I was recently in Washington, DC, home to some of our nation’s most revered monuments.

The ideals of our nation are etched in stone throughout the Capitol city, including these words from Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “Men and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men.” Industrialized factory farming is terribly out of balance. It subjects animals to intolerable abuse, destroys our environment, and threatens the health and well being of consumers and rural communities.

The factory farming industry has gotten away with its cruel and irresponsible behavior for decades, wielding undue influence over both federal and state legislatures, and exempting themselves from basic humane laws. But some states permit citizens to put issues on the ballot, circumventing legislative bodies controlled by powerful interests. That’s exactly what has happened in California, and on November 4^th, Californians will be voting on Proposition 2, which seeks to outlaw three cruel farming systems – veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages.  

California is the largest agricultural state in the U.S., and it sets national trends, so Proposition 2 will have a wide ranging impact. Agribusiness is spending millions of dollars to confuse voters as it attempts to defeat Proposition 2, but let’s hope that their Orwellian efforts fail and that the cruelty of factory farming is rebuked this Election Day. If you live in California, please vote YES on Prop 2, and urge everybody you know to vote yes too. If you don’t live in California, please urge any Californians you know to vote YES on this basic humane measure.

If we succeed in passing Proposition 2, it will send a powerful message to agribusiness that its wanton disregard for animal welfare is outside the bounds of acceptable conduct in our society. Proposition 2 is a good example of our democracy in action. It’s the most significant initiative ever undertaken to protect farm animals, and will help bring about a new deal for these often forgotten beings.

In the 1990s, Oprah Winfrey was sued by the beef industry after airing a program that discussed concerns about mad cow disease. She hadn’t seriously revisited issues related to animal agriculture until last week when she devoted her entire show to a discussion of Proposition 2 in California.

Concerns about the cruel treatment of animals on factory farms are reaching mainstream audiences like never before, and millions of citizens are seeing images of industrial animal confinement for the first time. Lisa Ling, the correspondent who worked on the Oprah program wrote about her experience:

“Never having ever visited farms from which eggs and pork products are produced, I visited a couple standard ones and I can't say that I'll ever think the same way… When I visited the caged egg and pig farms, I was shocked by how efficient, mechanical and computerized everything was. They were literally churning out product at rapid-fire pace...animal product. I must say that it was hugely eye-opening to see 90 thousand hens under one roof. There were 6 to a tiny cage, all on top of each other, fed antibiotics--covered in feces. It wasn't exactly, the wide-open space farm that I envisioned… Anyone who says that it is anything other than the wholesale factorization of living things is fooling themselves….”

Agribusiness is trying to convince consumers that it is healthy and humane to confine animals in cages and crates so tightly that they cannot turn around or stretch their limbs, but their arguments ring hollow. Their crowded, manure laden farms breed disease, and when citizens see how the animals are treated, they are appalled. This November, Californians will have an opportunity to end intolerable suffering and to assert a basic humane principle by voting Yes on Prop 2.

I recently visited California and attended a Gala in support of Proposition 2, which was hosted by Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi. The event featured moving performances by Carol King and Moby and raised funds to help air television commercials in California in support of Proposition 2.

Proposition 2 is the most significant effort ever undertaken in the U.S. to protect farm animals from intolerable abuse. It seeks to ban three cruel confinement systems:  veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages, and if successful, will lessen the suffering of 20 million animals. California is the largest agricultural state in the U.S., and it is the sixth largest egg producing state. Enacting Prop 2 will send ripples across the nation and help codify the fundamental principle that all animals (including those exploited in agriculture) deserve to be treated with respect.

I was deeply moved to see so much enthusiasm for Prop 2 among animal advocates in California. But factory farm corporations across the country are raising millions to try and defeat this basic humane measure. We don’t have their resources, but it’s critical that we do whatever we can to advance this crucial effort.

For decades, agribusiness has exploited tax payer subsidies and preferential government support, and banked massive profits at the public’s expense.  Its callous abuse of animals and careless destruction of the environment go hand in hand with mistreating workers and deceiving consumers.

As part of the campaign to oppose Proposition 2 (a citizens’ initiative that seeks to ban cruel factory farm confinement systems in California agribusiness and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) appropriated $3 million to run advertisements. Supporters of Proposition 2 went to court and challenged this wrongful use of government administered funds to influence an election, and this week a U.S. judge banned the illegal expenditure. This is very good news, but despite it, the opposition has still amassed a war chest of approximately $8 million to wage their shameful campaign.

Meanwhile, an article appearing on the front page of the Wall Street Journal reveals that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating members of the egg industry for illegal price fixing. It has subpoenaed records from some of the leading opponents of Proposition 2, including the United Egg Producers (UEP), Golden Oval Eggs LLC, Michael Foods Inc. and MoArk LLC, as part of the criminal probe.

Agribusiness needs to be held accountable and forced to conduct itself in a way that is lawful and consistent with societal values.  We have seen that they will do practically anything to maintain the intolerable status quo.

Now more than ever, with just over one month before the election, citizens opposed to cruelty and injustice NEED to do everything possible to support Proposition 2.

I’ve written before about the importance of passing Proposition 2 in California, which seeks to end some of factory farming’s cruelest systems (veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages) where animals are confined so tightly that they cannot walk, turn around, or even stretch their limbs. Most citizens oppose animal abuse, and recent polls have shown a majority of Californians support passage of Prop 2.

But agribusiness is dumping millions of dollars into their campaign to mislead voters in attempts to defeat Prop 2. In one 24-hour period last week, they added more than 4 million dollars to their war chest – money they will likely use to air slick commercials and make false assertions that factory farms benefit food safety, workers, animals and the environment. But the empirical evidence tells a very different story. Numerous studies, including a highly respected Pew Commission report that came out earlier this year, describe how industrial animal agriculture harms animals, the environment, consumers and rural communities.

Corporations opposing Proposition 2 are notorious for abusing animals, workers and the environment, and for misleading consumers. They are willing to expend vast resources to maintain the cruel status quo. We don’t have their money, but we have thousands of citizens who are actively engaged in the YES! on Prop 2 campaign.  With less than two months before the election, it is absolutely critical that we do everything we can to enact this basic humane measure. Please get involved today!

 

For decades, industrialized animal agriculture has acted with reckless self-entitlement, abusing animals and bullying those who challenge their routine cruelty.  Factory farms mistreat workers, pollute the environment, threaten rural communities and public health, and they manipulate government institutions to avoid responsibility for the harms they cause.

Agribusiness also has quasi governmental institutions, such as the American Egg Board (AEB), which work with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to promote sales. The American Egg Board’s mission is marketing, and it is prohibited from “influencing government policy or action.” But the AEB  has allocated millions of dollars to help oppose Proposition 2, a citizens’ initiative in California that seeks to ban some of the cruelest types of factory farm confinement - veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages.  The Yes on Prop 2 campaign has sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Egg Board over the unlawful allocation of $3 million to campaign against the enactment of Prop 2 this November.

The factory farming industry routinely misleads citizens in order to maintain its advantageous position and the cruel status quo. A recent op-ed by one of their “experts” made the explicitly false claim that gestation crates are necessary to protect piglets from their mothers. Not only is it nonsensical to say mothers can’t care for their young (as demonstrated here at Farm Sanctuary where pregnant gestation sows recently rescued from Iowa floods have given birth and proven to be fantastic mothers), but there are no piglets in gestation crates in the first place. Gestation crates are where breeding sows are kept during their gestation period.

We must continue to expose abuse, to challenge unethical, dishonest, and illegal behavior, and to demonstrate that as a society we oppose cruelty and injustice. The leading edge of our fight is Prop 2 in California, and it is absolutely critical that we support this vitally important effort.

I’ve spent the last several days here in California where the enthusiasm and energy among animal advocates  for the Yes on Proposition 2 campaign is palpable. The effort aims to ban veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages in California and it represents the most sweeping legislation of its kind to date.  Qualifying for this November’s ballot thanks to the dedication of thousands of caring volunteers, the measure garnered a whopping 800,000 signatures from California residents.

In the past few days, I did a couple of media interviews, and enjoyed meeting with activists around the state, including at a book signing at Time Tested Books in Sacramento and at several events in southern California.

Adding to the positive energy, a recent field poll found that nearly two thirds of voters are likely to support Proposition 2. But agribusiness interests across the U.S. are now rallying and  spending millions of dollars to fight this basic humane measure. True to form, groups known for animal cruelty and misleading advertizing are now concocting ludicrous scenarios seeking to scare and confuse voters.

Our position is clear. All animals, including farm animals, deserve to be treated with compassion. Confining them in cages and crates so tightly that they cannot even turn around or stretch their limbs violates basic humane principles.

The next few months will be critical.  Now is the time for citizens to support the Yes on Proposition 2 campaign. If you live in California, please also help raise awareness and urge others to vote
Yes on 2. Literature, bumper stickers and other materials are available.

Thank you for caring and for helping to make a difference.

Nearly 800,000 Californians signed a petition to place the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (Proposition 2) on this November’s ballot.  The measure aims to ban some of the cruelest factory farming confinement systems (veal crates for calves, gestation crates for breeding pigs and battery cages for egg laying hens.) The lives of 20 million animals in California, mostly egg laying hens, are at stake.

Feedstuffs, the Wall Street Journal of agribusiness, published an editorial titled “California Dam Must Not Be Breached” urging industry to dig in and fight Proposition 2, saying that the initiative “will affect all of livestock and poultry production across the entire U.S., if not North America.”  And, in just the last two weeks, animal industries added more than 1 million dollars to their war chest under the dubiously named campaign committee, “Californians for Safe Food.”  In his blog, HSUS President, Wayne Pacelle, suggested a couple more accurate names for the industry committee: “Industrialized Factory Farms Seeking Profits at the Expense of Animals” or the “Committee for Treating Animals Like Objects.”

Agribusiness is mounting a major campaign to defeat this basic humane measure, and money is pouring in from across the U.S. Some of our nation’s most notorious animal abusers are supporting the opposition, including: Moark LLC, a company that paid $100,000 to settle an animal cruelty case after a concerned neighbor videotaped company workers throwing live birds into a dumpster, and Gemperle, a California egg factory with a long history of animal cruelty that was uncovered by Farm Sanctuary in 2005 and 2007, and whose abuses made the news earlier this year after a Mercy for Animals investigation.

It is critical that we dig deep and combat the intolerable cruelty by supporting “Californians for Humane Farms”.