Safe and Humane

These Pekin, Khaki Campbell and Cayuga ducks look at the cat with curiosity at a friend's home in Maine. They are all good dual purpose utility breeds. They can be managed to produce hundreds of eggs annually, the Campbells as many as chickens. Some people who are allergic to chicken eggs may not be allergic to duck eggs. Duck egg yolks are higher in fat than chicken eggs and the white is higher in protein. They substitute one for one for chicken eggs in cooking and baking. The higher protein content of the whites makes them whip up higher, making cakes lighter.

From Farmed Animal Net, the weekly news digest of Farmed Animal Net, http://www.farmedanimal.net/.

On Tuesday, October 14th, a panel discussion about Proposition 2 was hosted on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The program is “the highest-rated talk show in American television history,” averaging some 8 to 12.5 million viewers (http://tinyurl.com/6mgtcx). Entitled “How We Treat the Animals We Eat,” the show’s guests included Wayne Pacelle, head of the Humane Society of the U.S., New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Krisof (see: http://tinyurl.com/5jhxko), and opponents of Prop 2. A slideshow of the program, including investigative reporter Lisa Ling’s visits to intensive confinement facilities and free-range farms, is viewable on the Oprah website: http://tinyurl.com/5enrxg.

On her blog, Ling states: “When I visited the caged egg and pig farms, I was shocked by how efficient, mechanical and computerized everything was. They were literally churning out product at rapid-fire pace...animal product. I must say that it was hugely eye-opening to see 90 thousand hens under one roof. There were 6 to a tiny cage, all on top of each other, fed antibiotics--covered in feces. It wasn't exactly, the wide-open space farm that I envisioned… Anyone who says that it is anything other than the wholesale factorization of living things is fooling themselves.” Noting that she hasn’t stopped eating eggs or pig meat, Ling writes that she “can't help but wonder what would happen if we just produced less. Would we need to run the animal/meat industry like factorized machines? Might we waste less? Might we be less...fat? Would that be so bad?” See also More Than One Way To Raise A Hog: http://tinyurl.com/6yve4t.

Ellen Degeneres had Wayne Pacelle on her popular television show on September 26th to discuss Proposition 2. She has also made a public service announcement in support of the ballot initiative: http://tinyurl.com/5ta3rb and promotes Prop 2 on her website: http://tinyurl.com/6qsokd.

CONSCIOUS EATING... Lisa Ling, blog, October 11, 2008http://www.lisaling.com/blogs/Conscious_eating.html#blogcomments

I do not endorse everything the Humane Society of the U.S. does, but they have done us all a service in bringing this initiative to the ballot. It's an idea whose time has come, and I hope it is approved by the voters on Election Day.