Command and Control - Animal Welfare Style

Two states, Michigan and Ohio, are considering legislation to keep animal care and well-being in the hands of the two states rather than the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

The legislation has bipartisan support.

In Michigan, the legislation would establish the Michigan Agriculture Commission and Michigan Agriculture Department the sole authority for regulation of livestock and poultry health and welfare; it would also establish science-based standards for animal care that producers must implement by 2020, establish an animal care advisory council to keep the standards updated and establish a third-party auditing system to make sure the standards are in place.

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What is interesting is that the creation of this committee must be ratified in an election.

This is being done to stop HSUS from forcing cage-free methods on egg producers through public referendums. If they wish to achieve their goal: I would advise that the rules do not include a charge to implement "science-based" standards for animal care. Most of the science I have seen suggests cage-free methods are better than cage methods for the animals. In Europe, a "scientific" report states that the cage method is the only method that cannot provide adequate care.

Consumers Need Ham and Eggonomics!

Oh! That was such a vain statement!

A recent study shows that organic and animal advocates dominate the online food debate. When consumers hit the web to search for info, they information they tend to encounter is that from organic and animal rights/welfare people.

There is an increasing presence of the animal industry, much needed, thanks to Trent Loos and Feedstuffs Foodlink.

Yet there is also a need for voices like mine, who sympathize and criticize both sides, and possess no monetary allegiance to anyone except my own conscious.

Hooray for Ham and Eggonomics!.

Broiler Production Video

For those unaware of how chickens destined for meat production are raised, this video is excellent. While egg farms have obstacles to overcome before they can be said to provide their birds with a pleasant life, broiler farms I believe provide high standards of care.

Broiler farms could improve the genetic profile of the birds so that there are less leg injuries, and the feed restrictions of the broiler breeders should be addressed. However, there are simply no financial incentives to do so. Consumers must exert a willingness to pay more for these improvements! If they could just overcome these two problems, I would give the broiler industry very high marks.

Chipotle, more good than bad

Chipotle has long touted its food with integrity slogan, bragging about how their hogs are raised in a more humane environment than factory farms. Trent Loos recently wrote a thought-provoking rebuttal, noting that hogs allowed access to pasture will drink their own urine and those of other pigs, and that chickens with pasture will feed on the carcasses of dead animals.

Trent is right in these regards, but I still prefer the Chipotle philosophy of hog production. I had working on several hog farms before I visited a farm that supplied Chipotle. Before this visit, I had never seen a hog run. I had never seen a hog play in the mud. I had never seen a hog seem to enjoy its life.

There are some drawbacks to giving animals access to outdoors, especially in the case of chickens where predators can easily kill half of the animals. Yet when it comes to hogs, I still prefer Chipotle to modern factory hog farms. I don't think that I am mislead or naive to believe that hogs should be allowed to turn around, walk, and play in the mud. If we are to raise animals for food, at the very least they should be given a life where they experience some positive emotions.

Ham and Eggonomics Combo

Ham and Eggonomics Combo

(1) The more we explore the more similarities we find in ourselves and animals. About 3-10% of humans are at least partially gay, and it turns out that almost all animal species exhibit same-sex behavior. Nine-spined stickleback, who we would initially think operates by instinct alone, actually have a sophisticated method of learning, based on their observations of their peers relative to their own experience. In short, sometimes, they are rather intelligent.

(2) We aren't doing well enough. One-sixth of humans are undernourished.

(3) It is sad that so many in the world are undernourished, while in the U.S. we have such large surpluses of nutrients that the amount of nitrogen leaving our fields and entering the Gulf of Mexico is the among the largest ever measured.

(4) In my upcoming book on farm animal welfare, I argue that one piece of evidence that animals are sentient is that they communicate in a social setting. It turns out that sagebrush plants communicate in this manner. They warn their peers of danger, and have a sense of self-recognition. Yet, this is not really relevant to the farm animal welfare issue. Protons, neutrons, and electrons also communicate, and so do atoms on opposite sides of the universe. Without a nervous system and a brain, communication is not related to sentience.

(5) Studies keep trying to link obesity to proximity to fast food outlets, while others argue the link is not present. I argue it does not matter. Committees or governments should never attempt to decide where people should live and where McDonalds should locate. Those are decision that should be left to the consumers and the food retailers.

(6) Having a higher purpose in life lowers one's risk of death. What constitutes a higher purpose than growing food? What constitutes a higher purpose than making sure animals raised for food are treated kindly?

Science Behind Hen Welfare

Agricultural industries keep claiming that animal rights groups do not base their ideas on "science". Groups like HSUS, it is said, prefer cage-free egg production due to emotion, but the "science" says cage production is best.

Not so fast, says Ham and Eggonomics. The table below comes from a "scientific" study that ranks cage production last in terms of animal welfare, and cage-free better than cage production. We raise eggs in cages because it is cheaper, not because science shows cages to be better for the hen. Let's argue. Debate is good, but let's be honest.

Source: De Mol, R.M., W.G.P. Schouten, E. Evers, H. Drost, H.W.J. Houwers and A.C. Smits. 2006. “A Computer Model for Welfare Assessment of Poultry Production Systems for Laying Hens.” Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science. 54:157-168.

HSUS University: Being Squimish 101

The Humane Society of the United States is now offerring bachelor degrees? Yes, they are. Who saw that coming? Is there a class on being squimish at the site of meat?

Over at Advocates for Agriculture, Troy Hadrick comments, Normally, in order to receive a Bachelor of Science degree, you have to learn and utilize real scientific methodology during your studies. This doesn’t really jive with the normal operating procedures of the HSUS. Their emotion filled arguments contain more feeling than fact. I can only imagine what they will teach their students about livestock and food production.

Actually, Troy, "science" tends to lend more support for the agricultural practices HSUS pursues than the practices U.S. industries prefer. See here and here.