Farm Animals
Tyson Foods Needs to Get on Board with Animal Welfare
I’ve been a vegan for 28 years now. So it feels a little strange for me to be running for a slot on the board of directors of Tyson Foods, the second-largest meat company in the world and one of the behemoths of industrialized agribusiness. . . .
Talk Back: A Good Week for Pigs, Chimpanzees, Bears, and Hounds
Take the pledge to help more pigs. It’s been a week filled with meaningful achievements on the animal protection front. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed more than a half-dozen animal protection bills backed by The HSUS, including a ban on hound hunting of bears and . . .
More Progress on Gestation Crates, and Uncovering the ‘Ham Scam’
It is an axiom in the world of business management that “the customer is always right.” The pork sector apparently doesn’t subscribe to that principle. The industry’s leadership continues to deride its biggest buyers, most of which are declaring that they want to eliminate gestation . . .
Federal Court Upholds California’s Historic Prop 2 Ballot Measure
Of all the victories for animal protection in recent decades, California’s 2008 Proposition 2 ballot measure stands out as one of the biggest and most far-reaching. It was one the most comprehensive farm animal protection measures ever attempted, launched in the largest state in the . . .
It’s Time to Unite for Animals
Our anti-gestation crate campaign is something of a locomotive barreling down the tracks and heading in the direction of the finish line—which, in my mind, is the day that these extreme confinement crates are relegated to the dustbin of history. I don’t know when that . . .
SUBWAY Restaurants Condemns Controversial Pig Cages, Will Work with Pork Suppliers to Improve Animal Welfare
The first SUBWAY restaurant opened up in my home state of Connecticut in 1965, the year I was born. The company has done a lot of growing since then. SUBWAY Restaurants has annual sales topping $1 billion and more locations (37,000) than any other restaurant . . .
Moving Forward for Pets and Farm Animals in the Heartland
I’ve just returned from a tour of the heartland–Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska–where I talked to HSUS supporters, leaders, staff members from other animal welfare organizations, farm groups, and farmers. I visited animal shelters and spay/neuter clinics, and I also got a first-hand look at . . .
Big Pork Benefits from Subsidies, But Fights Federal Reform for Animal Welfare
Today, the Obama administration announced yet another massive give-away to the pork industry–in the form of a $100 million buy-up of surplus pork. This latest government bail-out is in addition to hundreds of millions already given to the pork industry by this administration. It comes as President . . .
Time to End Painful Tail Docking for Dairy Cows
Over the last few years, The HSUS has driven major change within multiple sectors of animal agribusiness–and at a pace faster than I could ever have anticipated. Just this year, we’ve seen a slew of major food retailers decide to phase out their purchases of . . .
Dog Days of Summer for Congressman Steve King
Editor’s note, Aug. 8, 2012: Stephen Colbert spoofed Rep. King’s outrageous comments about animal fighting in this must-see segment of The Colbert Report. Iowa Congressman Steve King is feeling the heat in the wake of his surreal attempts to justify his recent vote against an . . .
Pork Lobbying Group Tries to Distance Itself from Callous Comments
It looks like there’s a major case of foot-in-mouth disease in the pork industry. Neil Dierks, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), distanced NPPC from the comments made last week by its communications director, who told the National Journal that it doesn’t matter that . . .
Rep. Steve King, Defender of Animal Fighting
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, gives very literal meaning to the term “backward thinking.” In a telephone town hall last night, Rep. King defended his campaign to block pending federal legislation to crack down on dogfighting. Specifically, the legislation he tried to defeat makes it a . . .
