Today I'm simply going to focus on California's Prop 2, and why you should Vote Yes on it. To help you along I have some handy dandy resources:
Key excerpt:
Don’t get me wrong: Whether Proposition 2 passes or not, the vast majority of food animals will continue to experience an existence that few of us would argue is comfortable and that most of us would agree is torturous. A few more square feet will not make happy animals. The passage of Prop 2 wouldn’t send me to eat a burger, or even an omelet. Proposition 2 is one of those pinky Band-Aids applied to a deep gash in our ethics.
But my path from becoming a vegetarian in 1989 to finally becoming a full vegan in 2006 has been based on two philosophies.
The first is this: Do what you can until you can do better.
Here are some other resources to read:
The New York Times has been covering this proposition, including:
Key excerpt:
Because California is the largest agriculture state in the country, and often a trend-setter on social issues, the ballot is a bellwether for farm-animal-welfare reform nationwide. Many experts predict that if Proposition 2 becomes law it will create a ripple effect, putting pressure on other states to pass similar reforms and pushing major food corporations to go crate-free and cage-free.
I should mention that Prop 2 does NOT require farms to go crate-or cage-free, only to expand the square footage of said crates and cages if they keep them...which could effectively facilitate a transition to cage-free. I should also mention that cage-free does not mean cruelty-free.
The Times article does a pretty comprehensive job of exploring both the Proposition itself, and what it does and does not address, and the view of both proponents and opponents from both sides of the extreme spectrum (IOW: the egg industry vs. the animal rights abolitionists who see Prop 2 as more harm than good long-term.)
Key excerpt:
To a California voter still undecided on Proposition 2, we say simply, imagine being confined in the voting booth for life. Would you vote for the right to be able to sit down and turn around and raise your arms?
Nicholas Kristof from the Times, who usually discusses humanitarian crises, called the proposition "the most important election this november that you've never heard of" in his essay A Farm Boy Reflects.
Key excerpt:
So, yes, I eat meat (even, hesitantly, goose). But I draw the line at animals being raised in cruel conditions. The law punishes teenage boys who tie up and abuse a stray cat. So why allow industrialists to run factory farms that keep pigs almost all their lives in tiny pens that are barely bigger than they are?
It's a poignant essay, although frustrating since, like Michael Pollan, Kristof simply seems like too much of a wuss to live up to his own ideals and be the vegetarian he justifies being.
Key excerpt:
For consumers, it's such a small price to pay. For millions of farm animals, though, a yes vote on Proposition 2 means so very much.
Basically, like so many other legislative arguments, it comes down to this:
Do you believe the for-profit industries screaming about the sky falling, especially industries which are already pretty highly profitable (think oil industry, think pharma, and, yes, think the egg industry.)
Or do you believe folks who are motivated by something other than their own wallet?
I tend to trust the latter, what about you?
Vote Yes on 2!!
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