Activists Win Battle in War on Factory Farms

Humane Society video sparks new battle with farmers

(NEWSER) - A video showing chickens being slammed into metal crates has reignited a battle between the Humane Society and farmers. The footage, shot by an undercover Humane Society volunteer, shows chickens held in battery cages over enormous manure pits and chickens being violently shoved into a euthanizing chamber. "We're asking they not be crammed into cages and crates barely larger than their bodies," says a society rep. More»

(NEWSER) - Electing a black man president wasn’t the only historic thing voters did last November, writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. California voted, by nearly a 2-1 margin, for an animal-rights initiative that bars farms from keeping calves, pregnant hogs, or hens in cages too small for them. And such ethical-treatment initiatives are gaining momentum across the US and Europe, 30 years after Princeton philosopher Peter Singer raised the issue of our moral obligations to animals. More»

But Humane Society prez pushes a savvy, mainstream message

(NEWSER) - The Humane Society has turned into an aggressive political player with a mainstream message, the New York Times reports. The group's head, Wayne Pacelle, just shut down a $100 million slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif., and is pushing for a ballot measure that would require a certain amount of room for farm animals. But he's also made concessions in deals with other states. More»

Nicholas Kristof reflects on an undercover investigation of Kreider Farms

(NEWSER) - It's not a good news day for consumers of chicken or their eggs: Nicholas Kristof digs into findings out today, courtesy of the Humane Society, spawned from yet another undercover investigation into factory farms. The target of this one: Kreider Farms, which pumps out 4.5 million eggs daily. Among the revelations, per the undercover worker: The manure pits found below some barns produce so much ammonia it's tough to breathe; mice scurry along conveyor belts; hens get accidentally decapitated by a feeding cart and are often left to rot; oh, and salmonella has been found in that manure. More»

Petaluma Egg Farm is a top producer for Organic Valley label

(NEWSER) - Organic eggs: The phrase brings to mind chickens roaming in a pasture, foraging for food, and scratching the ground. But at California's Petaluma Egg Farm, which provides eggs under the Organic Valley label, hens are confined to screened porches with a roof and a floor. Technically, the eggs meet the organic standards' requirement of allowing hens outdoor access, but a watchdog group says the farm is misleading consumers. More»