The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine issues licences and approves animal semen services in order to protect animal health and improve traceability. “HSUS’s budget is determined in part by donor interest, because many donors restrict their donations to certain causes. PETA’s tactics may be partially responsible for the characterizations, which you often see reflected in movies and television, of vegetarians and vegans as being weird, radical, or outcasts. Farm animal advocacy interventions we have heard about include: 1. By treating farm animals the same as workers treat equipment or machinery in a factory, farmers are able to raise and produce animals at extraordinary rates. 322-337. Antibiotic Overuse in Animal Agriculture. “HSUS does extensive public opinion polling to help figure out what is tractable and what message will resonate with people. In part due to the agriculture industry’s reliance on antibiotics to prop up an unhealthy system, the efficacy of these life-saving drugs for humans is rapidly declining. Some of these videos led to the production of a short video entitled “Farm to Fridge,” which provides the base for many video outreach and online veg ad programs. by becoming vegetarian or vegan). Laying hens must be genetically suited to the alternative housing system to realize its full welfare advantages. There are over a billion animals in the United States being raised for food. We’ve got a choice to make, and it only means our lives: We can treat our animals better and heal our bodies in the bargain, or become the last of … Questions: 1. This method of food production not only gave rise to problems like unethical treatment of animals and over use of drugs on farms, but also created a rift between the accelerating pace of human living and the natural world. Harris Teeter: Animal Welfare Details about animal welfare policies at Harris Teeter, including information on controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK), controlled-atmosphere stunning (CAS), … Animals are treated as mere commodities, crammed together with little space, natural light or stimuli. For instance, political scientist Frank Baumgartner told us that animal welfare issues tend to be “very crowded.” Notes from a conversation with Frank Baumgartner, 5/13/2013. Broiler breeders, the parent stock of chickens raised for meat, are subjected to severe feed restriction, and males may undergo painful toe and beak amputations, mutilations performed without pain relief. The ASPCA continues its efforts to create distress-free lives for the many animals raised for food.”. Additionally, approximately 340 million laying hens are raised in the egg industry (280 million birds who produce table eggs and 60 million kept for breeding), and more than 270 million turkeys are slaughtered for meat… Market weight is reached after 6-7 weeks for broiler chickens, approximately 99 days for turkey hens, and 136 days for tom turkeys.” Humane Society of the United States, “An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Meat, Egg, and Dairy Industries”. HSUS distributes unrestricted funds to its campaigns based on its supporters’ interests. Given their complexity, cage-free systems can be more challenging to manage and may require superior husbandry skills and knowledge. This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators. Advertising to individuals to encourage As you can see, PETA and HSUS are by far the largest; however, they only spend Legislative advocacy, lobbying, or ballot initiative campaigns to encourage state governments to ban particularly harmful practices. It is a farmer’s job and duty to protect their animals and make them productive; the only way to make an animal productive is if they are well kept and “happy.” For example, of the 291 million egg-laying hens in the U.S., roughly 95% are raised in battery cages, which restrict motion and prevent hens from engaging in natural behaviors. One way of assessing how effective these groups are is to pay attention to the factory farming industry perspective – to see which advocacy groups the industry is most concerned about, based on what is written in trade publications. Amongst other topics, our further research on this cause might address: We initially decided to investigate this issue because of our perception that animals involved in industrial agriculture in the U.S. are subject to significant harm. Read the source article at Open Philanthropy Project. Certain events have created short-lived increases in public interest, such as Mad Cow disease or the horsemeat scandal. The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International present comprehensive reports on animal agribusiness and its toll on farm animal welfare, the environment and public health. […] Pressuring large food sellers (e.g. While many cruel practices may still be legal, it is illegal to lie to consumers about them. A managed breeding programme carried out to produce animals for sale would be considered agricultural activity. They also host an annual Animal Rights National Conference.” Notes from a conversation with Jon Bockman, 7/12/2013. 2794. In order to receive funding animal welfare organisations have to meet a series of operational standards to ensure the funds are used effectively. Still, they’ve produced some amazingly significant results with that team. Farm Sanctuary also gives tours to the public, which creates exposure and helps people to understand the intelligence and personalities of farm animals. They are treated as cogs in a mechanized, heartless industry that does not allow them to express their natural behaviors. We do not have a strong sense of the likely costs or returns to any of these strategies. Image credit: The Monday Campaigns. Meaning, if a producer has tried organic medication and it fails, they must treat the animal with conventional medications. The modern, industrialized way in which we produce meat, eggs and other animal products has turned animals into units of production, subject to inhumane treatment, terrible living conditions and cruel deaths. By the late 1970s America was catching up an executive from Walls Meat Co, writing in the National Hog Farmer, stated that the breeding sow "should be thought of and treated as a valuable piece of machinery whose function is to pump out baby pigs like a sausage machine." Total expenses (2012): $5,874,168, Farm animal advocacy interventions we have heard about include: Outside the realm of advocacy, a funder may be able to support groups that evaluate the treatment of farm animals by different producers to enable consumers to make more informed choices with regards to animal welfare. That campaign cost $10 million over 2 years (four million of which came directly from HSUS, which was by far the biggest backer of the measure).”. Perhaps the most controversial of all misconceptions about agriculture is the thought that farmers abuse their animals. For this investigation we focused on organizations based in the United States. Therefore, industrial animal farming is cruel and immoral. Excluding aquatic animals, 9 out of 10 animals that are killed in the US are farm animals, and more than 9 out of 10 of those farm animals are chickens. HSUS recently got the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the country, to implement Meatless Mondays. 4 Animals on today’s farms are raised in cramped and unhygienic conditions, cooped up with thousands of others, languishing in their own waste with … Because the animals are housed in such crowded and unsanitary conditions, CAFOs routinely mutilate them. How effective and cost-effective are the various advocacy strategies outlined above? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), ~$30 million “Some organizations that work on farm animal advocacy, and their rough annual budgets: “There are a few groups doing similar work to HSUS on farm animal welfare. Except as otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. Approximately 80% of all the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are for use in animal agriculture. (For a more detailed discussion of this argument, see my essay “Veganisms“.) Introduction to Industrial Animal Agriculture, FES, pp. The International Network for Strategic Planning (INSP) hopes to promote greater giving, more strategically engaged. The Worst Farm Animal Welfare Practices Investigative reporting that exposes and raises the profile of abuses of animals in industrial agriculture. Sounds legit. Mercy For Animals, ~$2 million FARM conducts a wide array of vegan outreach. Farm Sanctuary serves as a national symbol for how farm animals should live. This way you will do your part to create a better world for all, including the animals. Farm Sanctuary, ~$8-10 million Our research in this area has been relatively limited, and many important questions remain unanswered by our investigation. Animal advocates report that the vast majority of them are raised on factory farms where they are treated in ways that may cause them extreme suffering. Mercy For Animals is a not-for-profit organisation fighting to protect and end the systematic abuse of farmed animals. Since you are interested in Philanthropy, have you read these selections from Giving Compass related to impact giving and Philanthropy? FARM, ~$500,000. Information on farm animal and meat quality standards as well as species-specific Animal Compassionate Standards required of producers who supply Whole Foods Markets. Manure nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) applied in excess of the assimilative soil … Factory farming is the main source of animal cruelty in the food industry. “The main advocacy strategies that HSUS employs are TV ads and online ads to shift public awareness, and in-district work to influence lawmakers, which includes directly contacting local legislators as well as grassroots organizing to get community groups involved and active on these issues. These farm animals—sentient, complex, and capable of feeling pain and frustration, joy and excitement—are viewed by industrialized agriculture as commodities and suffer myriad assaults to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, typically denied the ability to engage in their species-specific behavioral needs. HSUS has helped to pass laws in 9 states to criminalize various factory farming practices (e.g., battery cages for egg-laying hens, gestation crates for pigs, and veal crates for calves).”, “HSUS has carried out multimillion-dollar campaigns on legislative initiatives, such as the Proposition 2 ballot measure in California, which succeeded in banning 3 of the worst factory farming practices. ), to mandate that their meat, egg, and dairy suppliers improve animal welfare in their supply chains. They have provided funding that allows many activists to engage in outreach that they otherwise would not have been able to fund. Animal welfare improvements may generate less significant, Jon Bockman, Executive Director, Effective Animal Activism (, Paul Shapiro, Vice President, Farm Animal Protection, The Humane Society of the United States (, Adam Sheingate, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University (, “While many people are concerned with animal suffering, be it through vivisection, puppy mills, or entertainment, few realize that 98% of animals killed in the U.S. are killed for food supplies, and that 95% of those were raised on factory farms.”. Litigation against corporations (to compel compliance with laws) or government agencies (to compel them to enforce laws). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), ~$30 million Research shows that factory farms’ widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health. Mercy For Animals primarily focuses on conducting undercover investigations. Snooters is one of a growing number of sanctuaries in Canada that exist partly in response to industrial agriculture. Doing so makes it final product, clothing or food in most cases, significantly cheaper for the consumer. The natural breeding that takes place is not a managed activity and is incidental to the main activity of providing a recreational facility. Other institutional uses of animals include experimentation and the fur, circus, and hunting industries; these uses together account for under 5% of total institutional animal usage. The Humane Society of the United States, which has a budget of roughly $140 million/year, is the largest national animal welfare advocacy organization by a wide margin. The Meatless Monday movement encourages people to replace animal products with healthy vegetarian or vegan alternatives at least one day per week—not just for their personal health but also to reduce the public health, environmental, social, and animal welfare harms of industrial food animal production. [3] A Guide to Vehicles for Philanthropy and Charitable Giving, How Philanthropy Can Impact Antibiotic Resistance, Want to help animals? Animals are kept in cages or crates, or are crowded together in pens. The direct gift, while still king in most countries, is increasingly complemented by a rich range of other vehicles for giving, e.g., donor advised funds, private foundations, and giving circles. We have not yet vetted animal advocates’ claims about the extent to which industrial agriculture practices inflict harm upon chickens and other farm animals and how much they suffer as a result. More than 90% of eggs come from laying hens who spend their whole lives locked inside of cages where they do not have enough space to spread their wings. eggs) from their products or to use more humane products (i.e. That is why The World Health Organization and the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have recommended restrictions on agricultural uses of antibiotics. Donât forget the chickens. Legislative advocacy, lobbying, or ballot initiative campaigns to encourage state governments to ban particularly harmful practices.4 2. "Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known as factory farming, is a production approach towards farm animals in order to maximize production output while minimizing production costs." The investigation that went into this report has been quite limited, consisting primarily of conversations with three individuals: “Of the approximately 11 billion animals killed annually in the United States, 86% are birds—98% of land animals in agriculture—and the overwhelming majority are “broiler” chickens raised for meat, approximately 1 million killed each hour. Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. VegFund supports outreach, like “feed ins,” where vegan food is given away for free in public, as well as programs screening undercover videos of factory farms and online vegan ads. In the 1970s, for example, a case was brought against the FDA for not completing the review process for the use of certain antibiotics in farmed animals. They have created a substantial name for themselves through their PR efforts, and have expanded fairly rapidly in the past few years. Most work to advance farm animal welfare falls under the general rubric of advocacy, whether targeting individuals, corporations, or governments. Vetting these claims would be one of our top priorities were we to investigate this area further. In the last year, HSUS has made major announcements with about 60 different major food retailers, including McDonalds, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Safeway, and Costco, about reforms in their supply chains.”, “Sign the petition urging Tyson Foods to adopt a gestation crate-free policy.”, “HSUS’s Animal Protection Litigation department is active in the court room on issues directly related to the treatment of farm animals, and also indirectly, by suing companies for false advertising about the treatment of farm animals. “The work done on behalf of broiler chickens is largely campaigns to reduce consumption; there is very little legislative advocacy done on behalf of broiler chickens.”, “HSUS works with the biggest food sellers (fast food sellers, grocery chains, etc. If an animal is sick, ... EPA states that animal agriculture is the #1 cause of water pollution. We have not yet vetted animal advocates’ claims about the extent to which industrial agriculture practices inflict harm upon chickens and other farm animals and how much they suffer as a result. If you are interested in Conservation, please see these relevant Issue Funds, Charitable Organizations or Projects where you can get involved. For factory farming campaigns, it often focuses its work on states with a large number of factory farms, but also campaigns in states with lots of consumers, even if they don’t have as many factory farms. Flock size for March 1, 2013 was 291 million layers. “Farm animals are more than 9 out of 10 of all the animals who are institutionally killed in America. Farm Sanctuary, ~$8-10 million One output of the INSP network is the publication of a series of monographs on key issues in global philanthropy. For centuries, animal manures have been a traditional source of nutrients in agriculture. We treat them as inanimate objects, but each has his or her own personality,” says Brian Morris, co-owner of the 25-acre sanctuary, which is home to 25 rescued animals, including two calves, a dozen pigs, and horses and chickens. This may be a more tractable way to make progress than advocating for major legislation.”, “Some organizations that work on farm animal advocacy, and their rough annual budgets: Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), ~$140 million…”, “Since 1866, the ASPCA has worked to stop cruelty to animals involved in the food production process. Compassion Over Killing, ~$800,000 By signing up, you agree to our terms of use. Vegfund, ~ $2 million Your personal information is confidential at Giving Compass. Rapid and immediate reform is needed to improve the welfare of chickens raised for meat.”, “Each year in the United States, approximately 11 billion animals are raised and killed for meat, eggs, and milk. 3 Antibiotics are routinely administered to animals to make them grow faster and to prevent disease. With every meatless meal, you can help make these images a part of the past. Rate of lay per day on March 1, 2013 averaged 74.3 eggs per 100 layers, up slightly from last year.”, “An estimated 95% of the 280 million hens in the U.S. egg-laying flock are confined in battery cages. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Vetting these claims would be one of our top priorities were we to investigate this area further. Legislative campaigns to improve the welfare of egg-laying hens focus on improving the conditions under which they live. What does the existing scientific literature indicate about the magnitude of harm imposed upon animals by industrial agriculture, and about the extent to which chickens and other farm animals are capable of suffering? VegFund, which was founded about 4 years ago, provides funding for activists to do outreach on behalf of farm animals internationally. Alternative, cage-free systems allow hens to move freely through their environment and to engage in most of the behavior thwarted by battery-cage confinement. A number of other large animal protection organizations do some work on farm animal welfare: However, none of these groups are primarily focused on farm animals, and we are unable to say with precision what portion of their budgets are directed towards efforts on farm animals.14, We also heard about six considerably smaller advocacy organizations, with annual budgets in the approximate range from $500 thousand/year to $2 million/year, and Farm Sanctuary, which has a budget of ~$9 million/year but is not exclusively focused on advocacy.15, The relatively small field of factory farming groups we heard about from advocates contrasted with our initial impression that animal issues tend to receive significant attention from a large number of advocacy groups.16 Our current understanding is that issues affecting stereotypically “cute” animals, such as cats and dogs, tend to receive disproportionate attention from most animal welfare advocates and donors, but that the treatment of animals in industrial agriculture may be relatively neglected.17. Download the full PDF below.Â. Naturally, a cow can live … Of course, ... Sick or injured animals are rarely given treatment. Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), ~$140 million Maintaining farm animal sanctuaries that are open to the public, to enable people to interact with farm animals with the intention of increasing empathy for them. “Compassion over Killing and Mercy for Animals have litigation programs, but these organizations are not as focused on litigation as HSUS. HSUS, for example, advocates for a wide variety of animal causes, with a large percentage of their budget going towards non-farm animal related advocacy such as companion animals and wildlife. In the profit-driven world of industrialized agriculture, animals are no longer viewed as living, feeling beings. How much funding is currently allocated to each of them? GuideStar, “Animal Legal Defense Fund”, Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS), ~$140 million Potential Risks from Advanced Artificial Intelligence, American Egg Board, “Egg Industry Fact Sheet”, Humane Society of the United States, “An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Chicken Industry”, Humane Society of the United States, “An HSUS Report: The Welfare of Animals in the Meat, Egg, and Dairy Industries”, Humane Society of the United States, “Crammed into Gestation Crates”, Humane Society of the United States, “Farm Animal Statistics: Slaughter Totals”, Notes from a conversation with Adam Sheingate, 8/2/2013, Notes from a conversation with Frank Baumgartner, 5/13/2013, Notes from a conversation with Jon Bockman, 7/12/2013, Notes from a conversation with Paul Shapiro, 7/15/2013, Shields and Duncan, “An HSUS Report: A Comparison of the Welfare of Hens in Battery Cages and Alternative Systems”. Cages also lead to severe disuse osteoporosis due to lack of exercise. Animal factories are corporate-controlled monoculture, in which all of the federal largesse goes out of the community, and all efforts are focused on industrial livestock production, eliminating any other economic enterprises. Why It Matters. Selectively bred for rapid growth, broiler chickens are prone to a variety of skeletal and metabolic disorders that can cause suffering, pain, and death. “HSUS works with institutions, such as school districts and hospitals, to implement “Meatless Mondays.” This program has benefits for public health and the environment in addition to animal welfare. The industry would not be able to function if this were the case. Improving the lives of millions of pigs all around the world. Egg industry guidelines recommend 432.3 cm2, “Cages prevent hens from performing the bulk of their natural behavior, including nesting, perching, dustbathing, scratching, foraging, exercising, running, jumping, flying, stretching, wingflapping, and freely walking. 347-352. They are taking some initiative to conduct research on the effectiveness of their tactics, which is very encouraging. After all, you get to choose from a myriad of appealing animal products at every store. To save space, factory-farmed animals are crammed together in barren pens, crates or cages, preventing normal behaviours such as nesting or foraging. Vegan Outreach, ~$1 million These groups are more focused on undercover investigations and TV and online ad campaigns encouraging people to change their diets and to support other positive reforms for farm animals.” Notes from a conversation with Paul Shapiro, 7/15/2013. They also conduct outreach like leafleting and video outreach, which they conduct at many festivals across the country. 1.4 Is the natural breeding of animals in zoos and game parks agricultural activity? The treatment of farm animals and the conditions in which they are raised, transported, and slaughter within industrialized agriculture are incompatible with providing adequate levels of welfare.”, “In 2012, the average number of egg-type laying hens in the United States was 286 million. Notes from a conversation with Paul Shapiro, 7/15/2013: “Farm Sanctuary’s approach is to improve individual animal lives by creating sanctuaries for farm animals, and also to build support for farm animal advocacy by allowing people to meet and connect with these animals, thereby increasing how much people care for the welfare of farm animals.” Notes from a conversation with Paul Shapiro, 7/15/2013. Intensive animal farming is a relatively recent development in the history of agriculture, and the result of scientific discoveries and technological advances.Innovations from the late 19th century generally parallel developments in mass production in other industries in the latter part of the Industrial Revolution.The discovery of vitamins and their role in animal nutrition, in the first … © Open Philanthropy. “Factory farm” is a term commonly used to describe an industrial facility that raises large numbers of farm animals such as pigs, chickens or cows in intensive confinement where their movements are extremely inhibited. This is a factory farm. FARM, ~$500,000 This includes campaigns like their 10 Billion Lives Tour in which they travel the country to conduct video outreach. The industry has fallen into the hands of large corporations, and the issue of cruelty remains. These images show us the reality of an industry that is hidden from us so well. In animal agriculture, there is a broad range of animal treatment, ranging from CAFOs with the lowest animal welfare standards to confinement operations that have more humane practices, to pasture-based farms, which have a range of practices. Billions of chickens across the world experience unbearable suffering during their short, miserable lives. For more information, please visit our privacy policy. The rearing of farm animals today is dominated by industrialized facilities known as concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs (often referred to as “factory farms”) that maximize profits by treating animals not as sentient creatures, but as production units. So the question of whether animal farming is cruel rests, in this context, primarily on (a) whether animal agriculture is nutritionally necessary, and (b) whether it causes harm to nonhuman animals. Regardless of how a battery-cage confinement system is managed, all caged hens are permanently denied the opportunity to express most of their basic behavior within their natural repertoire. There are over a billion animals in the United States being raised for food.1 Animal advocates report that the vast majority of them are raised on factory farms where they are treated in ways that may cause them extreme suffering.2 For example, of the 291 million egg-laying hens in the U.S., roughly 95% are raised in battery cages, which restrict motion and prevent hens from engaging in natural behaviors.3. However, this interest wanes, because people generally trust the federal government to address public health issues.”. Animal Welfare and Industrial Animal Agriculture Recommended: Jonathan Safran Foer “The Truth about Eating Animals,” FES, pp. The direct gift, while still king in most countries, is increasingly complemented by a rich range of other vehicles for giving, all are a response to donorsâ desire to find the method that fits their goals and personal style, and to maximize philanthropic impact. Become a newsletter subscriber to stay up-to-date on the latest Giving Compass news. Farm Sanctuary rescues farm animals and takes care of them, letting them live out full lives on their farms. Around the world, animals used for meat, eggs and dairy often suffer on factory farms where they are treated as units of production rather than living, feeling creatures.. Animal Welfare Organisation Funding. The major contributor to this is the use of antibiotics in the animal agriculture industry, as a growth promoter (to bring animals to slaughter weight as quickly as … In this system, to maximize efficiency and profits, companies and operators of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) prioritize rapid growth and …
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