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Michael Markarian
Factory Farming Fakers Are At It Again
Last month I wrote about the agribusiness interests opposing Proposition 2 -- masquerading as the deceptively named Californians for Safe Food -- and their record of duping the public, harming animals, and polluting the environment. Their top funder to date, Moark LLC, paid to settle criminal cruelty charges for using a conveyor belt to throw live birds into a Dumpster. Another major backer, United Egg Producers, paid to settle false advertising allegations brought by 17 attorneys general related to misleading claims about animal welfare. Yet another top contributor, Gemperle Enterprises, was exposed in an undercover investigation that showed birds with their wings and necks stuck in wire cages, and workers violently ripping birds out of cages without any regard for their welfare. The video even showed an employee swinging a bird around by her neck and throwing her against a wall, and another worker stomping on a hen and kicking her into a manure pit where she presumably drowned. Apparently that sordid cast of characters wasn’t enough. Before you donate to the No on Prop 2 campaign, do you have to check a box that asks whether you or your company have been caught abusing animals, polluting the environment, or lying to consumers about animal welfare? This week, residents of the Central Valley announced their intent to sue Olivera Egg Ranch over the toxic pollution coming from the facility. This giant factory farm confines 600,000 - 700,000 hens in cramped, barren, wire cages and dumps the manure into multi-acre cesspools that release more than 100 pounds of ammonia every day. Residents have complained of sore throats, upper respiratory infections, coughing, vomiting, and gagging attacks because of the noxious smell and pollution near their homes. Olivera, of course, has donated to the No on Prop 2 campaign. The campaign got another injection of funds last week from Foster Farms, which dumped a quarter-million dollars into the fight. Foster has also been accused of making false claims about animal welfare in its advertising, and the Better Business Bureau referred the case to the Federal Trade Commission for review. The agribusiness giants are building their war chest, bankrolled almost entirely by corporate interests that put their profits ahead of animal welfare, the environment, and consumers. They are not only liars, but also outliers within their own industry. The YES! On Prop 2 campaign, on the other hand, is backed by thousands of individual Californians, as well as respected groups like the Center for Food Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Union of Concerned Scientists, and California Veterinary Medical Association. Don’t let the outliers dupe California voters. We need your help to get the word out to Californians up and down the state, and let them know the truth about factory farming. Watch this important new video about Prop 2, and then make a donation to support the campaign. Michael Markarian is the Executive Vice President of the Humane Society of the United States. Print this report | Send to a friend Browse in : [ Reports ]
Note: Comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for their content. You must be logged in to comment. You may log in or create an account. Why in the the world would he take offense? You're calling his group fake and denigrating his employment, without any evidence mind you. Put up or shut up. Well, let's start with the L.A. Times investigation of the HSUS's fundraising. The group only keeps 11 percent of Californians' donations. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-charity-search-detail,0,922401.htmlstory?CharityCode=91 Then there's the whole "humane society" name thing. I volunteer with the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society, which is a real pet shelter. We work toward placing homeless animals in, well, HOMES. That's a humane society. The HSUS just pretends to be one so it can raise money -- money that REAL humane societies could really use. And I know some of the people at the top of the HSUS are vegans, but it would be nice if the group would embrace the idea instead of pussyfooting around with it. We all know the whole point of Proposition 2 is to nudge California one step closer to a veggie world, and that's great. But you don't get points for it unless you're HONEST about it, guys. Lastly, the HSUS has a reputation in the movement for abandoning hard-core activists at the first sign of trouble. They have no stomach for the real battles for animal liberation. Just ask the HSUS employees who have been asked to choose between their straight-edge vegan friends and their cushy jobs. Just another bunch of bullsh-tters in fancy suits. Sadly, the only part of this article that you choose to comment on is regarding the HSUS and your personal opinions about their organization. I think you are losing sight of something considerably more important - the awful, inhumane way these creatures are treated and how Prop 2 will help to improve their lives. Name calling solves nothing. I think some are missing the real issue here which is the suffering of animals and doing something to stop it. Whether you are a meat-eater, vegetarian or a vegan I would hope that compassion and awareness for the treatment of all animals would concern you. The suffering of these farmed animals is not a secret or some ploy to turn the world vegetarian- although it should make you think twice about the source of your food choices and the inherentness of suffering that comes with it. Even from a healthy lifestyle stand point, you should be concerned about what you are eating and where it is coming from. If we were to move to a more veggie society it would undoubtedly be better for us and the animals. Prop 2 is about a mass improvement in the lives of farmed animals that are suffering everyday- it’s a fact regardless if you like the source of the push to do something about this or not. The term "humane" or "humane society" does not and should not be compartmentalized to just companion animals. If your area of interest is in companion animals issues that is just as noble and worthy of a cause as dealing with farmed animals, wildlife or other issues. Animal welfare has many facets, issues and different approaches with plenty of room for everyone to work on their area of interest in the way they see fit. This particular issue should be common ground for all animal welfare advocates. The animals need us working to help them, not wasting time tearing each other down and pointing fingers. Stop it with the name calling. Is this sixth grade? No, HSUS is obviously NOT a shelter. Good grief. You betray that you truly know very little about the organization. You are simply regurgitating the standard mantra used by animal advocate "spoilers." You have the right to your methods of animal advocacy. but do not denigrate an organization that has brought the abuse of animals into the light of mainstream media and out of the freakshow/zealots/fringe topics. Thanks to the HSUS, the general public is becoming educated regarding the abuses directed to domestics, wildlife and farm animals. And - like it or not, it is the general public that is in control of how animals are treated. Unfortunately, it takes video to break through the denial of the general public. People simply do not want to believe what makes them uncomfortable ...... especially about that hamburger on their plate. Legitimate news coverage is the best weapon animals have - and it is HSUS and its affiliates which make this possible. No longer being able to deny the wrong doing. and no longer being able to claim the tired old "isolated incident" explanation, the devil himself will have to do the public relations work for the companies opposing humane treatment of animals. They have two weapons: 1. denigrate the investigations (HSUS) or 2, lie about what happens on the premises and in the process. The days of the cattle industry being able to lie, threaten, and litigate their way to profits via animal suffering is coming to an end. Way too slowly, but thanks to the aggressive investigative work of HSUS on this front and many others, the animals finally have a champion that cannot be marginalized by the Rovian technique of blackballing and namecalling - just as is demonstrated here in these comments. The more the abusers protest, the more coverage for the suffering animals. Only the pathological could claim this as an appropriate method of securing profits. It will be the carnivores of this world who make the final decisions for these animals - the meat consumers. Thanks to HSUS, the consumers are being educated. When consumers feel uncomfortable with the product, the "producers" will get the message. They now have to drop the facade of "good old Farmer Jones" and own up to the horrific exploitation of animals. I would not want the job of defending these miscreants. And - shame (double shame!) on those who pile on and thereby support the abusers by diluting the message from animal abuse to personal attacks on HSUS personnel. Dear Mr. Markarian, As a farm worker in CA, I know from what I have studied, read, seen, done and heard, that all you say is true. I work for one of the companies you study, and I am ashamed, but I am the only supporter right now of my family. I know from reading the Bible that Jesus never meant for animals to be treated this way. And he didn't mean for workers like me to have to do what we do just to have money to feed my children. You don't have to stop eating meat to know that animals, like us, cannot be taken from their mothers or stuck in iron cages to give birth or have their body chopped off in pain or live in such small and dirty spaces. I try to help but I am afraid of people I work with. My children do not tell people what their father does for money. They learned very young about animal farms causing all pollution and people having diseases from meat in school. They don't like McDonalds or other places--they say they would rather have beans and rice. My wife and grandmother are helping me find another job. They are scared every day that I will say the truth about these bad men in big farms and get fired and maybe killed. Someday we will have money and be proud of what I work for and collect money to give to you to help the world with pollution and make things better for God's poor animals and help people too be more healthy. Every day I will try to do better for God to judge me better as a man and now I will tell people about you and your people as Jesus spread The Word. You tell the same truth and nobody can be mad at you and still think that this is the way of Jesus. Thank you from your ambassador of truth and justice in this world. Hm.........you, xgreggyx, are the ultimate faker. As a small farmer you people in agribusiness make me vomit. Get a life and give animals a decent life. Your people are literally criminals, and morally..well...worse than that. If it weren't so sad, it would be humorous that you would mock the HSUS when you consistently lie. Calling you a faker is way to good a name to call you and your kind. Count me in as a proud farmer who keeps going and doesn't sell out to agribusiness. Guess you lost my vote and that of my customers--yup--we're all in sunny CA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Mr. Markarian for this article. Some of the comments are a bit harsh. I personally don't think it's about WHO is behind this Proposition or not...what really matters to me is that the Animals cannot speak up for themselves. It is about THEM not US. All animals, even those raised for food, deserve to be treated 'fairly' and that definitely includes the ability to lie down, turn around and stretch their limbs/wings. Stating my belief in this area is not a Vegetarian issue or a Carnivore Issue or a Democrat issue or a Republican Issue. It is none of those things. When it comes to how we treat all living beings, including animals, there are no lines separating us, no matter what our spiritual, political, dietary beliefs may be. This is a no brainer. Animals deserve to be treated humanely. Whether you agree with what Mr. Markarian writes in this article or not, I personally would like to believe that human beings are evolved enough to know that Animals kept in tiny boxes, crates and cages that are barely larger than their own bodies is just plain wrong. This isn't and shouldn't be a difficult thing to grasp. It's really not asking very much. As a Registered Voter in California, I will be Voting YES ON PROP 2. Ratings |
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Factory Farming Fakers Are At It Again
Posted by: xgreggyx on July 28, 2008No offense, Mike, but it's hard to stomach you calling ANYONE a faker when you're with the Humane Society of the United States. There's not a more fake group in the whole animal protection movement.
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