- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Since I wrote about the Huffington Post blog aimed at drumming up votes for Prop. 2, I want to give the flip side from a column that ran in the California Farm Bureau's publication AgAlert.
Written by Jill Benson, vice president of a 100-year-old agriculture outfit in Modesto, the article said the initiative is "a risky, dangerous and costly measure -- because it threatens our food safety and public health by putting us at increased risk for Salmonella contamination and avian influenza (bird flu)."
She...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
With 85 days till the November election, cackling continues in the media over Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. The proposed law would bar veal crates, battery cages, sow gestation crates and any enclosure that prevents animals from turning around, standing up or spreading their wings.
Fresno Bee reporter Dennis Pollock called it a "study in cage fighting" when he reported on what he termed "dueling news releases."
In his column, Pollock wrote, "The headline on a release from the University of California: 'UC study: If passed, initiative likely to drive egg production out of state.' . . . the Humane...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A sprinkling of newspapers ran stories today based on the ANR press release distributed yesterday on the potential economic effects of passing Proposition 2. Voters will decide in November whether to approve the initiative, which would require egg producers to employ cage-free production practices.
In addition to spreading news about the likely downfall of the California egg industry, the coverage revealed that there's something about eggs that begets puns.
The Sacramento Bee said the "November ballot measure meant to improve the lives of the state's laying hens...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The debate over Proposition 2 is beginning to heat up. The proposition, which will appear on the November ballot, was designed to regulate treatment of farm animals. So far, voters seem to be in favor of the idea. According to a story in today's San Jose Mercury-News, a field poll found that two-thirds of California voters will mark their ballots in favor of the initiative.
Among other things, Prop 2 would end the common practice of housing egg-laying hens in cages in California starting in 2015. A new study released today by the UC Agricultural Issues Center found that nearly all of the $330 million
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Following a long holiday weekend, there are a few ANR news stories to catch up on:
Last week, the Sacramento Bee ran an article about a price increase for another food commodity: eggs. The story, written by Jim Downing, says wholesale egg prices have shot up 27 percent since mid-May.
The story quoted UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist emeritus Don Bell. He told the reporter that a sizable shipment of eggs last month to Japan and Iraq apparently tightened domestic supplies, driving prices up.
The Sacramento Bee today ran a story about a side effect of this year's dry spring: numerous...