The Michigan state legislature has passed proactive legislation, negotiated between the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) and the state's egg, pork and veal production industries, to address certain production practices in their businesses. The legislation will ban the use of so-called battery cages in egg production and gestation stalls in the pork industry in a little more than 10 years, and the use of crates for veal production in three years.
Jim Byrum, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association, was involved in negotiations. Byrum says no one likes change and no one likes to spend money to make those changes. The fact of the matter is, he says, agriculture recognizes we must be more responsive to consumer demand and perceptions. This legislation is a manifestation of that realization.
HSUS had threatened to collect signatures for a ballot initiative in Michigan that, according to Byrum, would have caused essentially these same outcomes, but in a much shorter time-frame and with much more onerous penalties against Michigan farmers. Byrum believes this is the best resolution to a difficult situation, and producers now have certainty and can spend their resources to comply with the new guidelines.
Meanwhile, livestock interests in Ohio are promoting their own "Proposition 2"
It's actually called Issue 2 in Ohio. And in a little over a month, Ohioans will vote on whether to amend the state constitution to create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.
If passed, the measure would establish the Ohio Livestock Standards Board, which would set standards on animal care and "take into account issues of food safety, local availability and affordability of food and the best farm management practices for animal well-being.”
According to the Ohio Farm Bureau, the resolution for Issue 2 had "overwhelming support" in the Ohio General Assembly, and passed 83 to 16 in the House and 31 to 1 in the Senate. However, Issue 2 is not without opposition. Critics include the HSUS, the Ohio Farmers Union, the Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance and the Ohio Sierra Club.
