Schwarzenegger helping hens

By 2015, egg farmers In California have to get rid of battery cages and allow hens to be able to “stand up, lie down, turn around and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure.” Just this week, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill that extends this stipulation to any egg producers who want to do business in California. This is progress . . .

Click here for the full article.

Book Reviews: Children's Books

Check out the December issue of VegFamily Magazine for reviews of some children's books that promote vegetarianism, kindness to animals and healthful eating. My pick is Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli!

Standard for Naturally-Raised Meat

Here's a press release from Consumers Union about new standards for "naturally raised" meat. Do you call animals that have been cloned or genetically engineered naturally raised? How about animals confined indoors for their lifetime and fed pesticide laced food?

News Release: Consumers Union – Publisher of Consumer Reports

 

Consumers Union and Food & Water Watch say new USDA standard for so-called naturally-raised  meat sanctions unnatural practices

 

WASHINGTON -- Following news reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had issued a voluntary standard for so-called “naturally raised” livestock and meat marketing claims, Consumers Union (CU) and Food & Water Watch (FWW) criticized the last-minute regulation, saying the labeling effort was misleading and fell short of consumer expectations.  The announcement comes days before the change in federal government administrations in Washington. 

The naturally raised marketing claim standard states livestock used for meat production have been raised without growth promotants and without antibiotics, except for ionophores used as coccidiostats for parasite control, and have not been fed animal by-products.

CU and FWW said, aiming to ban antibiotics, animal byproducts, and growth promotants are all important practices that should be labeled specifically and discreetly and not couched under a vague and misleading term that does not address how the animals were raised, their main diet, treatment of animals, space requirements and other concerns.

 

"This regulation will allow an animal that has come from a cloned or genetically engineered stock, was physically altered, raised in confinement without ever seeing the light of day or green of pasture, in poor hygiene conditions with a diet laced in pesticides to be labeled as ‘naturally raised.’  This falls significantly short of consumer expectations and only adds to the roster of misleading label claims approved by USDA for so-called natural meat," said Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Senior Scientist and Policy Analyst at Consumers Union.

 

"These last minute rules for the 'naturally-raised' label on meat practically invite agribusiness to greenwash their products and rip off consumers" stated Patty Lovera, assistant director for consumer group Food & Water Watch.  "Until these standards are revised, consumers will have to navigate another set of misleading labels at the grocery store."

 

USDA said it received more that 44,000 comments about the rule, while Consumers Union and FWW generated more than 36,000 signatures stating that the USDA's proposed standards for "naturally raised" were flawed, would only confuse consumers and should be withdrawn. 

 

A national telephone poll conducted by Consumer Reports’ National Research Center released in November 2008 showed American consumers want the “naturally raised” meat claim to mean more than USDA's proposed standard, including that it came from an animal that:

• Had a diet free of chemicals, drugs and animal byproducts (86%)

• Was raised in a natural environment (85%)

• Ate a natural diet (85%)

• Was not cloned or genetically engineered (78%)

• Had access to the outdoors (77%)

• Was treated humanely (76%)

• Was not confined (68%)

 

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, is an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization serving the consumer. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition, and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers.

 

Media contact: David Butler, Consumers Union, 202-462-6262

Hormel pork supplier charged

An Iowa Sherriff has announced that 22 charges of livestock neglect and abuse have been filed against six current and former employees of the Hormel supplier that PETA recently investigated. For more than three months, PETA went undercover at an Iowa pig factory farm, which supplies piglets who are raised and killed for Hormel products. They found rampant cruelty to animals committed by workers and supervisors. Abuse and neglect were widespread during the entire investigation.

These are just some of the abuses that were documented:

- A supervisor shoved a cane into a sow's vagina, struck her on the back about 17 times, and then struck another sow.
- Multiple pigs were beaten with metal gate rods, and lacerations were found on more than 30 sows, which is probably evidence of more abuse.
- A worker hit a young pig in the face four times with the edge of a herding board, and investigators witnessed dozens of similar incidents involving this worker and 11 other workers.
- Two men, including a supervisor, were witnessed jabbing clothespins into pigs' eyes and faces. - A supervisor also poked two animals in the eyes with his fingers.
- A supervisor kicked a young pig in the face, abdomen, and genitals to make her move and told PETA's investigator, "You gotta beat on the bitch. Make her cry."

To learn more about the investigation and charges, go to: http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse2

And btw, findings on this Iowa pig farm, however, were not limited to cruelty to animals. PETA also documented an apparent violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Animals who were to be killed for human consumption were sprayed with a substance that contains gentian violet (a chemical that is linked to certain cancers) thereby making their flesh "adulterated" under federal law.

By purchasing pigs bred and born on this farm and then grown elsewhere before being slaughtered for Hormel products, Hormel is financially supporting an operation whose employees abuse animals. If you eat meat, look for local, humanely raised and slaughtered animals and if you live in California, vote 'yes' on proposition 2 to protect farm animals from abuse.

Leather Free Shoes

There are several reaons to avoid leather. First because of the animals - conditions are hideous in overseas slaughterhouses where leather comes from (primarily India and China, reports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). There are environmental and health reasons as well —turning animal skin to leather requires a large amount of energy and a toxic mix of chemicals including formaldehyde, coal tar and some cyanide-containing finishes. The tanning process is just as pollutant-laced, and both leave chemicals in the water supply and on the hands (and in the lungs) of workers.

Animal-free vegan shoes, however, can be hard to find - especially for children, though Crocs are very popular. Here are a few resources:

There are adult vegan shoes at http://www.allveganshopping.com/, http://www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com/, http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/, http://www.veganessentials.com/ and http://www.veganstore.com./

For kids, try http://www.kidbean.com/. From the soft-soled adorably designed Isabooties made with synthetic Ultrasuede, to flexible pleather uppers for first-time walkers to slip-on hemp shoes in a rainbow of earth tones with recycled tire soles, the shoes seem ideal for toddlers just learning to balance who need a good deal of flexibility and “feelability” in their shoes. The site was started by a mom tired of having to hunt and pick through various websites to find a full spectrum of natural, vegan baby products. For parents of budding dancers, a vegan alternative ballet slipper can be had from the Cynthia King Dance Studio in Brooklyn, New York. The dance instructor and studio owner approached a local shoemaker when she couldn’t find an affordable outlet for vegan slippers, and now provides them to the world at http://www.cynthiakingdance.com/.

Interesting information about beef recall

There is a great article with lots of information about the recall and beef in general - plus a video of what was done to the cows at Hallmark/Westland Meat.

Does anyone else find it appalling that Hallmark/Westland Meat was named the school lunch program's "Supplier of the Year" ? If they are the best of the bunch, how bad are the other suppliers!

The article also explains that small farmers are not allowed to slaughter their beef even though the could do it in a more humane, clean way but must ship their cattle to federall inspected slaughterhouses - supposedly for the consumers safety . . .

Also, read about the link between downer cows and mad cow disease and how it is virtually impossible to trace the meat causing mad cow disease because it can take up to 30 years to show up.

Also, it reiterates what I've said before - if you choose to eat meat, go grassfed and local if possible.

Here's the link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/3/4/usda-orders-largest-meat-recall-in-u-s-history.aspx

PETA protesting KFC

PETA has been organizing protests at Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. They claim that as the leading chicken buyer (more than 850 million a year), they have the responsibility to demand humane treatment for its chickens.

Chickens are the most abused of all factory farmed animals. They are routinely:

- painfully debeaked using a hot blade
- crammed into cages with barely enough room to move
- bred and drugged to be so heavy so fast they their legs cannot support their weight and often break
- have their throats slit while they are alive
- are scalded alive

I watched the Kentucky Fried Cruelty DVD and there was footage taken secretly of workers kicking and stomping on live chickens - just for fun.

I don't recommend eating at fast food restaurants but if you do, please boycott KFC - and consider not eating chicken at all.

For more information, go to www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com