Planet Debate 2011 September/October l-d release Animal Rights
Abuse of Farm Animals Threatens Human Survival
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- Abuse of Farm Animals Threatens Food Safety
- Abuse of Farm Animals Increases Disease Risk
Abuse of Farm Animals Threatens Human SurvivalFAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR ANIMAL WELFARE THREATENS HUMAN SURVIVAL Bernie Rollin, Professor Philosophy Colorado State University, 2008, The Future of Animal Farming: renewing the ancient contract, eds. M. Dawkins & R. Bonney, p. 11 The subject of this chapter is a betrayal of great magnitude, the modern human abrogation of our ancient contract with animals and with the earth, which contract nourished and sustained the growth of our civilization and, with consummate irony, allowed us to develop the science and technology which in turn enabled us to cavalierly disregard that same contract. This betrayal is not only a moral violation of our age-old relationship with animals, but a prudential denial of our own self-interest. For unless we renew the symbiosis intrinsic to that contract, we will be unable to nourish ourselves physically; in the end, like all animals, we must eat to live, reproduce, and survive. And the end of this contract means an end to a renewable food supply, without which abrogation cannot be sustained. ANIMAL WELFARE IS CRITICAL TO SUSTAINABLE FARMING AND PLANETARY SURVIVAL Roland Bonney & Marian Stamp Dawkins, Zoology Professor Oxford & Director Food Animal Initiative, 2008, The Future of Animal Farming: renewing the ancient contract, eds. M. Dawkins & R. Bonney, p. 169 We hope you have enjoyed the book and have found it interesting or surprising or informative or thought provoking or, best of all, all of these. The future of animal farming is more uncertain than perhaps it has ever been and the one thing we can expect is change. In dealing with that change and working for a sustainable future for the planet, all of us who care about animals, and indeed the health of our own species, need to make sure that animal welfare remains firmly at the center of what is meant by sustainable farming. Farming that ignores animals welfare cannot be “sustainable.”
Roland Bonney & Marian Stamp Dawkins, Zoology Professor Oxford & Director Food Animal Initiative, 2008, The Future of Animal Farming: renewing the ancient contract, eds. M. Dawkins & R. Bonney, p. 1-2 But in today’s global economy, with its increasing concern about climate change, is this possible? Isn’t animal welfare a luxury for a rich minority and quite irrelevant to the majority of people in the world who cannot afford it? Surely there is not enough space, or enough money, or enough anything to achieve high standards of animal welfare when we are not even managing to ensure basic standards of human welfare? Surely we are going to have to make some very difficult choices. Of course we are. The point we want to make in this book is that those choices should put animal welfare at the heart of farming, even for those who put human welfare first. You don’t have to care much about animals at all to see that their health and welfare will affect the health and well-being of you and your family and the whole human species through the food you eat, the diseases that might affect you, and the impact that agriculture of all sorts has on the whole planet. Abuse of Farm Animals Threatens Food SafetyHUMANE TREATMENT OF FARM ANIMALS KEY TO FOOD SAFETY Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America, [http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Industrial_Agriculture/PCIFAP_FINAL.pdf], p. 38 The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production considers animal well-being an essential component of a safe and sustainable production system for farm animals. Food animals that are treated well and provided with at least minimum accommodation of their natural behaviors and physical needs are healthier and safer for human consumption. After reviewing the literature, visiting production facilities, and listening to producers themselves, the Commission believes that the most intensive confinement systems, such as restrictive veal crates, hog gestation pens, restrictive farrowing crates, and battery cages for poultry, all prevent the animal from a normal range of movement and constitute inhumane treatment. HUMANE TREATMENT KE TO ANIMAL WELFARE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH THREATS Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, 2008, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America, [http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Industrial_Agriculture/PCIFAP_FINAL.pdf], p. 83 There is increasing, broad-based interest in commonsense, husbandry-based agriculture that is humane, sustainable, ethical, and a source of pride to its practitioners. Proper animal husbandry practices (e.g., breeding for traits besides productivity, growth, and carcass condition) and animal management are critical to the welfare of farm animals, as well as to the environment and public health. Evaluating animal welfare without taking into account animal health, husbandry practices, and normal behaviors for each species is inadequate and inappropriate. Abuse of Farm Animals Increases Disease RiskANIMAL STRESS INCREASES DISEASE TRANSMISSION Holly Cheever, Veterinarian, 2000, Albany Law Environmental Outlook Journal, Fall, 5 Alb. L. Envtl. Outlook 2, p. 46-7 One common denominator seen in the intensive confinement systems outlined above and in the reference readings is the development of intense stress in the animals subjected to these forms of husbandry. With overcrowding and its resultant highly concentrated ammonia fumes come a high density of pathogens and an impaired immune system weakened by the constant release of stress hormones. An impaired immune system, in turn, causes increased susceptibility to and transmission of disease organisms. When coupled with the producers' desire to maximize growth and hasten slaughter time, food additives are introduced to increase growth rates while keeping animals alive in hostile environments. These additives can have serious repercussions on human health and the development of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. n13 Growth enhancers have been used heavily in beef, veal, and swine operations. By treating animals with these hormones and hormone-like substances, a better profit margin of weight gain versus feed costs is achieved. A popular substance used in the 70's was DES (diethylstilbesterol), which was later found to have carcinogenic properties in humans. n14 Clenbuterol, a steroid-like chemical, was then used in veal production for growth enhancement during the 90's. It could increase daily growth rates by as much as 30%, n15 but was illegal due to the toxic effects suffered by many humans exposed to this chemical. Side effects include an increased heart rate, headaches, muscle tremors, nausea, dizziness, and even death. n16 I encourage the reader to obtain the Humane Farming Association's Special Reports for an account of the successful prosecution of the veal producers using this illegal drug, despite the attempts at a cover-up by the Federal Drug Administration. Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 1.43 Mb. Share with your friends:
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