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farm sanctuary
World-Renowned Experts to Gather in Washington for National Conference to End Factory Farming
Congressman James P. Moran, Whole Foods Market Co-CEO John Mackey, Food and Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter, “China Study” Author Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Many More Join Forces to Combat Abuses of Modern Animal Agriculture
Sep 21, 2011
Join Farm Sanctuary as they bring together more than 30 world-renowned experts from the environmental, public health, and animal welfare movements for their first-ever National Conference to End Factory Farming: For Health, Environment and Farm Animals. For more information, visit www.factoryfarmingconference.org.
Unique in its exclusive focus on factory farming and the problems surrounding the industry, the conference will explore factory farming's detrimental effects on human health, animal welfare and our environment through a diverse program of speakers from each of these movements. Designed to facilitate collaboration between advocacy movements, both professionals and concerned individuals will be empowered with the opportunity to learn, network and build solutions for change.
WHAT: National Conference to End Factory Farming: For Health, Environment and Farm Animals
WHEN: October 27-29, 2011
WHERE: Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel in Arlington, VA
WHO: U.S. Congressman James P. Moran(D-VA)
John Mackey; Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market
Elizabeth Kucinich; Director of Government Affairs for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
Wenonah Hauter; Executive Director, Food and Water Watch
Dr. T. Colin Campbell; World's leading diet and disease researcher and best-selling author of "The China Study"
Bryan Walsh; TIME MagazineSenior Writer and Columnist
Gene Baur; Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder
Dr. Joel Fuhrman; Board-certified family physician, best-selling author, and one of the country's leading nutritional researchers
Wayne Pacelle; HSUS President and CEO
Richard Wood; Chair of Keep Antibiotics Working Coalition
Dr. Michael Greger; Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at HSUS
Jonathan Balcombe; Animal behavior expert and best-selling author of Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good and Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals
Dr. John Ikerd; Professor emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri, Columbia
Lester Friedlander; Former USDA slaughterhouse inspector
Dr. Noam Mohr; Adjunct professor of Physics at New York University
HIGHLIGHTS: The conference program features a Thursday night welcome reception, plenary sessions and panel discussions on Friday and Saturday, and a Friday banquet dinner. Panels will cover a wide range of factory farming-related topics, including climate change, public health risks, the emotional lives of farm animals, and the economics of industrial animal agriculture. There will also be Q&A sessions, author book signings and a full exhibit hall.
REGISTRATION: For more information and to register, please visit: www.factoryfarmingconference.org. Cost is $150 per person.
Factory farming photos and/or images of farm animalsare available upon request.
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Animal Welfare Groups Win Industry Backing for First-Ever Federal Regulation of Hen Welfare
Groundswell of Public Support Results in Full Court Press for Nationwide Law Protecting Chickens to Replace State-by-State Initiatives
Jul 07, 2011
In a groundbreaking move that should result in the greatest advancement for farmed animals in U.S. history, the United Egg Producers (UEP)has agreed to support national legislation that will, upon enactment, improve the welfare of all laying hens in the nation. Enactment of the bill will bring about the first federal law relating to the treatment of chickens used for food, the first federal law relating to the treatment of animals while on factory farms, and the first farmed animal protection legislation in more than 30 years.
Today's deal is the apex of a 25 year-long struggle that Farm Sanctuary (www.farmsanctuary.org) and other animal protection organizations have had with the egg industry, in which Farm Sanctuary has investigated and produced undercover video of battery farms, produced and disseminated scientific reports on caged hen welfare, initiated statewide ballot initiatives, and constantly mobilized its hundreds of thousands of supporters to write letters, sign petitions, and work on behalf of hens in cages in myriad ways.
Because of the work of Farm Sanctuary supporters and other animal protection advocates across the nation, the UEP now understands the overwhelming opposition to battery cages, which were subject to a ballot initiative in California in 2008, in which California citizens voted overwhelmingly to ban the cages; the initiative received more "yes" votes than any other ballot measure in California history. Similar legislation, on hold as a result of today's agreement, was planned in Washington State and Oregon. Specifically, if it becomes law the legislation will:
- require the nationwide elimination of battery cages--tiny cages that nearly immobilize hundreds of millions of laying hens today;
- require environmental enrichments so that birds can engage in important natural behaviors currently denied to them in barren cages, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas;
- mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as "eggs from caged hens" or "eggs from cage-free hens;"
- prohibit forced molting through starvation--an inhumane practice which is inflicted on tens of millions of hens each year and which involves withholding all food from birds for up to two weeks in order to shock their bodies into another laying cycle;
- prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses--a common problem in the industry that is harmful to both hens and egg industry workers;
- require standards for euthanasia practices; and
- prohibit the sale of all eggs and egg products nationwide that don't meet these requirements.
Some of the provisions will be implemented almost immediately after enactment, such as those relating to starvation, ammonia levels, and euthanasia, and others after just a few years, including labeling and the requirement that all birds will have to have at least 67 square inches of space per bird. Currently, approximately 50 million laying hens are confined at only 48 square inches per bird.Further improvements in mandated minimum space for hens occur later in the agreement.
"This deal represents a majorvictory for farmed animals," explains Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. "For too long, animals on factory farms have had no federal protection from even the most heinous abuse. We are proud of our significant part in making this legislation a reality, and we salute the hard work of animal protection advocates nationwide who worked so hard on behalf of our nation's hens."
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Jason Schwartzman Voices New Film Exploring the Environmental Impacts of Our Food Choices
Short Film “What to Eat” Examines Why What We Eat Matters
Apr 27, 2011
"What to eat?" It is the question on everyone's minds at least three times a day -- more depending on your appetite -- and now a new short film, "What to Eat," narrated by Jason Schwartzman (star of "Rushmore," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and the HBO series "Bored to Death") and supported by top environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Worldwatch Institute, Food and Water Watch, Brighter Green, and Farm Sanctuary, aims to show how eating less meat can help lessen the environmental impact of factory farming. By showing how our food choices have a more serious impact on our environment than the cars we drive, the light bulbs we use or the ways we recycle, the film makes the point that we can all take small steps for positive change.
The engaging film, produced by Greener Media, puts the viewer in the place of the main character -- a relatable family guy voiced by Schwartzman -- and follows him through a typical day, beginning with an early morning alarm and traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs, and ending with an epiphany and a surprise dinner that was not on the menu when he first woke up. Viewers tag along as the protagonist navigates his day -- the morning commute, the office, lunch -- eavesdropping on his often comical -- always familiar -- inner monologue as he grapples with the universal question of "what to eat."
"The devastation inflicted on our environment by factory farms is something we all have the power to stop by doing something as simple as ordering a veggie burger instead of a meat one," says Schwartzman.
"Please join me in taking the pledge to go meat free for a day, a month or longer. It's a lot easier than you think, and let's be real, all burgers taste the same with ketchup."
Side-stepping traditional documentary-style expert interviews, "What to Eat" instead allows viewers to "stumble upon" them naturally along with the narrator while he watches television, listens to the radio, and surfs the Internet at work. By the time the film ends -- a swift four minutes and 30 seconds later -- our narrator's rejection of his usual food choices brought on by exposure to a constant stream of media coverage examining the harmful impacts of factory farming on the environment, personal health and animals feels genuine and inevitable.
"The power of 'What to Eat' is that it reflects the world we live in," says Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, who is heard giving a radio interview in the film. "What may seem like mundane decisions that we make every day have profound consequences. Mainstream media is devoting unprecedented attention to the devastation caused by factory farming and new studies are linking the Earth's most serious environmental threats back to this wasteful and abusive system. By becoming more aware of the impacts of our food choices and eating in a way that is more aligned with our values and interests we are going to see a revolutionary shift."
The film's companion website, platetoplanet.org, provides a wealth of informationabout how factory farming pollutes our air and water, contributes to global warming, produces excess waste, destroys land, wastes water and is a resource-intensive, inefficient means of feeding the world's population.The informative site also features interviews with experts from the Sierra Club, Worldwatch Institute, Food & Water Watch, Brighter Green, and Farm Sanctuary; a how-to guide for making plant-based food choices; and the opportunity for visitors to help protect the planet by pledging to go meat free for a day, a month or a lifetime.
According to a 2006 United Nations report, "Livestock's Long Shadow," the meat industry is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global" as it wastes valuable natural resources, pollutes our air, decimates our forests, poisons our water supply, and produces greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change.
Says Ed Hopkins, director of the Sierra Club's Environmental Quality Program, "We need to move to a whole different agricultural system, one that is more based on plant agriculture, as opposed to animal agriculture and one that is more community based, more locally based, more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and produces healthier food."
To view the short film "What to Eat," visit: platetoplanet.org.
A promo for the film starring Jason Schwartzman can be viewed here.
To speak with Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur about the environmental impacts of factory farming, please contact Meredith Turner at 646-369-6212 or mturner@farmsanctuary.org.
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USDA Seeks Comments on Disabled Livestock Petition Submitted by Farm Sanctuary
Nation’s Leading Farm Animal Protection Organization Demands Federal Regulations to Curb Inhumane Handling of Sick and Injured Animals
Feb 25, 2011
The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is asking for public comments on a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by Farm Sanctuary (www.farmsanctuary.org), the nation's leading farm animal protection organization,requesting that regulations be extended, beyond cattle, to prohibit the slaughter of non-ambulatory pigs, goats, sheep and other farm animals. Non-ambulatory livestock, commonly referred to as "downers" or "downed" animals, are animals too ill or injured to stand or walk unassisted. According to findings released by the USDA in 2005, the annual number of downed sheep in the United States was estimated at 39,000, downed goats 36,000, and although there are no USDA statistics, industry reports estimate there are approximately 850,000 downed pigs every year.
The petition urges that downed pigs, goats, and sheep be humanely euthanized and not sent to slaughter for human consumption. Transporting, handling and slaughtering these incapacitated animals is inhumane, and as long as they can be used for human food there is an economic incentive to engage in these cruel practices. In addition, the slaughter of ill and injured animals for human consumption poses a serious human health and safety risk, as downed animals are more likely to be infected with and transmit food-borne illnesses. Several non-compliance reports demonstrating workers shocking, prodding, dragging and otherwise abusing downed animals at federally-inspected facilities are referenced, and the petition concludes that if slaughter were prohibited, facilities would have an incentive to treat animals better to prevent them from becoming ill, injured and downed in the first place.
A recent undercover investigation at a federally-inspected facility showing slaughterhouse workers kicking cows, prodding them with the blades of a forklift, jabbing them repeatedly in the eyes and other sensitive areas with electric shock prods, and forcing water up their nostrils with a hose in attempts to make them to rise to their feet, led the USDA, in its 2009 rulemaking regarding non-ambulatory cattle, to recognize the enormous potential for abuse and inhumane treatment when animals become downed.
"We appreciate that theFood Safety and Inspection Servicehas finally made good on its long stated intention to prevent downed cattle from entering the food supply, and that it is now considering other species," says Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur. "Pigs, goats and sheep are highly sensitive, intelligent creatures who are equally capable of experiencing pain and distress during inhumane handling as cattle and should be afforded the same protections from abuse. We hope FSIS will take the logical next step by extending 9 C.F.R. section 309.3(e) to all farm animals. The USDA has an obligation to ensure the humane treatment of animals at slaughter facilities and this regulation is 100% necessary to carry out that responsibility."
According to a 2003 Zogby poll, 77% of Americans find slaughter of non-ambulatory animals for human consumption unacceptable. Since 1986, Farm Sanctuary has advocated an end to downed animal abuse and urged the USDA to ban their marketing through the organization's No Downers Campaign. During the past quarter-century, the organization has worked for passage of the first laws in this country to end the marketing of downed animals, achieved the first cruelty convictions of slaughterhouses and stockyards, and rescued and rehabilitated downed animals.
Comments on the proposal will be accepted through April 8, 2011. A copy of the petition is available here.
The public is encouraged to join Farm Sanctuary in urging the USDA to extend the 2009 "no downer" rule to include downed pigs, goats, sheep, and other farm animals.
To speak with Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur or receive images/b-roll of downed animals, please contact Meredith Turner at 646-369-6212 or mturner@farmsanctuary.org.
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