Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare
The debate looms on in our public and in our legislatures. What rights do animals have? This debate is gaining even more popularity lately with some legislation that is on the ballot in Ohio. Voters in Ohio have a chance to decide whether or not to create a farm board of sorts that would set standards for the care and management of livestock and food production in Ohio. This board would consist of farmers, veterinarians, animal rights people, and educators just to name a few.
So why this board? What would make farmers want to involve the government in making decisions that affect their management? Recently, California voters passed a ballot measure that will no longer allow farmers to keep chickens in cages and sows can no longer be kept in farrowing crates.
Read the following two articles and post a reply to these articles. How do you think Proposition 2 will affect agriculture in California? What about the United States? How will it affect the economy?
What is your opinion of Issue 2 in Ohio? Will this program be a good thing or a bad thing for Ohio agriculture? Why?
Your reply should be descriptive and well thought out.
California Proposition 2 website article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/us/24egg.html
Ohio Issue 2 website article http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Animal-Welfare–Why-All-The-Fuss-Over-Issue-2/2009-10-28/Article.aspx?oid=929867
October 30th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I think that all animals are treated rite there is no other way to treat them then let them run free and feed them every morning and everynite so they get there rite nutritions but they will always have food during the day because they will have all the grass and everything
October 30th, 2009 at 8:00 am
I think proposition 2 will affect California in many ways. Farmers will have to buy all new systems to house their animals to meet the new standards of housing. This could end up affecting the whole U.S. if they all jump on the band wagon and want to treat animals with better living conditions. It will affect the economy if taxes go up to pay for the new housing systems for animals. My opinion on the issue in Ohio is that they dont need to pass this law. How they have been housing animals over the years has worked fine. It could end up being good and bad. It could be good because it will give the animals a more comfortable living situations, but it also could be bad becuse of the tax money that people would have to pay, that they might not agree with.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:02 am
The killing of animals is not a bad treatment for them. I do not think they needed to be treated with great respect, but not just leave them to sit in their own feces. I think they should be able to keep animals in cages because it contains them so we can collect the products from them. This will effect the economy all over the world. It will raise the prices for eggs and all the other byproducts of animals.
The Ohio issue 2 i think is unneeded. I don’t think we need a board of people to tell us how to raise our animals. We don’t need them to tell us to feed our animals and clean up after them, so what good would they do after that? I think it will cause Ohio agriculture to decline. They probably have enough problems without a board of people to tell them what to do.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I think preposition 2 will greatly affect California because it makes it harder for farmers and will make them have to change the ways the farm. I also think it will affect everyone in the U.S. because it will cause a ripple effect into the other states and may cause other states to pass this bill. I think it will make the economy go down because it will make the sales go down I think Ohio shouldnt pass this bill because its more hassle for farmers I think the animals should be treated humanley but animal rights activists get kind of carried away with there ideas on how animals have feelings and the suffer, of course the suffer there being killed for profit but there suffering that bad there on the bottom of the food chain were on top its nature animals shouldnt have equal rights to humans. I think this program will be a bad thing, animal rights activists our crazy people who were raised as sissys
October 30th, 2009 at 8:19 am
The California proposition will make it harder on the farmers, if lots of farms are shut down the price of eggs and chicken will go up. It will probably ruin California’s economy. The Ohio issue 2 sounds unnecessary to me. For important things you should have the general population vote on it, not a select group. It is easier to influence a small group to do what you want as to opposed to the general population so the chances of a bad decision being made by the group is higher.It could be a very bad thing or it could make important farm decisions made quicker, but i doubt that will happen.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
It might be a good idea for them to be let out of there small cages but it might cost the farmers alot of money to change things to fit what the government says.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Ok this proves how dumb some people can be they can make up all the facts they want and try to find smart farming laws should be research by the farmers so people know the facts. The California farming economy is going to crash and then there will be no more happy cows in California. Aslo the Ohio issue 2 is unncessary and should be voted NO on it.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Ohio should not pass the ballot being proposed. This would greatly hinder the agriculture community and if it does pass other states would follow not knowing what they are even getting into. When they do relize what they have done the agricultural economy would be so in the dump it would probably be irreversable damage. This i feel is a bad thing and would not be good for our country. The United States is big on agriculture and the way things are going it seems people are trying to get rid of that from our country. California i suspect will have some problems in the future with the bill they just passed. I suggest that Ohio do research on what they are voting on and the consequences of what they are voting on before they go to the ballots.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I think people in California don’t have a clue, and they can go get a life for all i care! Do they realize that there is no such thing as a happy chicken? I mean chickens beat eachother up, and pigs eat eachother!
You know that by passing this proposition in California, that they are losing most of there revenue. Chicken plants are going to move and their egg prices will rise. Pig farmers, if there are any left will lose what ever money they have left.
And as far as Ohio goes, a small group could be influenced, and i believe that the less government the merrier producers are going to be. But, in the same aspect, this proposition could be a good preventative measure.
I think that when people vote on these bill they are not thinking about their states economy or even what would be abuse to an animal……….
October 30th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
proposition 2 will affect agriculture in California by making it harder for farmers and making then shut down their farms, and also rise the prices in eggs and chicken meat. if california would of voted different i’m sure that would of affected the rest of the united states. so pretty much city people that don’t know much about farming will vote with most of california.
also with the ohio issue… people are taking this animal rights thing way beyond what they should. we don’t need to have people that think having an animal in a cage bad…that would cause more problems and the animals could be killed easier.
city people need to know that this is stupid and not to pass the bill. you’re just making things worse then they already are.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I beleave that its the farmers decision to select what they should do. They are the ones rasing and trying to make money so its up to them. simple as that.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I think proposition 2 will affect California in many ways. Farmers will have to buy all new systems to house their animals to meet the new standards of housing. I also think it will affect everyone in the U.S. because it will cause a ripple effect into the other states and may cause other states to pass this bill.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
proposition 2 is a very good idea and should affect california….it is not fair for animals to be locked up in cages and not let out to run free what if it was the other way around and people were locked in cages not very good
October 30th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
i think that the chickens should be treated better because if they walk around in there own feces then they are prowned to more diseases and that coud carry on to our food. so i think that we could keep them in their cages but let them out so they can walk around and clean their cages.
October 30th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I think they should treat the animals with respect. They should not make them go through all of the pain and then just kill them.
Ohio thing is not good either. These things raise prices and that is not good for many different reasons. obviously!
October 30th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
i believe that caging an animal is a bad thing like most people but i also think that it would be easier to keep the things the same way they already are because i dont really know much about this stuff but i think that what has been working in the past will still work now. in the ohio issue two, having animals in cages is like saying to the animals just kill me. to me it doesnt make sense to keep animals in cages i would let them roam around the prarie but keep them fenced in at least
October 30th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I think that Propostion two is a good idea. Like the article said, if we are just going to raise the animals to eat them, then we should atleast treat them with respect. Animals have rights too and I don’t think that they should be treated badly. I think it will effect the whole nation. California will have to start treating animals better so maybe the rest of the U.S. will start following them. We could all be nicer to the animals that were just going to kill.
I think the second article is dumb because the people in charge of the farm should be the one making the decision not the people on the board. It will be a dumb thing.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:52 am
It will no doubt raise the prices on our meat, and probably cause many farmers to go under. Which means that financially strapped Americans will rely on other sources to get our products. Once again we will be purchasing more produts from foreign countries, and sending our money and jobs elsewhere.
A solution to all of this is hunt more. Then again how would the animal people feel about all the Daffys, Bambis, and Donalds that we kill. All I know for sure is that I cannot live on garden burgers.