Michigan's Animal Care Plan

Legislation to set gold standard in animal care
Shannon Linderoth Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A bipartisan package of bills has been introduced into the Michigan legislature regarding the care of meat and dairy animals and egg-laying hens on Michigan farms. The move is designed to set a “gold standard” of farm animal care and respond to consumer interest about food origins and safety.

“With the recent problems with food preparation in other areas of the country, Michigan consumers deserve to know that what's on their plate is of only the best quality,” says Mike Simpson, chair of the House Agriculture Committee.

The plan will:

Establish that the Department of Agriculture and the Agriculture Commission is the sole authority in the regulation of livestock health and welfare.

Implement science-based standards for animal care that farmers must implement by 2020.

Create an Animal Care Advisory Council that will make recommendations for changes to existing standards.

Create a third-party auditing system to oversee the program. Read More

Michigan is another state that has been the target of animal rights groups. Rather than caving to the threats of these groups, Michigan has decided to be pro-active by establishing what they call the “gold standard” of animal welfare. Of course the animal rights groups, like HSUS, are quite upset over this because they aren’t getting their way. They want to dictate their agenda to society not work with them.

Cattle Genome Mapped

Cattle genes may give clues about human health
Thu Apr 23, 2009 9:24pm BST

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have created the first genetic blueprint of domestic cattle, saying on Thursday the map may lead to tastier beef, better milk and even new insights about human health.

The Hereford cow's is the first mapped livestock animal sequence, and the researchers think it will help explain how cattle evolved, why they ended up with a four-chambered stomach, and why they almost never get cancer.

"Having the genome sequence is now the window to understanding how these changes occurred," said Harris Lewin of the University of Illinois, who worked on the research published in two reports in the journal Science.

They discovered the cattle genome contains at least 22,000 genes, 80 percent of which are shared with humans. And the team found that cattle have far more in common genetically with humans than do mice or rats, and might make better subjects for studying human health.

Comparisons of the domestic cattle genome sequence to those of the human, dog, mouse, rat, opossum and platypus reveal new insights about the human genome. Read More

This is really exciting news. Technology, like being able to genetically modify livestock, is going to allow us to improve our food supply beyond what we can imagine today. There is no doubt about that. The big question will be whether or not the consuming public will be able to understand how the technology works, why we need it and then give the social license to utilize it. At some point, consumers will need to realize that there are consequences to their opinions on how food is raised.

New Website

Animal Care Initiative Launched by Farm Bureau

The American Farm Bureau Federation on Wednesday announced the Conversations on Animal Care initiative. The initiative is a comprehensive effort that supports farmers and ranchers who are eager to engage consumers in a positive dialogue to address the concerns of consumers about the care provided to farm animals in the production of meat, milk and eggs. The initiative also helps livestock producers share positive and personal insights on the care they provide farm animals.

A Harris poll conducted earlier this year showed that 57% of respondents agreed with the statement "farmers and ranchers in your state treat their animals humanly" but 34% answered not sure. The survey then gave respondents a series of educational information about animal care and concluded by asking the question again. The second round of questioning saw a 15% jump to 72% saying they agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.

"This tells us that, when presented with basic information about the practical and ethical standards farmers and ranchers maintain, consumers respond positively," says AFBF Public Relations Director Don Lipton. "The Conversations on Animal Care program is intended to give farmers and ranchers the confidence and tools to do just that.” Read More

Showing consumers that livestock producers take great care of their animals is the job of everyone in the industry. However, there are a lot of consumers that we need to reach, so AFBF has developed a website to help tell our story online. Having site like these also gives us as producers a resource to direct consumers to for more information about animal husbandry.

Animal rights fight to ballot

Animal rights fight to ballot

Egg-laying hens, pregnant pigs and calves raised for veal could not be confined in restrictive enclosures in California that did not allow them to extend their wings or limbs, under an initiative that qualified Wednesday for the Nov. 4 ballot.

Sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, the Treatment of Farm Animals statute is likely to generate spirited debate between animal rights activists and farmers who contend it would raise prices for consumers. Read More

The California bill to eliminate confining farm animals has made it onto the November ballot. Millions and millions will be spent on this ballot measure. Thousands of jobs and reduced welfare for farm animals will result with the passage of this law.