Over the last few days the New York Times has paid some much needed attention to the plight of animals used for food. The Friday October 24 edition included a lengthy piece headed, "A California Ballot Measure Offers Rights for Farm Animals." And today's October 26 New York Times Magazine section includes a feature about the work of HSUS's Wayne Pacelle and others on California's Proposition 2, and about farm animal advocacy in general, headed "The Barnyard Strategist."
Friday's article, by Jesse McKinley, opens with a line that unfortunately ignores the sows and calves who will be aided by California's Proposition 2. She writes:
"In the end, it all comes down to eggs."
She continues:
"On Nov. 4, California voters will be asked to decide on Proposition 2, an animal rights ballot measure that would grant the farm animals in California the opportunity to spread their hooves and claws, rather than being confined to restrictive cages, as many chickens, sows and veal cattle now are.
"But because veal and pork are not major industries in California, the battle over Proposition 2 is focused almost exclusively on the state's henhouses, which opponents say will be hard hit by higher production costs if the measure passes."
I assert here that while it may be true that the hens have become the focus of the battle -- because they are the most plentiful and because the farm industry would prefer that we forget about the other animals -- it is important that we don't ignore any being who will be aided by the measure.
The article includes quotes by industry spokesperson suggesting the ban on battery cages will "wipe out the California egg farmers" and includes quotes from animal advocacy spokespersons such as HSUS's Wayne Pacelle, who says, ''If animals are going to be killed for food, the least we can do is treat them with decency and give them a semblance of life.''
It tells us, "The two sides do agree that the ballot issue is sure to be the most expensive -- and quite likely the most bruising -- animal rights campaign ever."
Indeed the costs are astronomical, but the ripple effect on the way animals are treated in the US is expected, by all sides, to be profound. Please go to https://donate.yesonprop2.com/page/contribute/tv_ad to see the pro Prop 2 advertisement, and to make a donation to help keep it on the air.
You can read Friday's full New York Times article on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/us/24egg.html and respond with a letter to the editor sent to letters@nytimes. com
Sunday's New York Times Magazine feature, "The Barnyard Strategist" is by Maggie Jones. It opens with a description of HSUS's investigative work. We read that it showed "workers using chains to drag cows too sick or too injured to stand. The workers jabbed cows with electrical prods and rolled them with a forklift to get them onto their feet and into the slaughter chute."
Jones tells us, "In addition to being excessively cruel, it was a risk to human health: cows too sick or injured to walk are more vulnerable to E. coli, mad cow and other diseases."
She continues:
"After the Humane Society released the video to the San Bernardino County district attorney, the story made national news. Within weeks, the local district attorney filed charges of animal cruelty against workers at Westland/Hallmark. And the U.S.D.A. ordered the largest beef recall in U.S. history."
This article also discusses California's Proposition 2 telling us, "Because California is the largest agriculture state in the country, and often a trend-setter on social issues, the ballot is a bellwether for farm-animal-welfare reform nationwide. Many experts predict that if Proposition 2 becomes law it will create a ripple effect, putting pressure on other states to pass similar reforms and pushing major food corporations to go crate-free and cage-free."
We read:
"Proposition 2 also marks a seminal moment for Pacelle, who, since he became the head of the Humane Society four years ago, has transformed America's largest animal-welfare group - long known as a kindly protector of the nation's dogs and cats - into an organization he likens to a National Rifle Association for the animal movement: a savvy, unapologetically aggressive political player. He has amped up his 10.3-million-member organization by merging with several smaller animal-welfare groups, cherry-picking some of their top leaders and boosting his budget from $75 million to $127 million, making the Humane Society the richest and most powerful animal-welfare group in the country, with its own in-house investigation, litigation and campaign teams.
"And though his organization still does plenty for cats and dogs, Pacelle has made farm animals a top priority over the past four years. 'Nine billion animals are killed for food every year, and most of them are confined in intensive conditions,' he told his staff members not long after he was appointed president of the organization in 2004. 'It is the greatest abuse of animals that occurs on this planet.'"
We learn that a "key element in Pacelle's strategy has been to create ballot measures that offer only modest reforms on which both vegans and hamburger lovers (at least many of them) can agree. That tactic, however, has earned Pacelle his share of critics, including some who claim that while the ballot initiatives may seem moderate, they are just a first step in a vegan agenda to dictate what Americans eat. On the other side, extreme vegan groups say Pacelle has sold out, giving carnivores a reason to feel virtuous about eating 'happy meat.'"
We also read, "Pacelle says he can see the potential to influence millions of animal lovers by pushing them to expand their concerns, moving beyond the cuddly dogs and cats - and the baby seals and dolphins - that capture Americans' attention to include the billions of less-visible and far-less- romanticized pigs, cows and chickens raised for food every year."
The article discusses the way HSUS tactics differ from groups such as PETA, which may be seen as more abrasive and dogmatic. Pacelle says, "Any social movement evolves."
I cannot, in this summary, do justice to the lengthy and fascinating article, which tells us about some of the other players in the Proposition 2 campaign, and about HSUS's tactical approach to making a difference for the animals. It is well worth reading. You'll find it on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/magazine/26animal-t.html
Please keep the discussion of animal advocacy alive in the New York Times Magazine by sending a letter to the editor at magazine@nytimes. com
Californians, please write to your local papers about the value of Proposition 2. Your few minutes of effort could influence thousands of voters and make the difference, in a close election, for millions of animals. You will find information on www.yesonprop2.com website or in my Los Angeles Times "blowback" piece from last week at http://tinyurl.com/626cmt
Don't hesitate to ask me for help if you have any trouble finding the correct email address for a letter to your editor. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending your letter. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any exact phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.