Farm Animals

Guest blog by Daisy Freund, Manager of the ASPCA’s Farm Animal Campaign

Did you know that more than 10 billion animals are raised for dairy, meat and eggs each year in the U.S.? Most of these animals are crammed together by the hundreds or thousands. Not only do these factory farms have poor or nonexistent animal welfare standards—but they’re also environmental nightmares.

Here are the top five ways factory farms are hurting the Earth:

• Animal agriculture generates 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, including 9% of carbon dioxide, 65% of nitrous oxide emissions and 37% of methane emissions. Most of that methane comes from belching cows and rotting manure.
• In the U.S., confined animals generate three times more raw waste than humans generate. Their manure is commonly stored in open-air “poop lagoons,” which release dangerous toxins such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane into the air and leach heavy metals, drugs and other additives given to the animals into the ground water. That’s just gross!
• The waste is often used as crop fertilizer and over-applied to nearby fields, resulting in further air pollution and high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in the water supply. Excess nitrogen robs water of oxygen and destroys aquatic life.  
• Factory farms deplete our water by using large volumes for cleaning, cooling and drinking.
• The fossil fuels required to raise this staggering number of animals and produce their food emit 90 million tons of carbon dioxide worldwide every year. More than half of the world’s corn is fed to animals, and corn requires more nitrogen fertilizer than any other crop.

So what can you do to help? Check out our Top 10 Ways You Can Fight Factory Farming—and please share this post with your friends on social media using the hashtag #FactoryFarmsStink.

Guest blog by Sherry Rout, ASPCA Government Relations State Legislative Director, Southern Region

Animal abuse is atrocious and perpetrators of abuse should be stopped. Furthermore, mistreatment of farm animals can be a serious threat to our food supply. Unfortunately, the Tennessee legislature doesn’t think so—and it would rather attack the people who report animal cruelty, food safety violations and other problems in agricultural settings.

Earlier this week, S.B. 1248/H.B. 1191— legislation that protects animal abusers and preserves the chronic mistreatment of livestock and horses—passed both houses of the Tennessee legislature.   

On the Senate floor, when asked about the true intent of the legislation, the bill’s sponsor Senator Delores Gresham replied that the intent is to “stop the abuse.” In a House committee hearing, however, the House sponsor was more truthful: After listing the various industrial agriculture entities in the state that stand to benefit from this legislation, Rep. Holt stated: “The intention of this bill was to guard the economic value of these industries.” So, there we have it: The true intent of the bill, as stated by the House sponsor, is to protect industrial agriculture.

Undercover investigations are not meant to bankrupt industrial agriculture. Comprehensive investigations are intended to document chronic patterns of animal abuse that alert the public to these problems and, when the conditions are illegal, result in more convictions of abusers. This is the goal that Sen. Gresham says she is seeking. Greater transparency of conditions also protects consumers from animals that, if allowed into our food supply, could make Tennessee residents and those outside of our borders gravely ill.  S.B. 1248/H.B. 1191 puts consumers at risk of becoming ill, criminalizes whistleblowers and allows animal abusers the opportunity to claim, “this was a one-time incident,” which will likely result in a slap on the wrist and will not prevent future animal suffering.

In a 2012 poll commissioned by the ASPCA and conducted by Lake Research Partners, it was revealed that 94% of Americans feel that it is important to have measures in place to ensure that food coming from farm animals is safe for people to eat. Additionally, 71% of adult Americans support undercover investigations to expose farm animal abuse on industrial farms, and 94%agree that animals raised for food on farms deserve to be free from abuse and cruelty.   

The infringement on First Amendment rights posed by bills similar to the one passed by the Tennessee legislature flies in the face of one of the bedrock beliefs of our country. It is my hope that Governor Bill Haslam will see this disingenuous legislation for what it is—an unconstitutional measure meant to protect industrial agriculture at the cost of consumer health, protect criminals, and criminalize those who seek to expose them. We should be protecting our food supply and applauding whistleblowers, not punishing them.   

Tennessee residents, please call Governor Haslam at (615) 741-2001 and urge him to veto this disastrous bill. You may also email the governor at bill.haslam@tn.gov.

This month nine states are considering legislation to criminalize the documentation of animal abuse on farms. “Ag-gag” or anti-whistleblower bills prevent the exposure of photos or video showing the unethical and often highly unsafe practices that all too often occur on industrial farms. This kind of evidence has recently led to cruelty prosecutions, massive food recalls and industry reform. The ASPCA is working hard to make sure these dangerous bills do not become law and you can help by reaching out to your representatives.

There is a reason that footage of farm animals is controversial. The vast majority of U.S. farm animals are raised on factory farms in filthy, overcrowded ammonia-filled sheds. They lead short lives full of suffering and frustration, are bred for unnaturally excessive growth and production, and are regularly dosed with antibiotics to compensate for their wretched surroundings. They also, way too often, are subject to cruel and depraved acts of violence.

The good news is that awareness of farm animal welfare is on the rise in all sectors: among consumers, farmers, legislatures, retailers, prosecutors and even food corporations. Better treatment of farm animals has simply become an ethical imperative, and the ASPCA is on the scene, educating the public, fighting for stronger laws and supporting more humane farming practices.

To learn more, check out our updated and comprehensive web pages containing lots of information on farm animals. You’ll find useful information on animals raised for food, what’s wrong with factory farming, and great resources for making a difference, including how to make more welfare conscious food choices.

We’re thrilled to be your go-to source for farm animal information and encourage you to get educated and engaged to help billions of animals.

The findings of a dairy farm investigation were released last week, and they aren’t pretty.  Video footage reveals workers beating, kicking, jumping on and shocking cows at Bettencourt Dairies, a major Idaho dairy. In one appalling scene, a cow, apparently unable to stand, is dragged by her neck with a chain attached to a tractor. Five Bettencourt employees have been fired and three face charges of animal cruelty.

As hard as the video is to watch, these acts of cruelty are sadly not unusual. With every new investigation released, we learn that cruelty is rampant on factory farms all around the country. Some of the cruelty comes in the form of obvious violations like in this recent investigation, while some is inherent in the standard practices of factory farming. Unsurprisingly, cruelty and cleanliness are often linked, and raise food and worker safety issues: This video showed extremely unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Farm investigations are one of the few tools animal advocates have to bring criminals to justice, and to pressure the food industry to adopt higher standards of animal welfare and food safety. Aware of the power of these videos, Big Ag lobbies to criminalize investigative workers and keep consumers in the dark. “Ag-gag” bills, introduced over the last few years in states around the country, attempt to make it a crime to document animal abuse on factory farms. Last year we fought hard to defeat these bills in many states. But this year will likely bring a fresh onslaught. Ag-gag bills will continue passing until every one of us stands up to the industry’s effort to block reforms for both consumer and animal welfare.

Learn more and find out where your state stands on ag-gag today!