Humane Loopholes
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org
FROM
From A Well-Fed World
October 2012
Food producers are capitalizing on the public's concern for animal
welfare by changing some of their most egregious practices OR implying that
they have changed.
Some of the most popular labels include and some
of the standard operating abuses they are hiding are listed below.
It's important to note that only organic labels are regulated. None of the
other labels are created or enforced by the government and some are industry
created and can be misleading to increase profits.
Organic
- No synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizer, hormones, or antibiotics
(except special circumstances)
- No GMOs or irradiation
- Feed must be organic
- Only government label
Hidden Abuses
- Newborn male chicks of egg-laying hens are not cost-effective or protected
by label requirements, thus they are suffocated, gassed, ground alive
(macerated), or otherwise disposed of
- Chickens raised for meat may be kept in continual lighting, with no rest and
excessive eating. This results in accelerated growth rates and skeletal
problems
- Dairy cows may be tied to stalls so they cannot move freely.
Some large organic dairies have been allowed to house cows without access to
pasture
Free-Range
- Technically, animals labeled free-range have access to the outdoors.
- Essentially free-range is synonymous with cage-free and free-roaming since
clear standards have not been established.
Hidden Abuses
- These labels hold no assurance that the animals are treated humanely.
- There are no limits on flock size or density.
- Access to the outdoors may be severely restricted and poorly designed. It
may be a small dirt lot that is difficult for chickens to access and does
not provide space for them to engage in their instinctive behaviors such as
pecking for food and dust-bathing.
Cage-Free
- Egg-laying birds are not caged.
- Some ability to perform natural functions such as walking, nesting and
spreading their wings.
Hidden Abuses
- Only applies to egg-laying hens.
- Is deceptively used on chicken or turkey "meat" packages as these birds are
typically uncaged before transport and/or slaughter.
- No requirements on stocking density. Birds are typically crowded by the
thousands in large barns, with approximately one square foot allotted for
each bird.
- Male chicks have no protection under this label and are therefore "disposed"
of by means of: suffocation, gassing and grinding.
- Virtually all hens slated for egg production have the ends of their beaks
removed without anesthesia.
Grass-Fed
- Applies to cows and other ruminant animals.
- Cattle are fed grass diets as opposed to corn and soy.
- Provides access to the outdoors and ability to engage in grazing
Hidden Abuses
- This diet does not significantly reduce the green house gas emissions and
global warming damage done by raising cattle.
- Surgical procedures without pain medicine are permitted.
- Label may include a fine print regarding "grain-finished" which means the
cattle may still spend time in a feedlot.
- Dairy cows are forcibly impregnated (in what the industry calls 'rape
racks), and their calves are taken away after birth for either for veal or
dairy.
Hormone-Free
- Deceptive on labels because the USDA has already banned the use of hormones
for birds and pigs.
Hidden Abuses
- Hormones are not regulated in other animals.
- Offers no reduction in animal suffering.
Certified Humane
- This label prohibits severe confinement such as cages, gestation crates, or
veal crates.
Hidden Abuses
- Newborn male chicks are not protected under this label.
- Does not require outdoor access for chickens or pigs.
- Pigs may have their tails cut off without pain medication.
Return to Animal Rights Articles
Read more at Egg Production
Read more at The Meat and Dairy Industries