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Personal Rant – You are All Wrong About Jobs, or the Lack of Jobs, Being the Reason People Do Not Live in NEO
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Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 04:58 p.m. EDT, Oct 24, 2009
COLUMBUS:In February, representatives from the Ohio Farm Bureau and the United States Humane Society quietly met in Columbus.
Fresh from winning a ballot initiative known as Proposition 2 in California a few months earlier, the Humane Society believed it had a little leverage and a lot of momentum in its favor.
The general public was starting to ask more questions and demonstrate greater concern over the treatment of livestock, and the Humane Society wanted the Farm Bureau to agree on some issues and then together go to the governor and legislature with a reform plan.
By looking at the battle over Issue 2 — the ballot question before voters next month to amend the Ohio Constitution and create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board — it is clear the two sides left the meeting moving in different directions.
Paul Shapiro, a Humane Society spokesman at the February meeting, said his organization wanted the Farm Bureau and other groups present to agree to change the living conditions for laying hens, veal calves and breeding pigs.
Laying hens are kept in wire cages, the calves are in wooden crates and pigs are confined to gestation crates.
''The standard practice in Ohio is to confine them in cages so restrictive that they can't move an inch their entire life,'' Shapiro said. ''We want them to be able to stand up, lie down, turn around and extend their limbs. That's really what this entire debate is about.''
Jack Fisher, Farm Bureau executive vice president, said he would lose this debate with his own daughter, who has never lived on a farm and has pets, if the conversation went no further.
''If all I ask her is should an animal be able to turn around, she will say yes, until I tell her about everything else that is involved with food and worker safety, cleanliness and other stuff,'' Fisher said.
Fisher then countered the Humane Society, arguing that laying hen cages are restrictive but the eggs are laid and carried off on conveyor belts, the animals do not live in their own waste, they are not exposed to predators or other chickens, and the environment is temperature-controlled and disease-free.
He goes through similar arguments for maintaining pigs and calves in restrictive conditions.
The two sides have very different viewpoints and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the Humane Society and the Farm Bureau to agree on a legislative reform agenda.
Fisher said after the meeting that his organization and others in the agricultural community were concerned the Humane Society was planning to go directly to voters in 2010 with a ballot issue similar to Proposition 2 in California.
Shapiro said the idea was contemplated but never planned.
After a series of meetings, Fisher said, the Farm Bureau, pork and beef councils, soybean and corn farmers and others decided to go directly to the legislature with their own amendment to the Ohio Constitution.
They found an ally in state Sen. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, a former hog and grain farmer.
''It's a proactive stance by the farmers to reassure consumers who are two or three generations removed from the farm that animals and poultry are cared for properly. We care about our animals because they are our livelihood,'' Gibbs said.
Gibbs and a lead Democrat in the Ohio House, state Rep. Allan Sayre, D-Dover, sponsored a resolution to ask voters to create a 13-member Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture director would chair the board. The governor would appoint 10 members, and the House speaker and Senate president would appoint one each.
The board would have the ''authority to establish standards governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in this state, subject to the authority of the General Assembly.''
The amendment says the board would have to consider best management practices, biosecurity, disease prevention, animal morbidity and mortality, food safety, and ''the protection of local, affordable food supplies for consumers.''
This is not the first arm of state government with its own special section in the Ohio Constitution.
The State Board of Education has unique powers and responsibilities, including hiring a state superintendent of public instruction, that provide a certain degree of independence from lawmakers and governors in drafting and implementing rules for schools in Ohio.
The livestock board also would enjoy a large degree of independence to draft rules to take to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule and Review that would have to be accepted as long as the measures did not conflict with state laws and legislative intent.
Gibbs said the board would be diverse, with experts on farming, veterinary medicine, university research and consumers represented.
''We think it is better to have a board of people with expertise in agricultural production,'' Gibbs said.
A majority of his colleagues agreed and pushed the idea through the legislature and onto the ballot in a matter of weeks.
Opponents believe the resolution was greased by campaign contributions from factory farm owners and other agricultural production interests.
Sarah Alexander, a senior food organizer for Food & Water Watch, said the board should not be created in the constitution because it gives large agricultural interests unchecked power over regulation.
''The Ohio Constitution is the highest law in the state. They can create legislation that the agriculture department must act upon. This board will be telling the department what to do,'' Alexander said.
Amanda Wurst, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said the constitutional amendment would create a board made up of a diverse group of experts representing the broader agricultural community in Ohio.
Strickland is concerned about the Humane Society mounting its own effort to put restrictions in the constitution.
Wurst said the governor believes ''other approaches take away needed flexibility, because we don't know what animal-care issues may confront Ohio in the future. That's concerning, because inflexibility in decision making could lead to increased consumer costs or undermine the health of Ohio agriculture that contributes $93 billion a year to Ohio's economy.''
Seven states have taken steps to improve living conditions for farm animals, including Michigan, where legislators, the governor and the Humane Society worked out a compromise in statute rather than amending the state constitution.
By creating the livestock board in the Ohio Constitution, Strickland and lawmakers have created an odd and wide base of opposition that ranges from animal-rights activists to conservative organizations like the Ohio Liberty Council and the Buckeye Institute.
''People are concerned about the treatment of all animals, including the ones raised for food. If you oppose animal abuse, the call is vote no on Issue 2,'' Shapiro said.
Fisher said he is concerned that Shapiro and other animal-rights activists want to stop animals from being raised for consumption.
''If you want to be a vegan, go for it. If you want to be a vegetarian, go for it. But if you enjoy meat, milk and eggs, go for it. That's your choice,'' Fisher said.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
COLUMBUS:In February, representatives from the Ohio Farm Bureau and the United States Humane Society quietly met in Columbus.
Fresh from winning a ballot initiative known as Proposition 2 in California a few months earlier, the Humane Society believed it had a little leverage and a lot of momentum in its favor.
The general public was starting to ask more questions and demonstrate greater concern over the treatment of livestock, and the Humane Society wanted the Farm Bureau to agree on some issues and then together go to the governor and legislature with a reform plan.
By looking at the battle over Issue 2 — the ballot question before voters next month to amend the Ohio Constitution and create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board — it is clear the two sides left the meeting moving in different directions.
Paul Shapiro, a Humane Society spokesman at the February meeting, said his organization wanted the Farm Bureau and other groups present to agree to change the living conditions for laying hens, veal calves and breeding pigs.
Laying hens are kept in wire cages, the calves are in wooden crates and pigs are confined to gestation crates.
''The standard practice in Ohio is to confine them in cages so restrictive that they can't move an inch their entire life,'' Shapiro said. ''We want them to be able to stand up, lie down, turn around and extend their limbs. That's really what this entire debate is about.''
Jack Fisher, Farm Bureau executive vice president, said he would lose this debate with his own daughter, who has never lived on a farm and has pets, if the conversation went no further.
''If all I ask her is should an animal be able to turn around, she will say yes, until I tell her about everything else that is involved with food and worker safety, cleanliness and other stuff,'' Fisher said.
Fisher then countered the Humane Society, arguing that laying hen cages are restrictive but the eggs are laid and carried off on conveyor belts, the animals do not live in their own waste, they are not exposed to predators or other chickens, and the environment is temperature-controlled and disease-free.
He goes through similar arguments for maintaining pigs and calves in restrictive conditions.
The two sides have very different viewpoints and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the Humane Society and the Farm Bureau to agree on a legislative reform agenda.
Fisher said after the meeting that his organization and others in the agricultural community were concerned the Humane Society was planning to go directly to voters in 2010 with a ballot issue similar to Proposition 2 in California.
Shapiro said the idea was contemplated but never planned.
After a series of meetings, Fisher said, the Farm Bureau, pork and beef councils, soybean and corn farmers and others decided to go directly to the legislature with their own amendment to the Ohio Constitution.
They found an ally in state Sen. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, a former hog and grain farmer.
''It's a proactive stance by the farmers to reassure consumers who are two or three generations removed from the farm that animals and poultry are cared for properly. We care about our animals because they are our livelihood,'' Gibbs said.
Gibbs and a lead Democrat in the Ohio House, state Rep. Allan Sayre, D-Dover, sponsored a resolution to ask voters to create a 13-member Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture director would chair the board. The governor would appoint 10 members, and the House speaker and Senate president would appoint one each.
The board would have the ''authority to establish standards governing the care and well-being of livestock and poultry in this state, subject to the authority of the General Assembly.''
The amendment says the board would have to consider best management practices, biosecurity, disease prevention, animal morbidity and mortality, food safety, and ''the protection of local, affordable food supplies for consumers.''
This is not the first arm of state government with its own special section in the Ohio Constitution.
The State Board of Education has unique powers and responsibilities, including hiring a state superintendent of public instruction, that provide a certain degree of independence from lawmakers and governors in drafting and implementing rules for schools in Ohio.
The livestock board also would enjoy a large degree of independence to draft rules to take to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule and Review that would have to be accepted as long as the measures did not conflict with state laws and legislative intent.
Gibbs said the board would be diverse, with experts on farming, veterinary medicine, university research and consumers represented.
''We think it is better to have a board of people with expertise in agricultural production,'' Gibbs said.
A majority of his colleagues agreed and pushed the idea through the legislature and onto the ballot in a matter of weeks.
Opponents believe the resolution was greased by campaign contributions from factory farm owners and other agricultural production interests.
Sarah Alexander, a senior food organizer for Food & Water Watch, said the board should not be created in the constitution because it gives large agricultural interests unchecked power over regulation.
''The Ohio Constitution is the highest law in the state. They can create legislation that the agriculture department must act upon. This board will be telling the department what to do,'' Alexander said.
Amanda Wurst, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland, said the constitutional amendment would create a board made up of a diverse group of experts representing the broader agricultural community in Ohio.
Strickland is concerned about the Humane Society mounting its own effort to put restrictions in the constitution.
Wurst said the governor believes ''other approaches take away needed flexibility, because we don't know what animal-care issues may confront Ohio in the future. That's concerning, because inflexibility in decision making could lead to increased consumer costs or undermine the health of Ohio agriculture that contributes $93 billion a year to Ohio's economy.''
Seven states have taken steps to improve living conditions for farm animals, including Michigan, where legislators, the governor and the Humane Society worked out a compromise in statute rather than amending the state constitution.
By creating the livestock board in the Ohio Constitution, Strickland and lawmakers have created an odd and wide base of opposition that ranges from animal-rights activists to conservative organizations like the Ohio Liberty Council and the Buckeye Institute.
''People are concerned about the treatment of all animals, including the ones raised for food. If you oppose animal abuse, the call is vote no on Issue 2,'' Shapiro said.
Fisher said he is concerned that Shapiro and other animal-rights activists want to stop animals from being raised for consumption.
''If you want to be a vegan, go for it. If you want to be a vegetarian, go for it. But if you enjoy meat, milk and eggs, go for it. That's your choice,'' Fisher said.
Dennis J. Willard can be reached at 614-224-1613 or dwillard@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
AKRON, OH
Posted 05:13 PM, 10/24/2009
THESE ANIMALS ARE THE FARMER'S LIVELYHOOD - STANDS TO REASON THEY ARE WELL CARED FOR - ENTER THOSE WHO HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH A FARM - IT'S ANIMALS - OR IT'S OPERATION - AND TROUBLE INSUES - CANNOT COMPARE CHICKENS TO TWEETIE IN IT'S CAGE AT HOME - OR PIGS IN THEIR PEN WITH "FIDO" OUT IN HIS HOUSE - SO ANOTHER COMMITTEE IS FORMED AND THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS GOES UP - AS DOES THE FEE FROM TAXPAYERS - EVER HEAR OF A REDUCTION OF COMMITTEES AND THE TAXPAYER SAVINGS THEREFROM ? THAT WOULD BE NOTEWORTHY
Peninsula, Oh
Posted 09:57 PM, 10/24/2009
FYI:HSUS and Peta are joined at the hip. They just don't advertise it. There is nothing humane about PETA.
HSUS want to eliminate all forms of hunting, also!
reno, NV
Posted 11:53 PM, 10/24/2009
NO WAY I'm voting for these fools. I'm sick and tired of the good ole' boys running their own rackets in gov't. Do you seriously expect me to believe they will do ANYTHING for the good of the people or the animals???? PROFITS, PROFITS, PROFITS we all know the story here. Big boys with pockets lined full of money.......that's real the game here!
ProChoice, OH
Posted 11:05 AM, 10/25/2009
OPPPSE Issue #2. If you want animals to be treated HUMANELY, OPPOSE #2. If you don't want BIG AGRIBUSINESS OPPOSE #2. If you don't want our STATE Constitution amended, OPPOSE #2. Go to www.ohioact.org for OPPOSE #2 signs.
Posted 03:16 PM, 10/25/2009
We care about our animals because they are our livelihood,'' Gibbs said.
Well, that says it all. He only treats his animals as good as is required to make money off them. Hey Gibbs - how about treating animals decently because it's the right thing to do?
I don't trust this board with it's self interests which is incompatible with to doing the right thing by these animals. Definite NO on this one.
Orrville, Oh
Posted 05:03 PM, 10/25/2009
Farmers caring; more; about; Government; awarding County Commissioners husband $660,000; enabling him; to pay; for the more stock dividends (money); Chinese, Foreign and Domestic Investors and Stockholders (money marketers); market quarterly; in the wholesale and retail price; of EVERY product and service; needed to produce food and fiber.
This defiance of realities demands; demanding; EVERY corporation, farmer, business, outsourcer sweatshop, and nonprofit, tax-exempt, organization and Church; markets the cost; in the wholesale and retail price of his or her product and service; Of every workers, consumers, and taxpayers living (including pension and health care); enabling parents to love, nurse, nurture, discipline, protect, and provide for every child (job) they conceive; and fund schools, infrastructure, national security, government services, and etc.; with money derived from wages or independent business profit.
This demands Farmers; produce food and fiber; for fewer wages or independent profit; than they can afford life; and enables; Hillaryies, Chinese, Foreign and Domestic Investors and Stockholders (money marketers); to market; more stock dividends (money); quarterly; in the wholesale and retail price; of food and fiber.
This defiance of realities demands; is needed; to measure and maintain the strength and growth; of this UNAFFORDABLE economy; and distribute wealth; into Hillaryies, Chinese, Foreign and Domestic Investors and Stockholders portfolios!
This Makes free, fair, and affordable commerce IMPOSSIBLE; Makes funding schools, infrastructure IMPOSSIBLE. Makes balancing every budget IMPOSSIBLE; Makes union workers, consumers, taxpayers, and America’s grandchildren’s children LIFE UNAFFORDABLE.
America’s grandchildren’s children cannot pay the debt; this created; with the $7.30 per hour; government mandated labor wage; in a hundred million years; with money derived from wages or independent business profit!
Munroe Falls, Oh
Posted 08:43 AM, 10/26/2009
In effect this issue will create another Ohio Department of Agriculture. Why do we need another one or is it the first one does not know how to do its job to begin with?
