Policy Identification And Explanation Of The Ag Gag Law

Summary After viewing the film “food Inc.” the way I now view the American food industry and our government has changed. I now see the food industry for what it really is, a corrupt business empire that is protected by government officials and policies. In the film it pinpoints many different areas where the food industry has become an injustice to the citizens of America, they have also been protected by laws and policies, and also have treated the cattle, chickens, and other farm animals with such cruelty for profitable gains. Some of the areas where the food industry has become an injustice to its citizens is in the processing of mass food products that are not healthy, the advertising of products to fit the description of farm grown food

Meat-producing companies try to hide the conditions in which their livestock are kept before being slaughtered. In Iowa, a bill called H.F.589 attempted to make it illegal to record videos and pictures at a farm without the facility owner's consent, and illegal to agree to work there to get a hold of undercover photos and videos of animal cruelty (Lin). Companies know that most people will be put off by seeing the acts that go on in order to provide inexpensive meat and dairy products that can be packaged and sold. People buy meat products to enjoy a tasty meal, but if the process involved in creating their food is untrustworthy, it could

Before the passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, meat processing plants and slaughterhouses were very unsanitary and dangerous places to work. There had been previous meat inspection acts, such as the Meat Inspection Act of 1890, but they were largely ineffective as they did not successfully regulate the industry (Rouse). Therefore, even if a person

Throughout the book, Foer allows the narrative to bear witness, including multiple testimonials from factory farm insiders and officials all touting animal suffering, in addition to statements from small farmers, whom he glorifies and commends. In doing so, he provides readers insight into what he portrays as the factory farm and industrial food industry. He builds what little credibility he can by providing multiple perspectives on different aspects of both factory and family farms as well as slaughterhouse operations. Foer even goes so far as to detail his endeavor with an animal rights activist in infiltrating a corporate turkey farm illegally. He describes the horrific sight found inside one of the barns and the “rescue” his cohort conducted by slicing one of the turkeys’ neck. He justifies his and the activist’s actions by citing California penal code 597e, which protects those providing

In the Shenandoah Valley near the border of Virginia, Joel Salatin and his son Daniel, accompanied by two farm hands, run “one of the most productive and influential alternative farms in America” (Pollan 126). Polyface Farm is rather unique in its business tactics as well as agricultural practices. The only way to eat products from Polyface farm is to live next to it. . .or within a half-day’s drive. Joel Salatin is a firm believer of “relationship marketing” wherein the only way to ensure integrity is to meet the man who raised your meal (Pollan 240). Farms like Joel’s are often forgotten or considered to be at the bottom of the socioeconomic food chain, yet customers come back every single week to pick up the food that they know has been humanely raised and is not tainted by the farcical regulations (or lack thereof) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Joel claims that “the only genuine accountability comes from a producer’s relationship with his or her customers, and their freedom” but his business is hindered by the “disconnected multi-national fecal factory” that is the American food industry (Pollan 235-241). Joel wants to be able to do more for his customers, and he’s fighting the system so that he can. Eventually, Joel would like to cure, or even smoke, his meat so that his customers have even less work to do, but the USDA regulations prohibit curing/cooking meat on land designated only for agriculture (Pollan). If the USDA were to modify its

In 1925 a law called the Minnesota Gag law came into effect. The law stated that the judge was allowed to act without a jury in order to stop any publication of newspapers, magazines, or any other publications, that the judge found offensive, cruel, or defamatory. The gag law was made so that publications would be careful of what they would put in their newspaper so that anything that they put in there would not cause riots or cause rebellion from people of the state. This Minnesota Gag Law was first applied to a court case called Near v. Minnesota.

Factory farms having locked doors only reinforces what some of us already suspect. That they are engaging in activities appalling to the public. Their secrecy is seemingly sustaining their business. Consumers’ ignorance of the meat production business only encourages inhumane animal husbandry. Foer says, “the power brokers of factory farming know that their business model depends on consumers not being able to see (or hear about) what they do.” (pg. 87) This is why we need to educate ourselves on this matter extensively and start actively demanding where our meat is coming from. Advocating for animal welfare is one way we can begin the process of changing or ultimately ending factory farming.

Today, three potato organizations—Simplot, Sheep Weston, and McCain—“control about 80 percent of the American market for frozen french fries, having eliminated or acquired most of their small rivals.” In spite of the fact that ranch bunches like the Potato Producers of Idaho (PGI) do their best to speak to the premiums of little agriculturists, even as those homesteads are frequently purchased up and overseen by the aggregates, Schlosser noticed that, at the season of his composition, there are just 1,100 autonomous potato agriculturists staying in Idaho, in spite of that state's dependence on the harvest as the bedrock of its economy.

The film Death on a Factory Farm, emphasizes on the politics of sight as a vital component in distance and concealment to establish power, laws, and social values within our society that allow human beings to inflict pain on livestock. This film focuses on Ken Wiles’ farm where pigs are being exploited on a daily basis and employees practice hanging as an alternative to euthanasia to kill sick sows. Although Pete, the undercover animal right’s investigator, tries to bring some justice to these pigs by collecting video footage of abuse, filth, disease, cannibalism, violence, death, and executions during his time of employment in Ken Wile’s farm the court fails to convict all defendants with the total of ten counts of animal cruelty because of

The words to the famous old children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” are due for a revision. The new lines should read “Old MacDonald had a farm . . . with a lawyer here, and an accountant there, and everywhere a new federal program and regulation.” Not quite as poetic, but definitely more appropriate. The current state of agribusiness consists of an incredibly complex mix of subsidies, price supports, and bureaucratic regulations that could confound the most knowledgeable business minds. Underlying this tangled web of rules and regulations are political battles that pit normally allied groups against each other, and bring normally adversarial groups into allegiance. One bizarre

A memo leaked in Canada in 1999 and written by Dr George Paterson described a private deal which resulted in rapid approval for two new kinds of Genetically Modified potatoes made by Monsanto. Until the deal was negotiated, the potatoes had been held up in the regulatory system because Monsanto refused to provide important scientific information to regulators assessing the products health and environmental effects. Michele Brill-Edwards, a former Health Canada drug regulator said "What you're seeing is a high- level example of a very dirty game that practically nobody knows about. These kinds of meetings go on all the time people are careful not to let this kind of thing be known."(Edwards) Let's remember that Monsanto was responsible for another

Many people may not know that animal cruelty has been around for hundreds of years. . In the article "Animal Cruelty Prosecution" published by American Prosecution Research Institute found that, The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony established “The Body of Liberties” found by the Animal Cruelty Prosecution, in 1641. The Body of Liberties was a document written for the protection of animals from unnecessary pain and suffering. Animal cruelty happens every day whether it is from starving, beating, lack of medical care or proper housing for animals. We are in need of stricter laws to help fight the rights of animals. Animal laws should be more strict on people

Another paramount importance concerning food safety is how many U.S. rural communities within the last few decades since the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. They have found themselves face-to-face with enormous industrial livestock factories which include farm and rural community associations and environmental organizations. Heather claims several these communities delve into fighting against the corporate livestock factories that include farms, community, associations, and environmental organizations. She studies how anti-factory farm battles primarily in the mid-west U.S. deal with underlying struggles against emerging opposing organizations who invest heavily in livestock productions. Heather mentions what livestock corporations forget to mention openly to the public, however, was dealing with cost revenue and a confinement of animal production and slaughter. “In Sullivan County, Missouri, as in hundreds of rural counties across the country, concentrated and vertically integrated swine production brought problems of unanticipated proportions. The “hog hotels,” (Williams, 370)

Once this footage surfaced, Central Valley Meat Co was shut down temporarily by the United States Agriculture Department for investigation. The USDA discontinued buying meat from the company for their school lunch programs until the company corrected its violations. (Associated press)

For the past three years, the Foundation has provided support to the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) for its public policy program. With Foundation support, OEFFA has worked diligently to define its policy agenda and create an online advocacy infrastructure for its work. Among the issues OEFFA has focused on is the reauthorization of the Federal Farm Bill, as Ohio has several key appointments on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and its impacts on sustainable farming.