Recently, one of my blog posts about the Humane Society’s corruption mentioned the phrase, “ag gag” laws. This brought up a lot of questions from the farming community, as it’s not a relatively common phrase in mainstream agriculture. Truth be told, I had never heard the phrase until I started running farming truth and began to pick up on the vegan lingo. However, it’s a very important topic, as it’s one that has the potential to protect farmer’s and farmlands in the years to come.
What Is An “Ag Gag Law”?
The term “ag gag law” refers to a piece of legislation that makes it illegal to record instances of animal abuse on farms or in slaughterhouses… and it sounds very bad in theory. According to the animal rights movement, “ag gag laws” are the ag industry’s way of covering up the rampant cruelty that happens on industrialized farms just to turn a profit. The phrase was started in 2011 by a New York Times editor (because it just makes sense to get information about farming from the New York Times…).
The first problem with this theory is, if such cruelty actually occurred, farmers wouldn’t make money from those animals because chronic stress inhibits productivity. The second problem is that animal rights activists have been caught multiple times manipulating audio or video footage to make it appear as if abuse occurred when the farmers are actually innocent. I want to make one thing clear… farmers have nothing to gain from abusing animals. Furthermore, being found guilty on a case of animal cruelty would result in that farm being shut down and the owners would lose their entire livelihood—everything they’ve worked for, and the countless generations before them had worked for.
What’s Being Recorded?
In many instances, the activists will go undercover and become an employee at the farm or processing plant just to try and tape abuse. What results from this is, because they have no agricultural experience, everything appears like abuse, and they leak their footage online with captions that take the situation out of context or they layer it with audio of pig-squealing or cows mooing, and their followers—who are equally uneducated—take it as fact. This is how vegan propaganda spreads. Here are a few examples of situations that would appear like abuse to the un-trained eye, and have gone viral in vegan-ridden platforms:
In Conclusion
Another thing that will commonly happen is activists will actually trespass on lands to get footage. In these cases, tampering with evidence or unnecessarily stirring up animals is common. The footage is still posted on line to the same ignorant audience. This problem has actually grown so large that, in 2005, an organization was started to stop the abuse… of people who were being accused of abuse. The Falsely Accused is an up-and-coming organization that is attempting to fight back against the animal welfare movement who is infamous for incriminating innocent people just to push their agenda.
So far, “ag gag laws” have been passed in the following states: Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and North Carolina.
Opponents of the laws say that abuse needs to be uncovered and that incriminating the filming and publishing of farming methods is a violation of free speech. However, advocates of the laws are saying that legitimate abuse is not being uncovered (as noted in the previous section) and that farmers and land-owners need legal protection of their private property. Although I agree that consumers have a right to know how their food is being produced, they should be educated by the farmers themselves who understand our methods and our reasons for using them. However, as it is, undercover footage released by vegan proponents who are devoid of previous farming experiences is the equivalent of the blind leading the blind.
Sources:
"Animal Welfare Act." Animal Welfare Act | Animal Welfare Information Center | NAL | USDA. National Agricultural Library, n.d.
Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Macdougall, Devon Amber. "SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy."SiOWfa15 Science in Our World
Certainty and Controversy. Word Press, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Prygoski, Alicia. "Detailed Discussion of Ag-gag Laws." Detailed Discussion of Ag-gag Laws | Animal Legal & Historical Center.
Michigan Stat University College of Law, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Runyon, Luke. "Judge Strikes Down Idaho 'Ag-Gag' Law, Raising Questions For Other States." NPR. NPR, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 18
Feb. 2017.
What Is An “Ag Gag Law”?
The term “ag gag law” refers to a piece of legislation that makes it illegal to record instances of animal abuse on farms or in slaughterhouses… and it sounds very bad in theory. According to the animal rights movement, “ag gag laws” are the ag industry’s way of covering up the rampant cruelty that happens on industrialized farms just to turn a profit. The phrase was started in 2011 by a New York Times editor (because it just makes sense to get information about farming from the New York Times…).
The first problem with this theory is, if such cruelty actually occurred, farmers wouldn’t make money from those animals because chronic stress inhibits productivity. The second problem is that animal rights activists have been caught multiple times manipulating audio or video footage to make it appear as if abuse occurred when the farmers are actually innocent. I want to make one thing clear… farmers have nothing to gain from abusing animals. Furthermore, being found guilty on a case of animal cruelty would result in that farm being shut down and the owners would lose their entire livelihood—everything they’ve worked for, and the countless generations before them had worked for.
What’s Being Recorded?
In many instances, the activists will go undercover and become an employee at the farm or processing plant just to try and tape abuse. What results from this is, because they have no agricultural experience, everything appears like abuse, and they leak their footage online with captions that take the situation out of context or they layer it with audio of pig-squealing or cows mooing, and their followers—who are equally uneducated—take it as fact. This is how vegan propaganda spreads. Here are a few examples of situations that would appear like abuse to the un-trained eye, and have gone viral in vegan-ridden platforms:
- In a slaughterhouse, an animal is hanging upside down kicking its back leg. To someone who has no exposure to processing methods, this might appear as if the animal is still alive and is fighting to get free. However, what is actually happening is this animal has been dead for a few minutes, but their nerves are still active, causing the muscles to convulse. Because plants usually attach one of their rear legs to the conveyer belt, the other one is free and, when the muscles contract and release, it kicks sporadically. These nerves are the same reason that snakes can still bite after their dead. It’s completely natural, and that animal feels no pain whatsoever.
- Another common scene that is broadcast is that of animals who are hanging upside down or being drug. These animals are already dead. The whole time, the animal will be convulsing because there is an electric current pulsing through the carcass. The purpose of this is to tenderize the meat and expedite blood loss. However, to someone who doesn’t know any better, this too would appear as if the animal was still alive and was fighting to break free.
- In a feedlot or even in a large pasture, cattle can be found in very close proximity to one another. If the photo was taken at an angle where the whole enclosure wasn’t visible, then it could appear as if that is all the room the animals have. However, most livestock species, especially cattle and sheep, are very social animals and naturally stick closely together. They have room to move about if they want to, but they would prefer to stick with the group.
- Before any animal is cut with a knife, they are rendered unconscious. The most common way to do this is a captive bolt gun, which shoots a metal rod through their skull. It’s true that this isn’t effective 100% of the time, but, with modern technology and education in the work force, it can be pretty close, In the US, an animal remains conscious after stunning less than .01% of the time, and they are quickly shot again to be put out of pain. Once stunned, the animal drops to the floor. However, because this stunning usually happens in a narrow shoot where the animal’s mobility is minimalized, getting footage of this is very hard, and, to the un-trained eye, it often appears as if the animal is just hit and knocked to the ground.
- There are lots of videos that do show legitimate abuse, but these are either outdated or, more commonly, filmed in third world countries. Unfortunately, abuse is very prominent in developing nations because of a lack of education, a lack of funds for necessary equipment, and a lack of laws that regulate farming and slaughtering. Modern farmers in first world countries—the farmers that produce YOUR food, including myself—would agree that this abuse needs to be stopped. However, the “ag gag laws” that are passed have no jurisdiction in these countries, and these laws were not around in the early 1900’s when humane handling practices were still being developed.
In Conclusion
Another thing that will commonly happen is activists will actually trespass on lands to get footage. In these cases, tampering with evidence or unnecessarily stirring up animals is common. The footage is still posted on line to the same ignorant audience. This problem has actually grown so large that, in 2005, an organization was started to stop the abuse… of people who were being accused of abuse. The Falsely Accused is an up-and-coming organization that is attempting to fight back against the animal welfare movement who is infamous for incriminating innocent people just to push their agenda.
So far, “ag gag laws” have been passed in the following states: Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and North Carolina.
Opponents of the laws say that abuse needs to be uncovered and that incriminating the filming and publishing of farming methods is a violation of free speech. However, advocates of the laws are saying that legitimate abuse is not being uncovered (as noted in the previous section) and that farmers and land-owners need legal protection of their private property. Although I agree that consumers have a right to know how their food is being produced, they should be educated by the farmers themselves who understand our methods and our reasons for using them. However, as it is, undercover footage released by vegan proponents who are devoid of previous farming experiences is the equivalent of the blind leading the blind.
Sources:
"Animal Welfare Act." Animal Welfare Act | Animal Welfare Information Center | NAL | USDA. National Agricultural Library, n.d.
Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Macdougall, Devon Amber. "SiOWfa15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy."SiOWfa15 Science in Our World
Certainty and Controversy. Word Press, 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Prygoski, Alicia. "Detailed Discussion of Ag-gag Laws." Detailed Discussion of Ag-gag Laws | Animal Legal & Historical Center.
Michigan Stat University College of Law, 2015. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Runyon, Luke. "Judge Strikes Down Idaho 'Ag-Gag' Law, Raising Questions For Other States." NPR. NPR, 04 Aug. 2015. Web. 18
Feb. 2017.