Egg Industry Shill Plays The Race & Class Cards On Prop. 2

The industrial egg industry has truly lost its collective head over the prospect of Californians passing Proposition 2, the legislation that would give farm animals the luxury of stretching their limbs.

Julie Buckner, the Californians for Safe Food spokesperson who went on Oprah to claim that Proposition 2 would destroy California's egg industry, is trying a really tacky new tack, according to last Thursday's New York Times.

Buckner told the Times that Winfrey's implied support for the measure "only codified her sense that the ballot measure is being pushed by "wealthy, narrow-minded elitists" who do not understand its real-world consequences."

She went on to dis the Humane Society, who's sponsoring Proposition 2, for being funded, apparently, by diamond-encrusted dog-loving dilettantes:

"This is an organization raising money from upper-middle-class white women writing $100 checks," she said."

As opposed, I guess, to the salt of the earth Agribiz bigwigs who are funding the fight against Proposition 2. Read The New York Times Magazine piece on The Humane Society's groundbreaking campaigns on behalf of farm animals, and Carol Ness's great post on Grist detailing the egg industry's desperation to derail Proposition 2, and you'll understand why Buckner and her partners in slime are so anxious to frame the issue of animal welfare as some kind of anti-populist cause with dire consequences for your average egg-lovin' Joe and Jane Six Pack.

But this battle on behalf of our farm animals isn't about the rich -- if I may get biblical for a moment, it's about the rich in spirit, -- as opposed to those who are hellbent on callous consumption and ill-gotten profits. Buckner and co. would have you believe that compassion for our fellow creatures is a luxury only the wealthy can afford. But doesn't a culture that can't figure out how to feed itself without resorting to torture impoverish us all?

Follow Kerry Trueman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kerrytrueman

Comments

[tassy21]

08:53 PM on 10/27/2008

I hope the Californians can pass this and it spreads around the country. It is despicable to think some people can treat animals like that- I truly want to see karma kick all their asses! Its sad to think that if we cannot treat animals humanely, then there is little hope for the treatment of humans.

[ThinkForYourself2]

05:10 PM on 10/27/2008

If you haven't seen that Oprah show, I'd highly suggest seeing it. It shows both sides of the argument and after watching it I'd hope that most people would agree that Proposition 2 is vital. It's very cruel how most factory farmers treat their animals and believe me, you wouldn't wish this treatment on your worst enemies. It's nothing short of a lifetime of torture for these animals.

[RightWingMarine]

03:40 PM on 10/27/2008

I like the ad with the singing cartoon pig better.

While I don't care for how some farm animals are treated it is a dangerous step to dictate to a free people what they will do with their property. Like it or not farm animals are property and either the farmer owns the animals or the state does.

If you don't like how a farm treats their animals, don't buy from them.

[antiokian]

11:46 AM on 10/27/2008

I can just imagine me as a chicken...and being able to finally stretch my limbs. THE HAPPINESS!

These f***ers in the factory farm industry have it coming.

[darker]

12:43 AM on 10/27/2008

Ashamed? THE AMERICAN RICH ARE NEVER ASHAMED
to take advantage of anybody, even poor animals!

MAY THE AMERICAN RICH BE DAMNED.

[nonipunk]

11:29 PM on 10/26/2008

they say they're going to have to go out of business but they lie. they'll make the adjustments and make less money that's all. less blood money. this is just the beginning of the reform that is long overdue for agribusiness. let's hear it for The Humane Society and Prop 2!!!!!!

[degenerate1991]

10:41 AM on 10/27/2008

Get real. Egg farming isn't terribly profitable anyway. The profits won't be lowered; egg prices will either go up or egg production will be outsourced. This will hurt low-income families (eggs are still relatively cheap last I checked) and the workers who will be laid off. And the chickens? They will likely wind up being kids' cafeteria "mystery" nuggets.

[stayinsouth1981]

12:10 PM on 10/26/2008

I think it's time for red beans and rice along side Biloxi bacon. This was disturbing.

[swfsenior]

10:14 AM on 10/26/2008

When will these people get it? Most organizations are supported by the least wealthy in this country, And we do it from the heart rather than as a tax deduction or PR moment. Shame on these people for trying to vilify the Humane Society. I support them even if I don't always agree with all of their positions; and with much less than $100. Actually most of the upper middle class women I know usually part with their hundreds for themselves.

[AlaskanSuperVoter]

11:21 PM on 10/25/2008

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
-Mahatma Gandhi

America should be ashamed.

[degenerate1991]

10:42 AM on 10/27/2008

Ahh yes, the moral progress of India, where the fate of cows is held over the fate of the starving. Great country, last I checked.

[gratonite]

11:47 AM on 10/27/2008

Why are you so angry? Have you ever been to India? Are you an egg farmer? Any idea what's happening in California?

Big California agri-business is behind the fight against proposition 2 and big ag is the source of some of our favorite ag catastrophes (remember the salmonella spinach? the forklifted cow video? problem tomatoes?).

I live in rural California, and we have small farms providing us with eggs at a reasonable price without employing chicken torture factory to do it. It's entirely possible to feed people without self-destructive farm practices such as animal cruelty, chemical fertilizers and GMO seeds. In fact, evidence demonstrates that ethical farming practices actually boost productivity. The farms are just too big, the greed too rampant, the consumption excessive. Big picture, think beyond the Burger King man.

http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/policybs/pb4.html