This post has three graphic pictures of a baby elephant allegedly being "trained" for the entertainment industry. This is a new blog I came across called Paws4Life, The Reality of What Humans do. I'm thinking it's India? MORE

A Humane Egg The life of animals raised in confinement on industrial farms is slowly improving, thanks to pressure from consumers, animal rights advocates, farmers and legislators. This requirement would at least relieve the worst of the production horrors that are common in the industry now. MORE

ANIMAL rights groups have begun a campaign against the dairy industry's treatment of bobby calves. However, he said some practices shown in the Animals Australia video were not condoned by the industry, "dragging them off trucks and things like that". Here's the full article from the Weekly Times Now. Australian Dairy Farmers says calves can be left unfed for 30 hours before slaughter but the RSPCA says the practice is "cruel". MORE

Now the pig industry is mad and claiming bias ( scroll down in article.) Compassion in World Farming led an undercover investigation that showed illegal tail docking and poor attempts at pig enrichment on factory farms, in violation of EU law. Too bad! If you complied with the law, you wouldn't look like such jerks! MORE

The meat packing industry takes a single input, a steer, and produces many different final products. I'm studying for the CPA exam and am working through Becker's online course review for the business section. Here's an example of "joint costs" that says all you need to know about animals as nothing more than inputs in a manufacturing process. MORE

I stumbled across this site called FiercePharma that has all kinds of news about the drug industry. Note - this company has a lot of industry news sites on a wide range of topics, so they do more then just drug company news. If you go to the very top, there are tabs for FierceBiotechResearch and other topics. I've never heard of them before. MORE

You may hate to hear about this, but I do think that the animal-raising industries are going to have to reach some compromises with the Humane Society of the U.S. He adds that this is more than just a matter of voter education, given the $8 million spent by the California poultry industry fighting the proposition. What seems to be working better for the industry is to reach some kind of compromise before the issue goes on a ballot,” he says. MORE

I don't know how seriously to take this, or if it's just the ag industry pulling an NRA stunt (ie. The ag industry really fears that the government may start taxing them for heads of livestock because of their contribution to global warming. The ag industry wants no government involvement when it comes to taxes and fees, but how about when it comes to subsidies from that same government to keep them afloat? MORE

They have paying members that are part of the animal research industry itself. It should be no surprise that the American Veterinary Medical Association is an apologist. Here's the organization's defense of its primate veterinarian members. Cleverly, they also emphasize how many "animals" are saved by animal research. Wouldn't Fluffy die without all the benefits of animal testing? MORE

Here is information about the use of antibiotics on "industrial farms MORE

I used to work for a seafood company and my current work still brings me in contact with the industry. This is a good thing. We've been overfishing the bluefish tuna to near-extinction along with many other species. Greedy, anti-government, and anti-regulation monstrosities. MORE

Here is an essay about industrial farming MORE

But forgetting, or not knowing in the first place, is what the industrial food chain is all about, the principal reason it is so opaque, for if we could see what lies on the far side of the increasingly high walls of our industrial agriculture, we would surely change the way we eat. MORE

Salon has a pretty good piece up about Sarah Palin's attempt to deny protection for beluga whales all for the sake of the oil industry. MORE

Big industry never wants to change anything that "works." Sounds like they may roll over on the issue. I don't know, but I'm just not convinced the Australians are that committed to phasing out this practice. I'm just going by equivalent examples in the US. It's just too "hard.". MORE

The only cool thing is that Gene Bauer's views on the meat industry are so similar to those expressed on this blog a few weeks ago. Humane treatment runs counter to the entire industry when the point is to make money by processing these animals as fast as possible. Unlike domestic animals, there are minimal organizations or lobbyists to defend these animals, therefore leaving public opinion to be shaped only by the insincere comments of the cattle industry. MORE

The Pork Board has planned delegate meetings at the {annual Pork Industry} forum to discuss quality assurance rules including animal handling, and how much money to allocate to promote animal welfare. The pork industry does not make money from happy pigs, but from dead carcasses. It's in response to the HBO film "Death on a Factory Farm." MORE

Thanks to Mercy for Animals for their undercover work exposing this egg industry practice. What a subject line, but it's true. This is the second time this year that I've heard of this group capturing headlines. I'd never heard of them before. I'm very impressed by their courage and tenacity. MORE

The animals, at at Hangzhou Zoo near Shanghai, developed kidney stones after being fed milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. Apparently, tainted Chinese milk is sickening animals as well. More melamine contamination. Two baby orang-utans and a lion cub have become the latest victims of China's contaminated milk crisis. Chinese media report that the animals had been fed on milk powder made by Sanlu Group for more than a year. MORE

The Animal Welfare Institute thinks these new rules could be a blow to the horse slaughter industry, but only if actually implemented. MORE

I can't believe the pet industry would allow such legislation without a fight. Pet sales would be banned altogether, except for the sale of pet fish. All companion animals including dogs, cats, hamsters, mice, rats, chinchillas, guinea pigs, birds, snakes, and lizards would be considered as pets. If it passes, San Francisco residents would have to go to a shelter or rescue group to adopt an animal. Sounds good, but I just don't believe this will pass. MORE

The fact that Neato Robot Vacuums have been consistently reviewed as “Best For Pets” by Industry experts, and publications like CNET , appeals to me not just for our dog, but for the humans too! The holiday season is here, and it’s a busy time of year! MORE

This is all about making the stupid state friendly to the biotech industry. Unbelievable, but this stupid exemption is gaining support. Supposedly people either 1) believe the State has no place overseeing labs (USDA does that) and 2) bioscience is already very well-regulated. What next? They get a huge tax break? MORE

CEO James Foster said consolidation in the biotechnology industry, an overall slowdown in research and budgetary constraints has led to a decrease in demand for the company's services, the BBJ reports. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned. Here's the brief announcement from the Boston Business Journal in its entirety. Charles River Laboratories International Inc., MORE

It's outrageous that powerful industries, such as the beef industry, are able to prevent labeling of food to show where it originated. One way for meat-eaters to send a message to the beef industry is to stop consuming beef Consumers have a right to know not only the nutritional value (if any) of the foods they eat, and not only whether it was organically produced, but where it originated. See here for a New York Times editorial opinion on this topic. MORE

This article has a good summary of the victories to which this industry is reacting. They are fighting back due to all the information and images that have made it to the public sphere. There are no happy farm animals, you liars. And people are seeing it. So, now you just try to spend more money to spread more lies. Clearly the animal rights community is much more emboldened and aggressive than they have been in the past," said {National Milk Producers Federation} spokesman Chris Galen. "We MORE

Hard to wean people off animals when the US government is propping up the industries, and especially when so much of it ends up on school lunch trays (laying the foundation for this nation's obesity problem in my opinion.) Last week, the USDA bought approximately 200 million pounds of nonfat dry milk to help the dairy industry. MORE

California’s Proposition 2 is not solely about the California egg business but is also about the egg industry’s national survival, warned Gene Gregory at the annual legislative meeting of United Egg Producers (UEP). Gregory is the president and CEO of UEP, an industry trade group. Throughout UEP’s annual meeting speakers cautioned that Prop 2’s passage would be a major blow to the industry. Again, thanks to Farmed Animal Net for this update on California's proposition 2. MORE

The reemergence of mad cow disease, discovered in a California dairy cow, could have major implications for the state’s meat industry, even though officials have said that the human food supply is unaffected. But the disease has dealt a crippling blow to the industry in the past, especially when foreign countries refused to import American beef when mad cow was first uncovered in 2003. Potentially bad news for California Agriculture. Read the full story here at the LA Times. MORE

In the United States, we are in the midst of a health care debate in which the pharmaceutical industry disguises itself as a champion of the people. The author also accuses Understanding Animal Research of being a UK front group for the pharmaceutical industry. It is funding stealth organizations that support "patients' choices" and that assist in organized mob disruptions of town hall meetings. MORE

egg industry continues to consolidate. egg industry is planning a strategic conference after the presidential election to plan for the future. The Mexican egg industry is challenged by sanitary problems, and while it recognizes animal welfare issues they are said to not currently be a concern of Mexican consumers. Don't think banks are the only ones gobbling each other up nowadays. So are egg corporations. Thanks to an email from Farmed Animal Net for this information. MORE

The ag industry does NOT like this. Basically, it sounds like the ag committee will be including food safety and animal welfare concerns in their discussions. There is definitely a new tide in California, post Proposition 2. In a move that elevated the anxiety level among grower-shippers, Darrell Steinberg, the new president pro-tem of the California state Senate, overhauled the body’s agriculture committee. MORE

On March 11th, RPA sent the governors of all 50 states a letter and two factsheets urging them to help get their land-grant universities (LGUs) out of the meat industry. The meat industry is inherently destructive and inhumane, there is no way to make it otherwise, and much of the harm it does to ecosystems is by inflicting suffering and death on billions of nonhuman animals, farmed and free-living, each year. Responsible Policies for Animals Members & Friends! MORE

Brown, a case in which the meat industry is attempting to invalidate a California law designed to reduce animal suffering and protect public safety. The industry sued California, arguing that Section 599f is preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Did anyone know this was going on? The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently heard arguments in National Meat Association v. MORE

The industry is not as developed, but it's heading in that direction. They should fear oil spills because, I'm sorry, Canada is not the best in terms of environmental safeguards, laws or requirements. They've had oil spills before, but nowhere near the scale of the one in the Gulf of Mexico. It would therefore benefit the Canadians to prepare. As long as they allow offshore oil drilling, a massive spill is a definite possibility. MORE

Russia and two of its neighbours have informed the World Trade Organization that they are banning the import and export of harp seal pelts – a move that animal-rights activists are celebrating as the death knell of Canada’s commercial seal industry. Russia has been the biggest market for the Canadian seal fur industry. Great news! But I'm not exactly sure why RUSSIA would ban them. The other two neighbors that banned them are Kazakhstan and Belarus). MORE

It seems like every 6 months or so, the Center for Consumer Freedom, a front group for the tobacco, alcohol and restaurant industries sends out a press release about how many animals PETA allegedly kills. There are plenty of reasons to not like PETA, but the "Center for Consumer Freedom" is an industry front group who's primary purpose is to attack PETA. MORE

The wrongness of factory farming is overdetermined. See here for one sufficient ground. By the way, the editorial board of the New York Times is progressive (as opposed to conservative). Why does it not call for the abolition of factory farming? Instead, it seeks to reform it. Animal rights is neither progressive nor conservative. Think of all the progressives— Michael Moore , for example—who either eat meat or go out of their way to ridicule vegetarians. MORE

But some industry experts doubt Spain, a nation which has an unemployment rate above 20% and a stagnant economy, can afford to pay out €300m to farmers. Others have suggested that the amount of money allocated would only be enough to assist half the Spanish egg industry to convert. Interesting! Effective? Who knows? Here's an excerpt from Farmers Weekly Interactive. MORE

As a way of taking the situation into your own hands and not being a part of the problem, the film's site offers you this widget: Now, I haven't seen the film, but here's the message: There's something rotten in the state of the fishing industry. MORE

But the seal industry doesn't care. While I'm not a fan of using animal hearts for transplants, I'm far more sympathetic to that than to simply using their parts for human vanity consumption. They'll exploit anything to try to save their barbaric trade and, if they can use guilt, even better. Excerpted from the Chronicle-Herald. MORE

It's an article about the pork industry having to address the increasingly positive media image of pigs as intelligent creatures that could be someone's pet. The fact that this discussion warrants an article in the Des Moines Register means that there is some movement on this front and and it causes the pork industry concern. Every time I get depressed about animal issues (every other day it seems like), I see an article like this. MORE

According to this AP article, some are blaming Smithfield Foods, which has 8 operations in La Gloria Mexico. The company denies it. You can read all about the horrible things Smithfield Foods has done in the US in this long Rolling Stone article. I can only imagine how things are run in Mexico. MORE