Guest guest Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 OH MY GOD, EVERYONE!!! WE DID IT!!! Prop 2 has passed in a landslide!!! (See Erin Williams' email at the bottom of this one.) I remember, a year and a half ago, when I was first told by Paul Shapiro, the head of the Humane Society of the US's factory farming campaign, that HSUS was considering this initiative. I honestly couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Outlaw battery cages in California? No way!! And then, we talked more about it and he convinced me it was possible. Next thing I knew, a few months later, I was devoting my life to getting this initiative on the ballot, as did so many other people! When we began our signature gathering, the signatures were coming in so slowly at first, and it felt like pulling teeth to get people involved. But gradually people started getting out there -- mostly people who had never done anything like this before! -- and by the end we had over 200,000 more signatures than we needed to qualify for the ballot! And, with Election Day results in, we can now say WE DID IT!!! I feel so privileged to have worked on this campaign over the past year and so grateful for all of you who contributed in all of the ways you did -- gathering signatures, donating money, telling your friends, handing out leaflets, writing letters to the editor, volunteering in the office.... So many of us sacrificed time with our friends or family (in my case, my dog more than anyone), put aside other important areas of life, did things outside of our comfort zone (like going up to random strangers on the street or asking our friends or family to donate money), and did what it took to get this passed! There was a moment last night, watching the phenomenal Obama victory on TV with a group of Prop 2 (and Obama) supporters at the San Francisco SPCA, when it hit me: the ticker on the bottom of the screen said " Farm Animals " and YES 63/47, and I knew that not only had we achieved this phenomenal victory (well, both phenomenal victories -- Obama and Prop 2!), but all of the Californians watching that screen (and all of those who saw and considered the commercials and then cast their ballots) were thinking about farm animals and asserting that they should be treated humanely!!! I spent a huge chunk of last night crying in celebration. It feels too good to be true! While there is certainly still tremendous suffering and so much work to be done, I thought about the victory of a similar initiative in 2006 in Arizona. Arizona has hardly any pigs in gestation crates, yet after the passage of that law Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the US announced that it would start phasing out the use of gestation crates -- not simply in Arizona -- but throughout the US! This landslide victory in California will lead to countless others such as the Smithfield announcement. Keep your eyes open for major changes in the coming years in how animals raised for food are treated, and know that all of the work that you all did in California -- and in Florida and Arizona before it, and really all of the efforts by all of us over the years to inform people about how animals raised for food are treated! -- are foundational in those changes. I have been vegan for 10 years and certainly want more changes in animal agriculture than just outlawing battery cages in one or a few states. This law, resoundingly passed in the biggest agricultural state in the country, sets the stage for so much more. What a victory!!! THANK YOU for the part you played in it! With much gratitude, Nora ---------- Forwarded message ----------Erin Williams <ewilliams Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 8:39 AMLandslide victory for 20 million animals Hi all, As I'm sure many of you have heard, nearly all California precincts are now reporting the single biggest landslide achievement for farm animals in U.S. history: the passage of Proposition 2! With 95% reporting, we're now at 63.3 yes and 37.7 no ... a tremendous margin. There's already been a lot of news coverage and there will certainly be more, but check out www.YESonProp2.com and www.HumaneSociety.org for more information. Thousands upon thousands of volunteers, donors, and supporters made this landmark achievement for farm animals a reality, and their amazing, tireless, and selfless work on behalf of nearly 20 million animals is an inspiration and an example of the tremendous difference we're all able to make. We all woke up this morning to a better world. Absolutely phenomenal!! Erin Erin Williams Communications Director, Factory Farming Campaign The Humane Society of the United States 2100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20037 301-721-6446 ewilliams humanesociety.org Interested in taking action online to help animals? Then join our online community! Go to: https://community.hsus.org/humane/join -- " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. " -Gandhiwww.YesOnProp2.com -- " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. " -Gandhiwww.YesOnProp2.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 5, 2008 Report Share Posted November 5, 2008 Congratulations and thank you so much to everyone who worked so hard to get this passed!--RuchiraOn Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 9:34 AM, Nora Kramer <norakramer wrote: OH MY GOD, EVERYONE!!! WE DID IT!!! Prop 2 has passed in a landslide!!! (See Erin Williams' email at the bottom of this one.) I remember, a year and a half ago, when I was first told by Paul Shapiro, the head of the Humane Society of the US's factory farming campaign, that HSUS was considering this initiative. I honestly couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Outlaw battery cages in California? No way!! And then, we talked more about it and he convinced me it was possible. Next thing I knew, a few months later, I was devoting my life to getting this initiative on the ballot, as did so many other people! When we began our signature gathering, the signatures were coming in so slowly at first, and it felt like pulling teeth to get people involved. But gradually people started getting out there -- mostly people who had never done anything like this before! -- and by the end we had over 200,000 more signatures than we needed to qualify for the ballot! And, with Election Day results in, we can now say WE DID IT!!! I feel so privileged to have worked on this campaign over the past year and so grateful for all of you who contributed in all of the ways you did -- gathering signatures, donating money, telling your friends, handing out leaflets, writing letters to the editor, volunteering in the office.... So many of us sacrificed time with our friends or family (in my case, my dog more than anyone), put aside other important areas of life, did things outside of our comfort zone (like going up to random strangers on the street or asking our friends or family to donate money), and did what it took to get this passed! There was a moment last night, watching the phenomenal Obama victory on TV with a group of Prop 2 (and Obama) supporters at the San Francisco SPCA, when it hit me: the ticker on the bottom of the screen said " Farm Animals " and YES 63/47, and I knew that not only had we achieved this phenomenal victory (well, both phenomenal victories -- Obama and Prop 2!), but all of the Californians watching that screen (and all of those who saw and considered the commercials and then cast their ballots) were thinking about farm animals and asserting that they should be treated humanely!!! I spent a huge chunk of last night crying in celebration. It feels too good to be true! While there is certainly still tremendous suffering and so much work to be done, I thought about the victory of a similar initiative in 2006 in Arizona. Arizona has hardly any pigs in gestation crates, yet after the passage of that law Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the US announced that it would start phasing out the use of gestation crates -- not simply in Arizona -- but throughout the US! This landslide victory in California will lead to countless others such as the Smithfield announcement. Keep your eyes open for major changes in the coming years in how animals raised for food are treated, and know that all of the work that you all did in California -- and in Florida and Arizona before it, and really all of the efforts by all of us over the years to inform people about how animals raised for food are treated! -- are foundational in those changes. I have been vegan for 10 years and certainly want more changes in animal agriculture than just outlawing battery cages in one or a few states. This law, resoundingly passed in the biggest agricultural state in the country, sets the stage for so much more. What a victory!!! THANK YOU for the part you played in it! With much gratitude, Nora ---------- Forwarded message ----------Erin Williams <ewilliams Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 8:39 AMLandslide victory for 20 million animals Hi all, As I'm sure many of you have heard, nearly all California precincts are now reporting the single biggest landslide achievement for farm animals in U.S. history: the passage of Proposition 2! With 95% reporting, we're now at 63.3 yes and 37.7 no ... a tremendous margin. There's already been a lot of news coverage and there will certainly be more, but check out www.YESonProp2.com and www.HumaneSociety.org for more information. Thousands upon thousands of volunteers, donors, and supporters made this landmark achievement for farm animals a reality, and their amazing, tireless, and selfless work on behalf of nearly 20 million animals is an inspiration and an example of the tremendous difference we're all able to make. We all woke up this morning to a better world. Absolutely phenomenal!! Erin Erin Williams Communications Director, Factory Farming Campaign The Humane Society of the United States 2100 L Street NW Washington, DC 20037 301-721-6446 ewilliams humanesociety.org Interested in taking action online to help animals? Then join our online community! Go to: https://community.hsus.org/humane/join -- " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. " -Gandhiwww.YesOnProp2.com -- " The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. " -Gandhi www.YesOnProp2.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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