Activists Put a Face to the Violence Hidden in “Humane” Farming (Whole Foods etc. fraud)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.care2.com/causes/activists-put-a-face-to-the-violence-hidden-in-humane-farming.html




by Alicia Graef January 14, 2015 8:30 am

A California-based animal advocacy organization has released some unsettling footage of hens who are supposedly being raised under humane animal care guidelines, but what they’ve uncovered raises serious questions about whether it’s truly possible to humanely raise animals for food.

A common argument in the industry’s favor is that we can continue to consume animals and animal byproducts as long as animals are treated humanely during their lives. Yet as we grow more concerned about their use and treatment, an ever growing list of certification schemes continue to pop up to ensure us food animals are being treated humanely, including Certified Humane, Humane Choice, American Humane Certified, Animal Welfare Approved, GAP, Whole Foods 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards and Freedom Food in the UK.

While some might be slightly better than others, they vary on requirements causing consumer confusion, and the stamps of approval that come with these certifications, or labels such as cage-free, free-range and organic, aren’t really doing anything but assuaging our guilt and helping companies that exploit and kill animals continue to rake in the profits. Whatever certification scheme is being used, none of them address the basic ethical issues involved in raising, confining, mutilating and slaughtering animals against their will.

The footage, released by Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), shows the disturbing and heartbreaking lives of egg-laying hens at Petaluma Farms, which supplies both Whole Foods under its 365 label and Organic Valley. DxE members visited the farm on multiple occasions during 2013 and 2014 and contend that this is the first video to expose what happens on a “certified humane” farm.


FULL story at link.

Published on Jan 7, 2015
DxE investigators find shocking mistreatment of animals at a "humane" Whole Foods supplier.... and attempt to rescue a little hen named Mei from the brink of death.

http://directactioneverywhere.com/

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. there are now brands of eggs - that print exactly how the chicikens

Are treated on the box. That they are not in cages are barns but outside, in response to "free range" fraud. I don't buy mantels anymore but these are the type I buy

[swilton]

2. Small farms

(vs. industrialized agriculture) and a localized (vs. globalized) food system are the way to go.

[Veilex]

3. heartbreaking.

[liberalla]

4. So hard to watch...

but important to know. I really want to look into this further.