tagged w/ Mercy for Animals
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I was the least likely person to ever choose a vegan lifestyle...
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ABC News Wins Genesis Award for Egg Farm Investigation
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PHOTO: Ross investigative unit producer Cindy Galli (at microphone) accepts a Genesis Award March 24, 2012, for a "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms.
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Investigation: Inside Egg 'Factory Farm'
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WATCH the "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms - click on link
PHOTO: Ross investigative unit producer Cindy Galli (at microphone) accepts a Genesis Award March 24, 2012, for a "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms.
Courtesy HSUS
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By RANDY KREIDER
March 26, 2012
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Ross unit producer Cindy Galli accepted a Genesis Award Saturday night for an undercover expose of alleged animal abuse at the egg farms that once supplied half the nation's McDonald's restaurants -- an investigation that might now be impossible to replicate because of a batch of new state laws that "gag" undercover reporters.
"We can give these stories an audience on ABC News," said Galli, accepting the award from the Humane Society of the United States for a "20/20" report on Iowa-based Sparboe Farms. "That's easy compared to what groups like the Humane Society and Mercy for Animals do. They do the tough work of exposing inhumane treatment of animals every day."
The "20/20" report used hidden-camera footage gathered by a Mercy for Animals activist working undercover at Sparboe Farms facilities in several states, including Iowa. The footage, shot during the summer of 2011, appears to show unsanitary conditions and repeated acts of animal cruelty. After being shown the video, as well as learning of an FDA warning letter sent to Sparboe regarding unsanitary conditions, McDonald's and Target ended their relationship with Sparboe. Sparboe had supplied eggs to all McDonald's restaurants west of the Mississippi River.
Legislators in a number of agricultural states, however, have responded to animal abuse exposes by proposing new laws that would make it difficult for an undercover reporter to get a job at a farm. The bills do not ban hidden camera footage, but they do make it a crime for a job applicant to lie on an employment application when asked if he or she is a member of a specific group. The governor of Iowa -- where much of the Sparboe footage was shot -- signed the country's first so-called "ag gag" bill into law earlier this month. On Friday Utah became the second state to adopt an ag gag law. Indiana, Missouri, New York, Nebraska, Illinois and Tennessee are also considering legislation.
"If Mercy for Animals had tried to go undercover today," said Galli after the Genesis ceremony, "they most likely would not have been successful. We would not have been given the video, and McDonald's would not have been made aware and pulled their contract."
Mercy for Animals, which has shot undercover footage at chicken, turkey, pig and dairy farms around the country, has joined with 26 other groups, including the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the U.S., to oppose the ag gag laws. A statement from the coalition called the bills "a wholesale assault on many fundamental values" and a threat to health, safety and freedom of the press.
"This flawed and misdirected legislation," said Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, "could set a dangerous precedent nationwide by throwing shut the doors to industrial factory farms and allowing animal abuse, environmental violations, and food contamination issues to flourish undetected, unchallenged, and unaddressed."
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2012 Genesis Award Winners
The Genesis Awards have been bestowed annually for the past 26 years by the Humane Society of the United States. Other winners of 2012 Genesis Awards, presented at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday night, include "The Colbert Report," the film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Hawaii Five-0," "NBC Nightly News" and "Today." Carrie Inaba, a judge on the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars," hosted the ceremony. The awards show will air on the Animal Planet network in May.
"We paid tribute to an amazing array of works that address animal protection concerns, but the real winners of The HSUS's 26th Genesis Awards are the animals themselves, who rely on these invaluable voices to speak for them," says Beverly Kaskey, senior director of The HSUS's Hollywood Outreach program and executive producer of the annual Genesis Awards.
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Critic Calls 'Battery Cages' Cruel Watch Video
McDonald's Drops Large McMuffin Egg Supplier Watch Video - Click on above link to view videos
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Occasionally a vegan will get a craving for a slice of pizza or a donut: succumbing to the temptation doesn't have to be the end of the world...Occasionally a vegan will get a craving for a slice of pizza or a donut: succumbing to... more
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Dear MFA Supporter,
Animal abusers beware! MFA’s latest undercover investigation into a Butterball turkey factory farm has led to landmark felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against five Butterball employees by state authorities.
Additionally, Dr. Sarah Jean Mason, the director of Animal Health Programs with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, has pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges after admitting to leaking confidential information to Butterball and potentially compromising the criminal cruelty investigation by state law enforcement officials.
MFA’s undercover investigation shows that Butterball allowed a culture of cruelty and abuse to fester at its company-owned factory farms – graphically illustrating that the secret ingredient in Butterball turkey is criminal animal abuse.
Hidden-camera footage taken during MFA’s undercover investigation at Butterball reveals:
Workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously throwing turkeys onto the ground or into transport trucks in full view of company management;
Employees bashing in the heads of live birds with metal bars, leaving many to slowly suffer and die from their injuries;
Turkeys covered in flies, living in their own waste, unable to access food or water and suffering from severe feather loss and necrotic (dead) muscles and skin;
Birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, rotting eyes, and broken bones; and
Severely injured turkeys, unable to stand up or walk, left to die without any veterinary care, because treating sick or injured birds was too costly and time consuming, as the farm manager explained to MFA's investigator.
While MFA works to expose and end animal abuse at Butterball and other giants of the meat, dairy and egg industries, you can help by contacting Butterball.
Click here (http://www.butterballabuse.com/) to sign MFA’s petition urging Butterball to implement meaningful animal welfare policies to prevent some of the worst abuses at its factory farms.
After sending an email asking Butterball to make these important changes, consider making a few changes of your own. Every time we sit down to eat, we can choose compassion over cruelty. Adopting a diet free of meat, dairy and eggs is perhaps the single most important and powerful action you can take to prevent needless cruelty to animals.
Sincerely,
Nathan Runkle
Executive Director
This email was sent to by info@mercyforanimals.org |
Mercy For Animals | 8033 Sunset Blvd, Ste 864 | Los Angeles | CA | 90046Dear MFA Supporter,
Animal abusers beware! MFA’s latest undercover... more
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Nothing like a little family judgement to make a vegan's first Christmas a merry-go-round of dysfunction.Nothing like a little family judgement to make a vegan's first Christmas a... more
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ButterballAbuse.com...
Mercy For Animals....
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Butterball has become synonymous with turkey. But how do the millions of turkeys who end up in the grocery store, or served at restaurants, under the Butterball brand, really live and die?
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation reveals the truth: extreme cruelty and violence is the harsh reality for birds on Butterball's factory farms.
Between November and December of 2011, an MFA undercover investigator documented a pattern of shocking abuse and neglect at a Butterball turkey semen collection facility in Shannon, North Carolina.
Hidden-camera footage taken at Butterball reveals:
Workers violently kicking and stomping on birds, dragging them by their fragile wings and necks, and maliciously throwing turkeys onto the ground or into transport trucks in full view of company management;
Employees bashing in the heads of live birds with metal bars, leaving many to slowly suffer and die from their injuries;
Turkeys covered in flies, living in their own waste, with some unable to access food or water and suffering from severe feather loss
Birds suffering from serious untreated illnesses and injuries, including open sores, infections, rotting eyes, and broken bones; and
Severely injured turkeys, unable to stand up or walk, left to die without any veterinary care, because treating sick or injured birds was too costly and time consuming, as the farm manager explained to MFA's investigator.
After viewing the undercover footage, Dr. Sara Shields, research scientist, poultry specialist and consultant in animal welfare, said, "Turkeys are fully capable of feeling pain, fear, stress and of suffering, and the way they are treated in the video is clearly abusive."
Dr. Debra Teachout, a practicing veterinarian with experience in farmed-animal welfare, agrees, stating, "The birds are not living a life remotely worth living. Their world is full of fear, distress, pain, injury and illness as witnessed by this video. A culture of blatant and severe animal mistreatment has been allowed to flourish unchecked, and for that reason, this facility should be shut down immediately."
Following the investigation, MFA immediately went to law enforcement with extensive video footage and a detailed legal complaint outlining the routine violence and cruelty documented by the investigator at this Butterball facility. On Thursday, December 29, state law enforcement officials obtained a warrant and raided the facility on grounds of cruelty to animals.
Unfortunately, the lives of turkeys in Butterball's factory farms are short, brutal and filled with fear, violence and prolonged suffering. While wild turkeys are sleek, agile and able to fly, Butterball's turkeys have been selectively bred to grow so large, so quickly, that many of them suffer from painful bone defects, hip joint lesions, crippling foot and leg deformities, and fatal heart attacks.
This genetic manipulation creates birds that are so large they cannot even reproduce naturally, meaning that artificial semen collection and insemination have become the sole means of turkey reproduction at Butterball facilities.
Even though domestic turkeys have been genetically manipulated for enormous growth, these birds still retain their gentle, inquisitive and social natures. Oregon State University poultry scientist Dr. Tom Savage says that turkeys are "smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings." In fact, animal behaviorists, veterinarians, and scientists now agree that turkeys are sensitive and intelligent animals with their own unique personalities, much like the dogs and cats we all know and love.
While MFA works to expose and end animal abuse at Butterball and other giants of the meat, dairy and egg industry, consumers can help prevent the needless suffering of turkeys and other animals by adopting a compassionate vegan diet.
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Click here to view undercover video:
http://www.butterballabuse.com
.ButterballAbuse.com...
Mercy For Animals....
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Butterball has become... more
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On the heels of recently proposed legislation in Florida and Iowa that would make the filming or photographing of factory farm operations a crime, comes an undercover video made by Mercy for Animals (MFA) at a Texas cattle ranch.
The video is so graphic and disturbing you must be forewarned; it will take courage to watch it. The sudden, loud sound of a pickaxe slamming down on the head of a young calf in the opening moments of the film is appalling.
http://youtu.be/6366t4ramD8On the heels of recently proposed legislation in Florida and Iowa that would make the... more
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Japan to launch massive search for quake bodies
By SHINO YUASA, AP
4 hours ago
TOKYO — Japan will send nearly 25,000 soldiers backed by boats and aircraft into its disaster zone Monday on an intensive land-and-sea mission to recover the bodies of those killed by last month's earthquake and tsunami, the military said.
Agriculture officials also plan to send a team of veterinarians into the evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant to check on hundreds of thousands of abandoned cows, pigs and chickens, many of which are believed to have died of starvation and neglect. The government is considering euthanizing some of the dying animals, officials said.
About 14,300 people have been confirmed dead so far in the catastrophic March 11 tsunami and earthquake. Another 12,000 remain missing and are presumed killed. Some of their bodies were likely swept out to sea, while others were buried under the mass of rubble.
Cleanup crews have discovered some remains as they gingerly removed rotting debris to clear the area for rebuilding.
But the two-day military search operation will be far more extensive, Defense Ministry spokesman Ippo Maeyama said Sunday.
"We will do our utmost to recover bodies for bereaved families," he said.
A total of 24,800 soldiers will scour the rubble, backed by 90 helicopters and planes, he said. Another 50 boats, along with 100 navy divers, will search the waters up to 20 kilometers off the coast, he said. Police, coast guard and U.S. troops will also take part.
"It's been very difficult and challenging to find bodies because the areas hit by tsunami are so widespread," he said. "Many bodies also have been swept away by the tsunami."
The operation will be the third intensive military search for bodies since the disaster last month. With the waters receding, Maeyama hopes the teams will have more success.
The search was complicated by the decomposition of some of the corpses, he said. Some had already turned into skeletons.
"You have to be very careful in touching the bodies because they quickly disintegrate. We cannot tell the bodies' gender anymore, let alone their age," he said.
The searches will continue, however, "as long as families want us to look for their loved ones," Maeyama said.
Meanwhile, the government in the Fukushima prefecture will send a team of six veterinarians into the 12-mile (20-kilometer) evacuation zone around the radiation-leaking Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to survey the livestock there.
Farmers in the area were estimated to have left 3,000 cows, 130,000 pigs and 680,000 chickens behind when they hurriedly fled the area last month when the nuclear crisis started.
With no time for burials, veterinarians who find dead livestock will spray lime over them to prevent them from spreading disease, agricultural officials said.
The government is also considering euthanizing dying animals, but only after getting permission from their owners, said Yutaka Kashimura, an agricultural official in Fukushima.
"Killing animals is the very last resort," he said.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewriJapan to launch massive search for quake bodies
By SHINO YUASA, AP
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Added On April 22, 2011
Mercy for Animals captures horrific calf abuse on a hidden camera.
HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell reports.CNN...
Added On April 22, 2011
Mercy for Animals captures horrific calf abuse... more
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From March 21 - March 25, 2011, Vegan Mainstream takes a look at the different kinds of vegan bullies, from those who criticize veganism on the outside of the community, to those who point fingers from within.From March 21 - March 25, 2011, Vegan Mainstream takes a look at the different kinds... more
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Mercy For Animals presents Farm to Fridge. Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell, this powerful film takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation's largest industrial farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants -- revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to FridgeMercy For Animals presents Farm to Fridge. Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell,... more
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December 7, 2010
Bob Barker Honored by Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
By Nathan Runkle
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Bob Barker is perhaps best known as the host of the popular TV game show The Price is Right, which he turned into a forum for encouraging millions of Americans to help control the pet population by having their companion animals spayed or neutered. This many-time Emmy-award-winning television personality and much-beloved animal rights advocate has since been named an Honorary Fellow by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics for his groundbreaking contribution to the establishment of animal studies within academia.
By generously endowing America's top law schools, including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Northwestern, Duke, Georgetown, Columbia and the University of Virginia, and by endowing a chair in animal rights at Drury University (his own alma mater), Barker has pioneered the teaching of animal law in the United States. These endowments have enabled, for the first time, hundreds of university students to study animal law and ethics.
"We cannot change the world for animals without also changing people's ideas about animals. Almost single-handedly in little more than a decade, Bob's sagacity and generosity have propelled animal ethics from a marginal issue into the academic mainstream. This is a colossal achievement," says Professor Andrew Linzey of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.
Earlier this year, Barker helped expose the routine abuses that calves raised for veal are forced to endure by narrating hidden-camera video footage secretly shot by an MFA investigator at one of the nation's top veal producers. Pleading for baby calves who are chained inside 2-feet wide wooden stalls - so narrow they cannot turn around, walk, run, play, socialize with other animals, or engage in other basic natural behaviors, Barker encouraged consumers to withdraw their support for this needless cruelty by boycotting both dairy and veal.
From the work that he has done to bring animal studies programs into universities across the country to consistently speaking up for the most defenseless among us, Bob Barker is a true hero for animals. MFA commends Mr. Barker for his decades of outspoken animal advocacy and congratulates him for this prestigious and well-deserved honor.December 7, 2010
Bob Barker Honored by Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics
By Nathan... more
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Bob Barker MFA Press Conference
Bob Barker talks about growing up in South Dakota and the treatment of farm animals at an MFA press conference held in Los Angeles on 8/31/10.Bob Barker MFA Press Conference
Bob Barker talks about growing up in South Dakota... more
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September 1, 2010
Dalai Lama Says Caging Hens is Cruel
By Nathan Runkle
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The Dalai Lama is speaking out for the millions of egg-laying hens condemned to lives of misery inside tiny, wire battery cages and is urging consumers to switch to cage-free eggs.
"In these cages, birds cannot engage in natural behaviors such as spreading their wings, laying eggs in a nesting area, perching, scratching at the ground, and even standing on a solid surface. Each hen has less space to live than the very sheet of paper I have written this letter on," wrote the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
According to the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, the Dalai Lama added that "Cage-free hens may not be able to go outside, but they are able to walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests - all behaviours denied to hens confined in battery cages."
Over 95% of the chickens raised to lay eggs in the U.S. are forced to live crammed together inside battery cages, small, barren wire cages stacked in rows inside filthy windowless sheds that can stretch the length of two football fields. Not only are battery-cage egg operations extremely cruel, they pose a serious public health menace by dramatically increasing the risk of salmonella.
As the Dalai Lama noted, cage-free does not mean cruelty-free. The best thing people can do to protect their health and prevent needless cruelty to animals is to adopt a healthy and compassionate vegan lifestyle.September 1, 2010
Dalai Lama Says Caging Hens is Cruel
By Nathan Runkle... more
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Activists urge halt to veal sales
By Kim Leonard, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Kim Leonard is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer
An animal rights group that counts former TV game show host Bob Barker among its members is urging Giant Eagle to stop selling veal in its supermarkets, saying calves raised for the product are mistreated.
Chicago-based Mercy for Animals on Tuesday released a video narrated by Barker that claims to expose conditions at Buckeye Veal farm near Wooster, Ohio. Male calves are chained by their necks inside individual crates just 2 feet wide during their 18-week lives, Matt Rice, a campaign coordinator, said Tuesday in a news conference Downtown.
Atlantic Veal and Lamb of Brooklyn, N.Y., sources meat from the Ohio farm and supplies it to Giant Eagle Inc. under the Plume DeVeau label, the group said.
Giant Eagle said Buckeye Veal has assured the company that it meets industry guidelines and is switching to housing animals in groups without tethering. The O'Hara-based grocer "has no intention of discontinuing the sale of veal products," spokesman Dan Donovan said in a statement, but it's working with veal suppliers to change to group housing.
Buckeye Veal called the video "sensationalized" and said it includes shots from several other unrelated farms. Footage that is from Buckeye shows calves in two facilities that are being converted for groups of animals, the farm said.
Rice said the hidden camera video was shot Aug. 19.
"Because of inadequate animal protection laws at the state level and the fact that no federal laws protect animals during their lives on the farm, cruelty to animals in the dairy and veal industry is commonplace," he said.
Mercy for Animals wants the public to ask Giant Eagle to drop veal products from its meat departments, Rice said. Chip Lines-Burgess, president of the American Veal Association, said such animal activist groups "want to eliminate meat from the American diet and force consumers to a vegetarian diet."
Rice said 90 percent of veal producers still use the crating practice, but Lines-Burgess said 30 percent of veal calves now are raised in group housing, and the association set a goal to switch all farms over to it by 2017.
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/images/2008/v/vealcalfincrate.jpgActivists urge halt to veal sales
By Kim Leonard, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW... more
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Costco Responds to Animal Cruelty Charge
The mega-popular chain store pledges humane treatment of veal calves
Updated 8:30 PM PDT, Wed, Sep 1, 2010
Following the release of video purportedly showing animal cruelty at a supplier's farm, Costco Wholesale vowed Wednesday to make sure the calves that produce the veal on its shelves are treated humanely.
``We're very disappointed not only in our vendor but ourselves,'' Jeff Lyons, Costco's senior vice president of fresh foods, said. ``We didn't know this was taking place.''
The video taken by the animal rights group, Mercy For Animals, at Ohio-based Buckeye Veal farm in April showed rows of narrow wooden stalls, each of which housed a calf chained by its neck to a low bar.
The calves were unable to turn around or even lie down comfortably. Some could be seen trying to pull free. Several were covered in feces.
Mercy for Animals' Nathan Runkle said today, ``Costco has, literally, taken a step forward on this important issue.''
``However, consumers should know that crate-free doesn't mean cruelty-free,'' he added. ``Ditching veal is the most compassionate choice shoppers can make to prevent animal abuse.''
Lyons said Costco has ordered its supplier -- Atlantic Veal and Lamb Inc. -- to trace all the veal that became part of Costco's inventory.
``(Atlantic Veal is) right now on notice to provide the lot identification so that we can identify the farms that have the proper handling
procedures,'' Lyons said.
``We will then audit those farms and make sure that is a true statement, and once that's done, we will continue to do business with them. But if they cannot provide that information, then we will delete the program.
``We're going by the obligations that we've made, the commitments we've made to that vendor, and we're doing our research.''
Gaylord Barkman of Buckeye Veal, said on Tuesday that the company has been in the process of switching from individual stalls to group housing, where the calves can roam and interact with other calves.
Buckeye Veal has 480 calves in individual shelves, 850 in group housing and 150 that will be moved to group housing in four weeks.
When asked whether Costco would accept calves from Buckeye Veal's group housing facility, Lyons said, ``If that manufacturer is doing something that we don't agree with but is acceptable by the Veal Association and the American Veterinary Association, that's not our business -- that's their business.
``If they were doing something illegal, that'd be different. But if everything is approved by other entities, then they can do whatever they like. We're not going to participate in that.''
First Published: Sep 1, 2010 8:21 PM PDTCostco Responds to Animal Cruelty Charge
The mega-popular chain store pledges... more
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CNN Wire Staff
August 20, 2010 5:51 p.m. EDT
HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Company executive entered animal cruelty settlement in Maine
* Another Iowa egg company recalled its eggs Friday due to salmonella concerns
* The CDC estimates hundreds of Americans have been sickened by contaminated eggs
* Iowa's Wright County Egg has recalled 380 million eggs
The Egg Safety Center has a complete list of recalled eggs, their expiration dates, and brands.
PART ONE…
(CNN) -- The number of eggs recalled in a nationwide salmonella scare is growing.
Another Iowa egg producer, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, is voluntarily recalling shell eggs distributed to stores and companies that service, or are located in, 14 states, the Egg Safety Center website said Friday.
The eggs were distributed under the Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, and Sunny Meadow brand names in six-egg cartons, dozen-egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, 30-egg packages, and five-dozen-egg cases, the website said.
Loose eggs, which could be repackaged by customers, were packaged under the Wholesome Farms and West Creek brands in 15- and 30-dozen tray packs, according to the Egg Safety Center.
The eggs affected by this recall either have plant number P1860 with date codes ranging from 099 to 230, or plant number P1663 and date codes ranging from 137 to 230, the website said.
On its website, Hillandale Farms says it is "directly involved in every aspect of egg production and distribution ... from the farm to the customer's forklift."
An Egg Safety Center spokeswoman told CNN the center is trying to determine how many more eggs were being recalled, and hoped to have that number later Friday.
The salmonella outbreak that has led to the recall of at least 380 million eggs was preventable and will likely grow, according to federal officials.
The number of salmonella cases is expected to grow because infections after July 17 may not have been reported yet due to a two- to three-week lag between when a person becomes sick and when the case gets reported in the system, the CDC said.
The salmonella outbreak prompted Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, which began recalling eggs last week, to increase its recall to 380 million eggs on Wednesday.
"We would certainly characterize this as one of the largest shell egg recalls in recent history," Sherri McGarry of the Food and Drug Administration said in a conference call Thursday.
On July 9, the FDA announced it had new safety rules for large-scale egg producers, but that came after the salmonella outbreak apparently began.
"The outbreak could have been prevented." McGarry said. "The egg safety rule is in a phase-in approach, but there are measures that would have been in place that could have prevented this if it [had] been placed earlier than in July."
The FDA's new rules cover refrigeration of stored and transported eggs, pasteurization, rodent control, cleanliness and they require a written Salmonella enteritidis prevention plan. The agency said "implementing the preventive measures would reduce the number of Salmonella enteritidis infections from eggs by nearly 60 percent."
Animal welfare groups have criticized conditions of farms operated by Wright County Egg, including the Maine Contract Farming facility in Turner, Maine.
Mercy for Animals, a nonprofit animal welfare group, conducted an undercover video investigation of the farm in 2009, and forwarded its findings to Maine animal welfare officials.
Jack DeCoster, who leads Wright County Egg, in June pleaded guilty to 10 civil counts of animal cruelty over his company's treatment of its chickens, said Dr. Donald E. Hoenig, state veterinarian. DeCoster and his company agreed to a $25,000 fine and made a $100,000 payment to reimburse the state for future monitoring of the facility.
Allegations included too many birds in case, injured chickens not being treated, dead animals not being promptly removed from cages and improper euthanization, Hoenig told CNN.
"Since then, the company ... has followed all of our requirements," he said.
"It's no surprise that these birds that are crammed together, basically defecating on top of other birds," said Dan Hauff, director of investigations for Mercy for Animals. "It's no surprise that this is the outcome, this type of outbreak."
CONTINUED…CNN Wire Staff
August 20, 2010 5:51 p.m. EDT
HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Company... more
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"Dear Friends,
Today great progress was made to lessen the suffering of millions of farmed animals in Ohio – progress that is a direct result of the tireless effort of our volunteers and supporters.
For months, Mercy For Animals has been on the ground, in the streets, and behind-the-scenes working diligently to mobilize support and gather signatures as part of the Ohioans for Humane Farm's campaign to place an initiative on the November ballot that would phase out cruel factory farming practices in the state.
Just recently, once it became known that animal advocates had gathered enough signatures to put the initiative on the ballot, animal agriculture finally agreed to discuss meaningful reforms.
And on June 30th, just hours before over 500,000 signatures were slated to be filed, a major animal protection agreement was reached – preventing costly and contentious campaigning.
On that day, a landmark settlement was reached between animal protection advocates, Gov. Ted Strickland, and the Ohio agribusiness lobby.
The agreement includes recommendations from all of the parties for the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, the Legislature, and the Governor to adopt the following provisions:
* A ban on veal crates effective in 2017, the same year provided in the ballot measure.
* A ban on new gestation crates in the state after Dec. 31, 2010. Existing facilities are grandfathered, but must cease use of these crates within 15 years.
* A moratorium on permits for new battery cage confinement facilities for laying hens.
* Regulations regarding the manner in which sick and injured farmed animals can be killed, including a ban on strangulation.
* A ban on the transport of downer cows for slaughter.
* Enactment of legislation establishing felony-level penalties for cockfighters.
* Enactment of legislation cracking down on puppy mills.
* A ban on the acquisition of dangerous exotic animals as pets, such as primates, bears, lions, tigers, large constricting and venomous snakes, crocodiles and alligators.
While this agreement puts a hold on the planned anti-factory farming initiative for this fall's ballot, the gathered signatures still remain valid for years to come – giving us the option to go back to the ballot if the terms of the agreement are not fulfilled.
Mercy For Animals will continue to work diligently to protect Ohio's farmed animals from cruelty, hold abusers accountable, educate the public on farmed animal issues, and advocate for stricter state and federal laws.
This landmark, hard-fought progress for Ohio's animals would not have been possible without the determined, selfless, and inspiring work of hundreds of volunteers and supporters. Truly, because of you, we have moved our society toward a kinder future for animals.
Sincerely
Nathan Runkle
Executive Director"
Mercy for Animals"Dear Friends,
Today great progress was made to lessen the suffering of... more
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Chilling undercover footage recorded during a new Mercy For Animals investigation exposes dairy farm workers sadistically abusing cows and young calves.
Captured on hidden camera, the shocking scenes of abuse reveal a culture of cruelty at Conklin Dairy Farms in Plain City, Ohio.
During a four-week investigation between April and May, MFA's (Mercy for Animals) investigator documented farm workers:
* Violently punching young calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears
* Routinely using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach
* Kicking "downed" cows (those too injured to stand) in the face and neck – abuse carried out and encouraged by the farm's owner
* Maliciously beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars – some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head
* Twisting cows' tails until the bones snapped
* Punching cows' udders
* Bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting, breaking bones, and beating cows and calves to death
After viewing the footage, Dr. Bernard Rollin, distinguished professor of animal science at Colorado State University, stated: "This is probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen. The video depicts calculated, deliberate cruelty, based not on momentary rage but on taking pleasure through causing pain to cows and calves who are defenseless."
Immediately upon completion of the investigation, Mercy For Animals contacted the City Prosecutor's Office of Marysville regarding the ongoing pattern of abuse at Conklin Dairy Farms. MFA is pushing for employees of the facility to be criminally prosecuted for violating Ohio's animal cruelty laws.
The deplorable conditions uncovered at Conklin Dairy Farms highlight the reality that animal agriculture is incapable of self-regulation and that meaningful federal and state laws must be implemented and strengthened to prevent egregious cruelty to farmed animals.
Although many of the abuses documented at Conklin Dairy Farms are sadistic in nature, numerous MFA undercover investigations at dairy farms, pig farms, egg farms, hatcheries and slaughterhouses have revealed that violence and abuse to farmed animals – whether malicious or institutionalized – runs rampant nationwide.
Compassionate consumers can end their direct financial support of farmed animal abuse by rejecting dairy, and other animal products, and adopting a vegan diet.Chilling undercover footage recorded during a new Mercy For Animals investigation... more
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July 3, 2010
CNN to Air Hour-Long Special on Animal Rights
By Nathan Runkle
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Jane Velez-Mitchell - a fierce force for animals - will dedicate an unprecedented full hour to animal rights this Monday on "Issues." The special, titled "Jane's Fight for Animal Rights" will air on CNN's Headline News Network on July 5th at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Jane will be speaking with representatives from many major animal protection groups, such as the Humane Society of the United States, In Defense of Animals, Sea Shepherd, Farm Sanctuary and Mercy For Animals. The episode will feature MFA's Willet Dairy and Conklin Dairy Farms investigations, including interviews with Nathan Runkle and an MFA undercover investigator.
Topics to be covered include:
* The Gulf oil spill and its impact on animals
* The Ohio ballot initiative and nationwide movement to give farmed animals basic legal protections
* The fight against a monkey-breeding facility in Puerto Rico
* Nevada's wild horse round-up
Jane will also welcome special guests, Bob Barker, Pierce Brosnan and Jorja Fox of CSI.
Enthusiastic viewer response in the past has enabled Jane to continue her animal rights coverage, and we all want fantastic ratings on this upcoming special. So, please tune in this Monday and ask all of your friends and family to do the same!
If you TiVo or DVR the show and watch it within three days, the ratings still count! Your viewer comments also count, so click here to leave a comment right after the show, or even before the show to thank Jane for fighting the fight for animals.July 3, 2010
CNN to Air Hour-Long Special on Animal Rights
By Nathan Runkle... more
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