Tweet
Kevin Drum does the honors:
Farm Animal Confinement. YES. This initiative requires that farm animals be penned in cages that allow them to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs, and turn around freely. In practice, it would affect only the egg industry, and it moves California very moderately in the direction of more humane treatment of farm animals. The factory farming industry is running the usual campaign claiming that it would put California farmers out of business entirely, but that dog just won’t hunt anymore. That’s what they always say. In reality, it will probably increase the cost of eggs a few pennies per dozen and nothing more.This initiative passes most of my smell tests too. It’s a genuine grassroots initiative that would have a hard time getting past the legislature thanks to corporate agribusiness lobbying. It’s a moderately written law that allows us to experiment a bit without going off a cliff. And it’s not ballot box budgeting.
The corporate agribusiness lobby managed to buy themselves the support of a lot of unions and others who should’ve known better anyway. They look like a bunch of dupes for promoting such hysteria.
23 Comments
Agribusiness is a subject of neglect that deserves greater attention of the sort seen here from time to time in the spirit of Upton Sinclair (dare I mention a socialist at this time of Red Scare Redux?).
Absolutely. As the emails of supposedly progressive organizations have trickled into my email box in “support” of this initiative, it’s been pretty disgusting.
The folks opposing Prop 2 are using “scary brown people” and “salmonella” in their advertising on teevee here. Apparently, all California egg producers will be driven out of business, and our eggs will need to come from Mexico. Lots of grainy shots of fly-covered Mexican children in dusty barrios, interleaved with grainy footage of cars backed up at the border. I guess the eggs will spoil waiting to cross the border — if they haven’t already been spoiled by the evil brown children and their pet flies.
Or something.
I’m just amazed that “scary brown people” has become the go-to message for frightening white Americans about just about anything nowadays.
Actually, I think some version of “scary brown people” has been the go-to message of fear for quite a long time in the US.
It’s just that the definition of what comprises the scary brown people is subject to change over time.
we should all listen to our Prsedident on thsi bvrown people stuff. He knows.
“the debate really centers around the fact that people don’t believe Iraq can be free; that if you’re Muslim, or perhaps brown-skinned, you can’t be self-governing and free. I strongly disagree with that.”
I’m always so thrilled when the Commander Guy explains things to me. s/
Yeah, it just makes me want to put a steel bucket over my head and beat it with a baseball bat.
Don’t tell us you can make any sense of it. If so, be scared, very scared.
Yeah ask me how happy I was when the UNITE HERE and Teamster support came through.
Not much.
OT
I just wanted to say thanks for the amazingly inspirational book salon
My Republican sister believes the wildfires in California are started by Mexican immigrants who want firefighting work. After years of listening to this sort of crap, I know that she is impervious to reason, so I told her to prove it or shut up about it, although I know she will do neither.
A very nice young woman came to my door yesterday, asking for my vote on YES on 2. She also wanted to be sure I was a Obama/Biden voter. But she was working for the YES on 2 people.
Great N.Y. Times article today covering this proposition and the Yale grad president of the Humane Society.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10…..=permalink
A similar ballot measure passed in AZ in 2006…… What this does is prevent factory hog farms and other factory farms moving into CA…… very good…..
Funny thing is that Sheriff Joe campaigned for that ballot measure…… he treats animals human and humans inhumanly……
This is great I’m proud to be the side that places people and animals over money.
If you can’t make money except by hurting people and animals then you should find a job as an employee of someone who can.
i’m all for more humane treatment of livestock, but my problem with the initiative is that like most of them i don’t think it was really well thought out. in this case they put the chicken before the egg, literally and figuratively. if they had focused on the end product, as in all eggs sold in cali have to come from humane farms that would have had a much more far-reaching impact on egg production than just forcing new regulations and costs on in-state suppliers. saying it will only raise the price of eggs a “few cents” a dozen glosses over the fact that those few cents will be the passed-along results of significant cost increases for producers. costs they may or may not decide are worth it to keep doing business in the state. and unless you protest at your local market to make sure they don’t change suppliers, why wouldn’t they switch to get the best deal possible. like i said, i’m all for improving the lives of the chickens, but i don’t think this one is the way to go.
teddy is up at the mothership
Jane, this is really off topic, but I hope you like it.
Years ago, you spent weeks parsing Scooter’s letter to Judy Miller.
Today’s pictures of Obama’s rally in Denver had beautiful yellow trees in the background.
Truly the aspens have turned.
Next step Organic Eggs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..07746.html
You can make things cheap good and fast well you can make 2 out of the three currently factory farms make lots of food cheap and fast.
I prefer good and cheap but not fast.
Speaking of California ballot measures, can anyone recommend a progressive blog that offers decent analyses/endorsements of the California propositions? 2 and 8 are easy. But I know next to nothing about the other initiatives and don’t really have the time to do my own intensive research.
I believe everyone has moved upstairs. Perhaps you should post your question there. Lots of folks discussing CA voting.
Americans themselves are living in a corporate-created cage, where they are allowed to stretch their legs and turn around….and they need a license to do that… but not much else. They are as much bred and farmed as any other animal. Those who are able, are trained and put to work. Those dysfunctional and kept poor enough man the armed forces to make war on others for corporate economic gain. They are trained in ignorance on issues of importance and taught things like “socialism is bad for poor people”, “you’ll have your pie in the sky when you die” and “gay marriage is your business and an abomination before the lord” so vote to keep yourself in bondage.
The American people are duped ignorant idiotic fools.
“Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are forgotten pipe-dreams mortgaged and foreclosed on a long time ago?
anonymousource.com
This measure helps focus attention on food choices. People need to understand that inhumane treatment of farm animals leads to poor quality of food….and in some cases unhealthy food.