Lights, Camera, Cover Up

[marmar]

from Civil Eats:




Lights, Camera, Cover Up
March 23rd, 2011 By Wayne Pacelle


What do Florida and Iowa have in common when it comes to animal agriculture? They’ve both been hot spots, past and present, for the movement to combat some of the worst abuses in industrial agribusiness. And now the factory farming industry is fighting back in both states—and their latest methods represent their biggest overreach yet.

In Florida, The HSUS and other groups pushed for the adoption of the first statewide law in the country to restrict the extreme confinement of animals on factory farms. In 2002, voters there passed Amendment 10, to phase out the caging of breeding sows in gestation crates. In Iowa, HSUS and other animal welfare groups have conducted a series of undercover investigations (see the video below) to expose cruelty in the nation’s biggest factory farming state.

Now, these two states have something else in common. They are trying to make it a crime to photograph or videotape farm animals. They don’t want to criminalize animal cruelty, but they do want to make criminals of people trying to document abuse and to put an end to the cruelty. Lawmakers have introduced bills in both states to establish criminal penalties for going undercover at agricultural facilities and simply taking pictures.

Mind you, if this legislation is enacted, it won’t just be a setback for animal welfare. Shabby, squalid, overcrowded conditions for animals on factory farms are also a food-safety threat for Americans, with millions of Americans sickened every year by contaminated food. It was, of course, an Iowa egg factory farm that was forced to recall half a billion eggs last year because of a Salmonella outbreak, creating one of the biggest food product recalls in American history. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2011/03/23/lights-camera-cover-up/

[rbixby]

1. Is this really going to make a huge difference?

I mean you come in from out of state, get into the farm, either by getting a job or whatever, take pictures with your hidden camera, then leave the state and publish them. As long as you're not in the state, they can't really do anything to you, right?

[bvar22]

2. This is Rumsfeldian.

For Donald Rumsfeld, Torture wasn't The Problem.
Photos of Torture were The Problem,
and he quickly addressed The Problem.






Who will STAND and represent THIS American Majority?
Rhetoric, broken promises, and excuses mean NOTHING now.
This is NOT "All Joe Lieberman's Fault."

"By their WORKS you will know them,"
and by their WORKS they will be counted.