- A Flap Over Foie Gras
From Newsweek --Foie gras has been a delicacy for centuries, but its production method now has some surprising critics. Production and sale in the U.S. may soon be illegal.
“Seared and doused with a port-wine reduction, or baked with truffles into a terrine, it is the key to the restaurant industry's holy grail: the $20 appetizer. But to animal-rights activists, it's fur on a plate, an outrageous flaunting of humanity's dominion over other species, and at the same time a wedge issue that can usefully be wielded against the entire meat industry ”Full Article
- The Prison Overcrowding Fix
From New York Times -- In February, 2009, it was decided by a federal court in San Francisco that the California prison system will reduce the number of its prisoners by one-third. This decision will bring the state's prisoner level down to approximately 101,000 inmates, improving the health care in California prisons.
“ Federal judges tentatively ruled Monday that packed facilities were the chief impediment to adequate health care in prisons — a system so flawed it was tantamount to a violation of the Eighth Amendment. ”Full Article
- Secrets in Your Food
From ABC News --Although there is little agreement over the safety of geneticaly modified foods, chances are it's already in your meal.
“ Here are the facts: The majority of corn and soy products we eat are genetically modified. There is also some biotech papaya. ”Full Article
- Encountering Peace: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow - or Maybe Not
From The Jerusalem Post --Israel has no systematic long-term strategy for dealing with Palestine, seeming to operate only in crisis mode. Equally as important as cultivating an exit strategy is the need to have a plan for Gaza after the conflict is over. As it stands, there is no leading school of thought for either.
“ This may have really been a "war of no choice," however I am completely convinced that the policies implemented over the past years have led us directly to the point where we perhaps had no choice. ”Full Article
- Egg Farm Video
Wegmans Egg farm proudly marks its egg cartons with the Animal Care Certified logo. Yet undercover footage at a Wegman's egg farm reveals extreme overcrowding, trampled birds, overly trimmed beaks, and excrement falling on birds from the cages above them.
- California Sues Navy Over Sonar, Whale Deaths
From MSNBC -- The U.S. Navy was sued in 2007 because of its decision to continue sonar training exercises off the coast of California, despite regulations and protests from environmental groups. The Navy broke an agreement with the California Coastal Commission to perform the exercises while avoiding coastal waters with a large whale and dolphin population and reducing sonar levels when it's difficult for ship personnel to spot sea life.
“ Critics contend sonar has harmful effects on whales, possibly by damaging their hearing, and other marine mammals worldwide. A congressional report last year found the Navy's sonar exercises have been blamed for at least six cases of mass death and stranding among whales in the past decade. ”Full Article
- Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
From the Pew National Commission on Industrial Farm Production-- Though it has reduced costs and increased the speed of production, the industrialization of food animal production has created a number of problems that must be addressed for the sake of public health, animal welfare, the environment, and the social structure and economy of rural communities.
“ Despite the dramatic decline in family farms over the past 50 years, many Americans, until very recently, continued to think that their food still came from these small farms. ”Full Article
- Prescription for Trouble: Using Antibiotics to Fatten Livestock
From the Union of Concerned Scientists-- The use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials to promote weight gain in chickens, cows, and pigs is a standard practice at most large factory farms. Health experts now link this practice to drug-resistant strains of bacteria and a recent rise in the reported incidence of foodborne illness.
“ If you get food poisoning, will the antibiotic prescribed by your doctor be able to fight the infection? This seems like an age of miracle drugs. Few weeks go by without a news story heralding a promising new drug or drug therapy. Ironically, concealed in the din of information about new drugs looms a health crisis growing out of the loss of old drugs. ”Full Article
- Facts: Factory FarmingSponsored Content
From the In Defense of Animals website-- A brief history of factory farming, and little-known facts about the living conditions and common practices in the overcrowded livestock facilities that give factory farming its name.
“ Our society is showered with images of happy animals living on farms where the cows graze in lush green fields and the chickens have the run of the barnyard. This vision of free-roaming animals living out their days in sunny fields is very far from the reality. A majority of the animals that are raised for food live miserable lives in intensive confinement in dark, overcrowded facilities, commonly called 'factory farms.' ”Full Article
- Mabale Growers' Tea Factory Ltd.
From Fairtrade Foundation -- Here is profile of a fair trade producer working with the FairTrade Foundation. Located in the Western hilly slopes of the Kyenjojo District of Western Uganda, exist the Mabale Grower's Tea Factory. The factory was initially abandoned during the Amin regime.
“ ‘Thanks to Fairtrade, we have changed our agricultural techniques which have improved the quality and quantity of our teas. We have opened new access roads to benefit all in the community, assisted in providing primary health care through construction of health units and added a new block to a local secondary school. Fairtrade is significantly contributing towards the social improvement of our community and providing a better future for our youngsters.’ ”
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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