DAYTON — The Miami Valley chapter of the Ohio Farmers Union has endorsed the work of The Humane Society of the United States’ Agriculture Advisory Council for Ohio.
The vote was unanimous, according to Bill Miller, president of the Miami Valley Farmers Union and member of the HSUS advisory council.
He said HSUS representatives spoke at two recent meetings of the Miami Valley Farmers Union.
“Because of these meetings and the facts presented, there was enthusiastic, unambiguous and unanimous support for The HSUS Agriculture Advisory Council for Ohio, of which I am a proud member,” Miller said.
The HSUS Agriculture Advisory Council for Ohio provides advice and guidance to The HSUS to advance humane and sustainable agricultural practices in Ohio. The council spotlights farms using best practices and helps connect them to markets.
…all well and good?
…fine and dandy?
or just the “thin end of the wedge?” the camel just sticking its nose into the tent?
others have said of HSUS proposed farming laws/rules/regulations:
“This HSUS-backed legislation would set a dangerous precedent that could let Washington bureaucrats dictate how livestock and poultry producers raise and care for their animals,” said NPPC President Doug Wolf, a hog farmer from Lancaster, Wis. “We don’t need or want the federal government and HSUS telling us how to do our jobs.”
and also:
“This one-size-fits-all farm takeover bill is government intrusion on family farms at its worst and is unnecessary,” he added. “If enacted, it would open Pandora’s Box for special interest groups to pursue similar federal laws on pig farmers, dairy farmers and other family farming operations.”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Bill Donald also expressed concern.
“This legislation, while currently only affecting egg producers, could set a dangerous precedent to allow government bureaucrats in Washington to mandate how farmers and ranchers across the nation raise and care for their animals,” said Donald. “This ill-conceived legislation could set the model for a one-size-fits-all approach to cattle production. Unfortunately, one-size-fits all doesn’t work with cattle producers, who are in diverse settings in all 50 states. This legislation won’t improve animal health or care and will result in further costly and burdensome regulations being placed on America’s food producers.”
just be careful who you agree with and ally yourself with these days; many have a terrible hidden agenda. the chickens, calves, or steer you raise may wind up having more legal rights than you some day. or, just agree with everything, hold hands around the campfire and sing KumbaYa.
http://www.agri-pulse.com/HSUS_UEP_legislation_012312.asp
Isn’t it about time Farm Bureau polices its own members? Perhaps consumers are more aware of how their meats are raised and the damage done to the neighbors and the environment from Factory Farms. Lake Erie suffers from the overloading of waste by the farmers in the western part of Ohio. Park Farms destroyed the value of my home and I left it as for 26 years no offers were forthcoming from every realtor who listed it in Stark Coumty. When Farm Bureau, and I was a member for 26 years, can step up to the plate of responsibility instead of continuing down the road of protecting the bad actors, progress will be made and farmers will earn the respect of consumers and environmentalists. Right now they do not see that as the way to go.
For many years farmers have failed to take the initiate to police themselves and get after the bad actors in their industry. If they had done this, perhaps the HSUS and Mercy for Animals would not have had to go down the road of doing this for them. With the industrialization of the livestock industry came horrendous abuses which could have been corrected but were allowed to continue. Consumers are now more aware of this and look to the powers of Farm Bureau and Agriculture to right the wrongs. Finally Farmers Union recognized the need for changes. Kudos to that organization!
Farmers Union Pollyanna approach is handing the keys to determining industry management practices to HSUS and Mercy for Animals- Two organizations that are more concerned with fund raising than animal care. Their proposals will be based on best practices to enhance fund raising efforts for them and eventually push out the smaller family focused farms to the benefit of larger mega farms. Consumers and the public at large need to realize that better animal care results in more efficient profitable farms. Plying scare tactics on the uninformed public to raise funds of which less than 1 per cent directly helps animals is immoral if it shouldn’t be illegal.
Because Farmers’ Union is only a relevant orgainzation when it is engaged in controversy and disagreement, the malcontents that make up the majority of membership are all too happy to tag their hopes on an alliance with fellow malcontents in the animal rights movement to keep Farmer’s Union viable. These contrarians realize that the only hope for keeping their minority pod alive is to ride the coat tails of a more cult-like organization that already has a high profile presence.
Farmers’ Union has yet to learn the lesson of the Smiling Lady from Liger.
How sad, Thom Katt’s comment has no answer for the so-called mal contents in Farmers Union, but would rather protect the bad actors who have given farming a bad name. With the industrialization of the livestock industry came real issues that could have been corrected. A two tier system of animal industry would have prevented Park Farms/Case Farms from destroying the value of my property and forcing me to leave it after spending 26 years trying to sell it. Does this enhance the image of farming Thom? I wonder how he would feel if a chemical plant set up business next to his home? Luther Tweeten of OSU noted that Farm Bureau did not factor in the externalities in when determining the profits of Factory Farms. My home was one of the externalities Thom. I wonder how you would feel if this had happened to your lifetime investment?
The Ohio Farmers Union represents FAMILY FARMERS – not corporate mega farms or industrial animal production operations. The HSUS is the nation’s largest and most effective animal protection organization. They confront the worst cruelties of factory farming in modern agribusiness such as extreme confinement in cages and crates. Sadly, large agribusiness proponents are trying to frighten people with scare tactics because they know the OFU and HSUS will work together to improve the treatment of animals in factory farms.
I will agree that Ohio Farmers Union represents A FEW family farmers. But the organization doesn’t represent all family farmers. It doesn’t even represent a majority of family farmers. And OFU isn’t nearly so effective as a representative as is Ohio Farm Bureau which represents many more family farmers, especially mainstream family farmers. On the other hand, I disagree that HSUS is an animal protection organization. One has to use an absurdly broad definition of the word “protection” to associate it with HSUS. It is more appropriate to characterize HSUS is an animal rights legislation organization and an animal rights litigation mill. HSUS uses less than 1% of the funds it collects for actually taking care of animals in distress. Most of the funds donated to HSUS end up going toward salaries, pension funds and investments. The organizations employs something like 29 lawyers to work on legislation and litigation. How many veterinarians and kennel technicians call HSUS their employer? HSUS intends to regulate and control the interaction between humans and animals. It is odd that Wayne Pacelle refers to himself as an animal lover. He doesn’t own any.
If you want the help animals, volunteer at or donate to your local animal shelter or local humane society. HSUS will just squander your donations.