating all species and all life....with a sense of responsibility."

3. AI SLAUGHTER TOLL AT 3.2 MILLION AND RISING
The avian influenza (AI) death count in Virginia is at 3.2 million, doubling the count of the last major outbreak 2 decades ago. (See issue #64.) Both turkeys and chickens are being ordered killed, and the toll is expected to rise. The federal government has spent over $3 million trying to contain the virus and monitor the slaughter, deploying more than 200 veterinarians, epidemiologists and agricultural specialists. At operations found to be infected, the birds are killed and the buildings are sealed for 2 weeks so sunlight can heat them and kill the virus. A third week is spent disinfecting them.

Slaughter operations are being overseen by the USDA and are primarily conducted by crews from the poultry companies. According to the article, "The birds are ‘coaxed' into a corner of their coops and the growers throw a tarp over them....A hose feeds carbon dioxide under the tarp and the growers stand on the tarp's edge so no gas leaks or birds escape. Other times, the crews will just seal off the houses and turn the fans off so no oxygen gets in....The [bodies] are then dumped in a tarp, which is folded up and taken to sanitary landfills or to one of four incinerators at a local quarry." One operator lamented, "It's like saying that your kids are going to leave home eventually – sure, but you don't want them taken unexpectedly. Everything is about a goal. And the goal is to get the biggest contract. We need to keep these birds fat and happy."

4. POLLUTION SCORECARD
Nationally, nearly 2 trillion pounds of animal waste are produced every year. An increasing amount of it is from intensive confinement operations. Environmental Defense has a "Pollution Locator" page on its web site. Information can be obtained by state or zip code. A national report is also available, along with information such as health effects, regulatory controls, etc., at: http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/aw

5. EUROPE: ANIMAL WELFARE & FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH
Consumers are concerned about the source of animal products, and improved animal welfare is key to intensive production. This was the conclusion of a recent meeting between scientists involved in EU-funded research and advocates for animal welfare and consumer health. The participants met to discuss how research can help implement and develop innovative animal welfare and food safety policies. The European Commission has financed research into poultry genetics, feather pecking in chickens, and the welfare of calves used for veal production. Current projects include studies into locomotory dysfunction in turkeys, stress genes in pigs, and cattle transport (see issue #63).

A recent project on public attitudes toward welfare issues found that high welfare production is associated with food quality, safety and healthiness. Consumers want basic information about methods of production on all animal-based food product labels, including imported products, along with detailed background info at point of purchase. The project also found, however, that consumers sometimes engage in voluntary ignorance to relinquish responsibility for animal welfare.

"Animal Welfare Key to Meat Quality," Meat Processing News Online, April 30, 2002.
http://www.meatnews.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Article&artNum=3146

6. FOOD: HOW SAFE? HOW ALTERED?
The current issue of National Geographic Magazine explores the safety and history of food. The Society's web site includes a page on food-borne hazards, one on genetically-altered food, visuals, a forum, and numerous links. An "Online Extra" considers the origins of plant and animal domestication and includes a bibliography and links.