FEED - February 2007
Contents
- Good news for pigs: Gestation crates being phased out
- Good news for rural communities: Manitoba limits hog farms
- Victory in engineered bentgrass case
- Cloned food can't be sold as organic
- What you can do: Attend a hearing on factory farming
1. Good news for pigs: Gestation crates being phased out
Both the world's largest pork producer, U.S.-based Smithfield Farms, and Canada's largest pork producer, Maple Leaf Foods, are phasing out the use of gestation crates for pigs over the next decade. These metal cages confine pregnant sows for months at a time in an area so small that they cannot turn around, causing the animals physical and mental distress. Both companies will transition their sows to group housing in pens instead. Smithfield's decision came after Arizona and Florida passed ballot initiatives banning gestation crates, and corporate customers pressured it to adopt more humane practices. Sows will still be confined in the small crates for a time after they give birth. Read more in The New York Times (free reg. req'd.).
2. Good news for rural communities: Manitoba limits hog farms
The Canadian province of Manitoba has placed a moratorium on construction of new hog farms until it has determined whether it is environmentally safe to expand hog operations. The crowded, unsanitary conditions under which hogs are typically raised can cause health problems for both humans and animals. Furthermore, the production of large amounts of manure in a single location can contaminate soil and waterways because there is simply too much manure for the surrounding farmland to absorb. In a move welcomed by the environmental community, Manitoba's Clean Environment Commission announced that it would review all proposed projects to determine the impact on water quality of expanding hog operations. Read more.
3. Victory in engineered bentgrass case
In a landmark case, the U.S. District Court ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) failed to enforce rules governing the cultivation of genetically engineered bentgrass, a lawn and golf course grass that contains a gene for herbicide resistance. The USDA improperly waived environmental assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act and failed to assess the potential for bentgrass to become a noxious weed, as required by the Plant Protection Act. Bentgrass in Oregon test plots interbred with wild grasses and established colonies of hybrid plants that carried engineered genes up to 9,800 feet beyond the 900-foot containment recommended by the USDA. The ruling eliminates the USDA's current practice of waiving environmental assessments of experimental engineered crops. The USDA reviews about 1,000 such field trials each year. Read more from the Center for Food Safety.
4. Cloned food can't be sold as organic
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program has issued a statement that even if cloned animals are approved for sale as food, they cannot be sold as organic. Cloning is "incompatible with the Organic Foods Production Act," no matter how the animals are raised, the statement said. Whether or not clones' offspring could be organic has not been decided. Read more in The Washington Post or on the National Organic Program site (pdf).
5. What you can do: Speak at a hearing on factory farming
The National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production is holding a series of public hearings around the country on factory farming. The task of the commission, an independent entity launched by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is to examine the impact of factory farming on public health, the environment, rural areas, and animal welfare. Its final report and recommendations could be very influential, so it is important for the commission to hear from family farmers, citizens in communities affected by factory farming, and others who have particular knowledge of the issues. Visit http://www.ncifap.org/meetings/ to see hearing locations and dates, and to sign up to speak.
