Hens not suffering, not unhappy, say Prop 2 opponents

[Guest guest]

Here's a new article in the online San Jose Mercury News. Notice that

the Prop 2 opponents quoted in this article say:

 

" I do not perceive that there is suffering " -- Julie Buckner, who heads

Californians for SAFE Food, the anti-Prop-2 campaign organization.

 

" Ask them [i.e., animal welfare advocates] how they know our chickens

are unhappy. They're making emotionally based decisions about what

chickens want. " -- Jill Benson, egg company president.

 

It burns me up that the egg industry grossly abuses the hens and then

has the gall to challenge us to prove that the hens are suffering. A

neat trick about burden of proof. What do they want us to do, call the

hens to testify under oath? These animals have no voice and are abused

with impunity.

 

If we say that the hens are suffering, we are being " emotional " , not

rational, and are anthropomorphizing the hens.

 

-- Mike

 

======================

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_10679569

 

Calif. measure would require more space for hens

By TRACIE CONE Associated Press Writer

Article Launched: 10/09/2008 01:00:26 PM PDT

 

 

ATWATER, Calif. -- At the J.S. West and Cos. poultry farm, half a

million chickens are squeezed six at a time into wire cages where they

must share 2 square feet of space.

 

Beneath them, conveyor belts whisk away excrement while 1.2 million eggs

travel from hen to carton each day without touching a human hand.

 

California voters will decide next month whether this kind of operation

is an example of factory farming at its most efficient -- or the cruel

farming practices of producers concerned only about the bottom line.

 

If approved in the Nov. 4 election, a ballot measure called Proposition

2 would prohibit ranchers from keeping chickens, veal calves and

breeding pigs in pens or cages that are too small for the animal to

move. It is the farthest-reaching measure dealing with farm animal

treatment ever put before voters in any state.

 

Ranchers would have to ensure that their animals can stand up, turn

around or stretch.

 

But since producers have voluntarily phased out the caging of newborn

calves and breeding sows, debate over the measure has centered primarily

on California's 19 million egg-laying chickens, 90 percent of which are

housed in so-called battery cages like the ones at J.S. West.

 

The restrictions would take effect in 2015, with violations carrying a

$1,000 fine.

 

Major egg producers oppose the initiative and insist the current method

of mass production is the most efficient way to deliver inexpensive

eggs. They warn that egg producers will move out of state or across the

border if voters approve Proposition 2.

 

The J.S. West farm in Atwater, about 110 miles southeast of San

Francisco, already has delayed expansion plans while awaiting the

voters' decision.

 

" Even if I had money to make all of the changes, we would not be

competitive with the rest of the nation, " company President Jill Benson

said. " Eggs would be outsourced. We don't have the consumers for more

expensive eggs. "

 

Opponents have raised nearly $7.5 million, including donations of

$100,000 or more from at least 15 poultry producers. Two of the largest

donors to the campaign against the initiative face an unrelated federal

investigation into alleged egg price-fixing.

 

Supporters have raised nearly the same amount, including $3.8 million

from the Humane Society. Most of the rest has been donated by

individuals.

 

Jennifer Fearing of the Yes on 2 campaign compared the chicken cages to

spending " your entire life on an elevator with eight other people. "

 

The California initiative would be the first in the United States to

include battery cages used to house egg-laying hens, which currently are

being phased out across the European Union because of cruelty concerns.

 

If it passes, supporters hope it would trigger a national movement aimed

at poultry producers.

 

Supporters of Proposition 2 say it will give small egg-farming

operations a better chance to compete. But large egg producers argue

that the small farms cannot meet California's demand for an inexpensive

source of protein. Even the large producers can meet only two-thirds of

California's demand, Benson said.

 

State law already requires that animals in enclosed areas have adequate

food and water, plus room to move freely.

 

" I do not perceive that there is suffering, " said Julie Buckner, who

heads Californians for SAFE Food, which is fighting the proposition.

 

Benson, the egg company president, said the health of their hens is of

foremost concern to farmers.

 

" Ask them how they know our chickens are unhappy, " Benson said. " They're

making emotionally based decisions about what chickens want. "

 

About 10 percent of California's eggs are produced by cage-free hens,

and Benson's operation is no exception. Although specialty eggs are the

largest-growing segment of the market, producers say demand for the more

expensive cage-free eggs has not kept up with supply.

 

The proposal picked up support Wednesday from The New York Times, which

urged other states to adopt similar restrictions.

 

" No philosophy can justify this kind of cruelty, not even the philosophy

of cheapness, " the Times wrote in an editorial.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/opinion/09thu3.html)

 

" To a California voter still undecided on Proposition 2, we say simply,

imagine being confined in the voting booth for life. Would you vote for

the right to be able to sit down and turn around and raise your arms? "

 

======================

 

The Merc just printed a letter from me this last Sunday, so I don't

expect that they would print another one from me at this time.

 

Please send a Letter to the Editor of the San Jose Mercury News. Here's

how:

 

E-mail it to letters . Requirements: 125 words or less;

no attachments; include your name, address and daytime phone.

 

Letters will be edited for length and clarity. Street addresses and

phone numbers are not published.

 

Feel free to use any ideas from what I wrote at the top of this.

 

-- Mike