You Heard It On Oprah: Factory Farms Stink

That ringing you hear is the sound of the death knell for the "don't ask, don't smell" era of factory farming. Oprah Winfrey's Tuesday show, "How We Treat The Animals We Eat," blew the lid off the battery cage egg industry, shining a long-overdue light on the bleak, black underbelly of sunny-side up.

Investigative reporter Lisa Ling had to don a sanitation suit and cap before leading her camera crew through an industrial egg facility where 87,000 chickens were crammed into criminally close quarters and covered in, well, chicken shit. Words could hardly convey her revulsion at the stench, but the look on Ling's face said it all; factory farm egg production in America is an abomination.

The meat mafia branded Oprah a slanderer back in 1996 when she got mad about mad cow disease and famously swore off burgers. So, this time, a litigation-leary Oprah bent over backwards to give Agribiz apologists a chance to justify their cruel and inhumane practices. Their defense? Americans need cheap eggs so badly that we don't give a cluck about the barbaric conditions it takes to create them.

We'll find out if that's true on November 4th, when Californians will have the chance to pass Proposition 2--the measure that would force a phase out of battery cages in that state by 2015. Julie Buckner, a spokesperson for the Prop. 2 opponents who've adopted the astroturf-y moniker Californians for Safe Food, warned Oprah's audience ominously that if Prop. 2 passes, "Certainly the egg industry in California will be wiped out...and in all likelihood, eggs will come from outside the U.S.--Mexico, even overseas as far as China."

Because, you know, it's just impossible to produce eggs in a safe, humane way at a reasonable price in this country.

Then Oprah brought out the small-scale farmers who produce eggs in a safe, humane way at a reasonable price in this country. The thing is, letting your chickens run around in the open air and take dust baths and grab grubs and flap their wings requires a slightly higher level of animal husbandry than shoving hens in a box and forcing them to crank out eggs till their bones break and their uteruses pop out.

This gruesome phenomenon, called "uterine prolapse," is a common consequence of intensive egg production. The fact that it's tolerated by the factory farmers in the name of economy and efficiency validates Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle's assertion to Oprah that proponents of industrial livestock production are oblivious to the agony they inflict on their animals:

"The problem with the factory farm industry ... is that they don't think it's wrong because they have a worldview that animals are commodities. They're units of production. They're objects."

We've been here before with rBST, the bovine growth hormone that increases a dairy cow's milk output--and puts her at heightened risk for a painful udder infection that produces pus-filled milk. Consumers have resoundingly rejected dairy products from rBST-injected cows. But that hasn't stopped the lacto-lobby from insisting that rBST is actually a super-duper eco-friendly way to farm 'cause it lets you wring more milk out of fewer cows, thereby curbing a dairy farmer's carbon hoofprint.

Oprah's egg exposé will surely go a long way to inspire a similar revolt against battery cage eggs, but she didn't even show her audience the most egregious--no pun intended--offenses of the industrial egg biz. Somebody else got them on tape, though--a non-profit organization called Mercy For Animals went undercover at Norco Ranch, a factory farm in Riverside County, California, and documented the atrocious conditions that constitute business as usual.

And, as usual, when confronted with the footage of workers wantonly abusing animals, a Norco executive insisted that its standards had been violated, claiming that Norco doesn't tolerate such aberrant behavior. You know, just like those Westland executives who decried the "renegade" employees captured on tape earlier this year at their Chino, California meat packing plant tormenting downer cows. Ah, yes, the folks who own these operations are invariably shocked, shocked, when undercover activists capture the routine savagery of their facilities on camera.

As the Sacramento Bee noted on Tuesday, "Norco is owned by MoArk, the top contributor to the No on 2 campaign, having given more than $785,000." Never heard of MoArk? They're the same conglomerate that brings you Land O' Lakes butter, whose trademarked slogan is "Where simple goodness begins."

Watch the Mercy For Animals video and you'll ask "Where does simple decency begin?" I don't know whether freedom is on the march, but cruel, inhumane confinement is definitely on the run in California. On November 4th, voters will have the chance to say "yes" to Proposition 2, which the Humane Society has sponsored in the hopes that it will help end some of the most appalling practices of the industrial egg industry.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof declared Propostion 2 "the most important election this November that you've never heard of." It was Kristof's op-ed on Proposition 2, "A Farm Boy Reflects," that compelled Oprah to delve more deeply into the question of how we treat our farm animals in America. Can we do better? Yes, we can. And if Proposition 2 passes, we surely will.

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

Comments

[theunsilenced]

I think it's a shame Oprah ruined this opportunity to promote veganism (which strikes at the root of the problem), but instead, promoted welfarism. Farm animals don't desire to be exploited or killed any more than the dogs she was crying her eyes out over, who are killed in puppy mills and shelters. Yet she believes there is such thing as "humane" animal products, when they always involve exploitation and death--just not to the commonly perceived "cute" animals.

There is no need for animal products. People only consume them because they enjoy the taste. Child abusers enjoy harming children, but that's not justification for them to do it, nor is it suggested that harm to children can be done "humanely." All sentient beings--be they dog, human or cow--deserve to be free from exploitation and violence, and should be accorded equal consideration as far as not being treated as means to an ends. Anyone can suffer from discrimination, including nonhumans. There is no such thing as "compassionate violence." People who truly take nonhuman interests seriously will go vegan.

http://thepissedoffvegan.blogspot.com/2008/10/dog-meat-and-humanely-harvested-human_9550.html

[MarkLana]

Treating animals with care is not only important for moral reasons, but an animal’s treatment can affect the quality of the food we eat.

While we are thankful to Ms. Winfrey for alerting us all to potential mistreatment, we want to refute the assertion that “proponents of industrial livestock production are oblivious to the agony they inflict” and ease concerns about the farming industry. Most American farmers genuinely care about the welfare of the animals they raise.

My company, HS3 Technologies, is partnering with The American Humane Association (AHA) to certify that farmers raise animals humanely for food. The industry is moving away from methods, such as the chicken cages featured in the program. Producers volunteer to be a part of The AHA-certified program and are making improvements in the living conditions of chickens, as well as cattle and pigs. We’ve been to many farms across the country to install our video surveillance technology and serve as an independent monitor to offer transparency.

These farmers voluntarily participate in the American Humane Certified (www.thehumanetouch.org) program, designed to protect both consumers and animals. Participating farmers’ products are marked with the AHA seal -- allowing consumers to choose with conscience and health in mind.

The majority of American farmers are conscientious and eager to develop high standards and transparency for the industry.

Mark Lana
CEO, HS3 Technologies, Inc. hs3tech.com

[imvegan]

I'm also a vegan, because I recognized the cruelty involved in raising animals for food many years ago.

Proposition 2, is about having an ounce of decency so farm animals can move around a little bit instead of being jammed into small spaces so tight, they cannot even turn around for most of their entire lives. If you live in California, even if you eat animals and use eggs and dairy, Prop 2 is something very small you can do to make a difference. It will make a positive difference in the lives of these animals. What you saw on Oprah was only issue related to Prop 2, which is the cramped spaces in which animals are kept on factory farms. The video she showed was very tame and sanitized compared to the horrific conditions I and my friends have seen with our own eyes over the years. I realize that not everyone will choose to be vegan or vegetarian any time soon. But even if you eat meat or eggs, surely you can do something small like this to make sure the farm animals you're eating are treated well during their lives.

[JuniorNorman]

How to make Organic Eggs. First grow hemp plants crack the seeds with a mill and feed them to your chickens. Give the green leaves to peck on for the chlorophyl they need. Hemp seeds have complete protein. The chickens will grow bigger and faster than bags of costly agway feed. The EFA's in the hemp seeds go into the eggs making them super-eggs. Take stalks of the plants and have them turned into bio-diesel at the county refinery. Dont be cruel as OAT-WILLEY used to say "SET YOUR CHICKENS FREE!"

[bluprojekt]

Preach on!!! The notion that hemp is a bad thing is rediculous - I use Hemp protein powder in my shakes using Rice milk and it is delicious - I admit I do eat eggs occasionally - but I buy only organic free range eggs - and if possible I purchase them from my local farmers/growers market. I pay a premium, but I know it's one small thing I can do to not support this hideous practice.

"Now Go Away or I Will Taunt You a Second Time."

[toocoldout]

I loved the show & thought it was much needed. Oprah's becoming quite the animal rights activist. First her showdown with Texas cattlemen, then she took on puppy mills, now this.

[Suasoria]

Everyone who eats eggs needs to see this video. Seriously. Even if you don't care a whit about chickens, you'll cringe at the disgusting conditions that egg goes through before it ends up in your breakfast.

[veda4animals]

Oprah's show on the 14th about factory farming was just spectacular. As a vegan activist for 19 years, I do hope that the show will be the death knell for the "don't ask, don't smell" era of factory farming. There is no way to reform an industry that brutalizes and slaughters 10 billion land animals every year in the U.S... that's 300 animals a second. Being vegan is just wonderful for my heart, my body, my mind, my soul...my planet!

[peachesmahoney]

This show was an eye opener and the first relevant Oprah in a very long time. I plan on voting yes on 2 and urge other Californians to do the same.