Animal Welfare, Societal Concerns and
High Tech Agriculture
J. K. Shearer, DVM, MS
Professor and Extension Veterinarian
College of Veterinary Medicine
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
[email protected]
Professor Emeritus
University of Florida
The Indian Legend of the Man
Who Killed to Many
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”,
High Technology and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare
Symposium : November 13-15, 1991.
Parallels and Symbolism
“The hunter’s skill was beyond that of all others, but his people
became fearful that he would kill all of the animals”, so they
abandoned him”.
The Extinction of the
American Passenger Pigeon
"PASSENGER PIGEON:Ectopistses Migratorius (Linnaeus)" by Edward Howe Forbush in "Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds".
Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. Reprinted in Birds of America. http://www.wildbirds.org/apidesay.htm
The American Passenger Pigeon
• John Audubon, the Naturalist, reported that in
the Autumn of 1813 he witnessed
“…a flock one mile wide that passed overhead for three
solid hours, so great were there numbers that the
atmosphere was impregnated by the odor of the birds”
"PASSENGER PIGEON: Ectopistses Migratorius (Linnaeus)" by Edward Howe Forbush in "Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds".
Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. Reprinted in Birds of America. http://www.wildbirds.org/apidesay.htm
Their numbers were so great…
The air was literally
filled with them;
"light of noonday was
obscured as by an
eclipse."
"PASSENGER PIGEON: Ectopistses Migratorius (Linnaeus)" by Edward Howe Forbush in "Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds".
Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. Reprinted in Birds of America. http://www.wildbirds.org/apidesay.htm
The Extinction of the
American Passenger Pigeon
• How did the impossible happen?
– The early settlers hunted them with firearms,
clubs, stones and nets
• Hunters followed them relentlessly
– Hundreds of adults were killed at a time
– Squabs (young) were easy prey for the hunters and others died as
a result of the loss of the adults
"PASSENGER PIGEON: Ectopistses Migratorius (Linnaeus)" by Edward Howe Forbush in "Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds". Massachusetts
Board of Agriculture. Reprinted in Birds of America. http://www.wildbirds.org/apidesay.htm
As one author writes…
“The birds were so persistently molested that they finally
lost their coherence; they were scattered far and wide, and
became extinct mainly through constant uncontrolled
hunting by man.”
Over a period of 20-25 years,
An entire species numbering in the billions was
extinguished. The "impossible" was achieved by
uncontrolled modern mechanized killing.
Gone Forever - September 1, 1914
Cincinnati Zoological Garden
"PASSENGER PIGEON:Ectopistses Migratorius (Linnaeus)" by Edward Howe Forbush in "Game Birds, Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds".
Massachusetts Board of Agriculture. Reprinted in Birds of America. http://www.wildbirds.org/apidesay.htm
A Mountain of Buffalo Skulls
American Bison once numbering in the hundreds of millions
in North America, were decreased to 1000 by 1890
Conservation efforts have revitalized the population to 500,000 in North America
today; most kept on ranches and raised as livestock. Those bison that are truly wild
number only 20,000.
The Whooping Crane
One of only 2 Species of Cranes in North America
Unregulated hunting and loss of habitat reduced their numbers to just 21 wild and 2 captive Whooping Cranes in 1941.
Conservation efforts have successfully increased their numbers to 437 in the wild and more than 165 in captivity.
Sand Hill Cranes at Shearer Angus
Micanopy, Florida
Sam
Sandy
Sam, Sandy & Junior
The American Alligator
• The American Alligator
– hunted to near extinction
in the 1950s and 1960s,
– 1967, officially listed were
under protection of the
Endangered Species Act
– 1987 (20 years later) the
American alligator was
delisted from endangered
status because the
population had fully
recovered.
“…fearful that he would kill all of the animals”, the
hunter’s people abandoned him”.
“the people abandoning the hunter”
- symbolizes “the increasing criticism directed toward livestock
production systems”
The Disconnect Between
Society and High Tech Agriculture
• Societal Views
– Much of society embraces a “Child-like Perspective
of the World”
• That is, an unrealistic view of the world and of life
• High Tech Animal Agriculture
– Viewed as honoring technology, performance and
profit above honoring the sacrifices of animals
and plants for the good of mankind
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
The “Child-Like Perspective of Life”
• Complicated by:
– An Urbanized Society
• Movement of our population from rural to urban areas
• Prior to WWII – 25% of US population engaged in farming
– Anthropomorphism
• Ascribing human characteristics and values to animals
• “The Disney Factor”
– “Animals with the ability to speak and carry-on conversations in
films and cartoons blur the lines between humans and animals”
– Dr. Candace Croney
Anthropomorphism
For many urbanites,
…the only experience they have had with animals is
as companions in their home
“Anthropomorphism - the first stage in
development of moral consciousness”
Bernard Rollin, Animal rights and human mortality. Buffalo, NY:
Prometheus Books, 1981.
The “Child-Like Perspective of Life”
• Complicated by:
– Evolution and Evolutionary Biology
• Similarities between humans and animals
– Emotional states and personalities
– Equality
• in rights of people and animals
– Failure to comprehend the concept of the…
“Universal Rhythm of Life”
Evolutionary Biology
“As children we grew up with pets, and a number of images
taught us that animals think and feel and speak just as we do.
Evolutionary biology tells us that we are descendants of the
animals around us and are, therefore, very, very similar to them”.
Wes Jamison
Equality
• “The expanding rights of animals
are similar to the expanding
rights of people in different social
classes throughout history,”
“With evolutionary biology telling
us that animals really are similar
to us, society reaches the
conclusion that animals need
protection just as we do.”
Views and comments from Wes Jamison, Companions or Cuisine?, Angus Journal, July 2008.
“Childlike Perspective of Life” fails to acknowledge
the “universal rhythm of life” that includes
Birth: Death: Rebirth (Resurrection)
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
RK Salmon, Aand
Mythological/Historical
Consideration
of1991
the Human-Animal
Relationship
Animal Welfare : Proceedings
of the
High Technology
and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
Birth:Death:Rebirth (Resurrection)
• The central theme in Christianity
– Christ was born, crucified and on the 3rd day
resurrected from death
• Consistent with cycle of the seasons
• Demonstrated by the cycle of molecules and
cells within our bodies
Life is one grand rhythm of
birth, death and rebirth (resurrection)
The “Universal Rhythm of Life”
Embraces the view that the miracle of death is equivalent to
the miracle of birth, but
to honor death as a miracle equivalent to birth is one of the
most challenging struggles of mankind.
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
Directly or indirectly, every human being – every
living thing must kill to survive. There are no
options for us as individuals or as a species since…
Life is fueled by Death
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
RK Salmon,and
A Mythological/Historical
Consideration
the High
Human-Animal
Animal Welfare : Proceedings
of theof
1991
TechnologyRelationship
and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
“Even those who feast upon vegetables and fruits, to avoid
participating in the slaughter of animals are simply playing
intellectual mind games. What right does anyone have to
create a hierarchy of life forms where the killing of plants is
acceptable while the killing of animals is not?”
RK Salmon
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
Fostering “the Child-Like Perspective of Life”
• Individuals are seldom forced to
grapple with the pain of the necessity
to kill as a requirement for their
participation in life (RK Salmon).
In the words of Albert Schweitzer
“…a person is constantly forced to preserve his own life and
life in general only at the cost of other life. If he has been
touched by the ethic of reverence for life, he injures and
destroys life only under a necessity he cannot avoid, and
never from thoughtlessness.”
“When the hunter found his people gone, he was hurt and confused: how
could they abandon the one who fed them? The pain was so great that he
entered a period of severe depression – a trance where he dreamed that he
was being hunted by the sea lions he himself had once hunted.”
The Disconnect Between
Society and High Tech Agriculture
• High Tech Animal Agriculture
– Viewed as honoring technology, performance and
profit above honoring the sacrifices of animals for
the good of mankind
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
The History of Agricultural
Development and Modes of Thought
Modes of Thought and Welfare
• The Pastoralist View
– Captured in the Bible
• Animals are entrusted to humans for care and as
possessions to be used in appropriate ways
• The Agrarian View
– Animals are not so much possessions, but more
like partners in the rural life of farmers
• A wholesome life lived in harmony with nature and the
cycles of rural living
• The preference of the critics of modern agriculture
David Fraser, Understanding Animal Welfare, Chapter 3 – A Good Life for Animals
Modes of Thought and Welfare
• In the View of Romanticism
– People view animals as fellow beings
• A good life for them would be marked by pleasure and the
avoidance of suffering inflicted by technology and other human
creations.
• Through the lens of Industrialism
– Animals are analogous to workers in efficient production
systems
• Good production means good welfare
• Maintenance of health and production are accomplished by
application of science and technology
• The “factory farm” concept
David Fraser, Understanding Animal Welfare, Chapter 3 – A Good Life for Animals
Industrialism
• Industrial-style animal production
– Began after WWII
• Animal production changed from the agrarian model to
indoor, confinement operations with automated
feeding, manure removal, etc.
– Critics of these systems
» Emphasize the unnaturalness of these systems (animals
are deprived of sunlight, fresh air and all that is natural)
» Claim that these systems deprive animals of the ability to
express natural behaviors (essentially making them
similar to machines)
Industrialism
• Key element in industrialism is “progress”
– It embraces technology
– Science plays a key role in moving forward
– Productivity is highly valued
• The productivity of the workforce determines the
goods available to its citizens
The Development of High Tech
Agriculture in the US
• In the decades following WWII
– Farm animal production became industrialized
• Tiers of cages for laying hens
• Gestation stalls for sows
• Individual crates and pens for veal calves
– Latter 1990s
• EU member countries moved to
– Ban crates for veal calves
– Require larger cages for laying hens
– Eliminate use of gestation stalls for sows
US Welfare Laws Since 2002
Practices Banned in Recent Time
– Sow gestation stalls
• Florida 2002, Arizona 2006, Oregon 2007, Colorado
2008
– Veal crates
• Arizona 2006, Colorado 2008
– Tail Docking of Dairy Cattle
• Outlawed in California 2009
– Foie gras
• California 2004
“Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act”
(Proposition 2)
– California 2008
• Passed by wide margin (63% yes vs. 36% no)
– Provisions of the Act
• Animals must have sufficient space to lie down, turn
around, groom, stretch limbs freely
Maine
-
As of January 1, 2011, gestation stalls and veal
crates will be prohibited
“The Factory Farm”
• Depicted originally by Ruth Harrison, author of
the book “Animal Machines” in 1964
– triggered an investigation by the Brambell committee
“Life in the factory farm revolves entirely around
profits, & animals are accessed purely for their ability
to convert food into flesh or ‘saleable products”.
– She also reported on the feeding of antibiotics, growth
stimulants, hormones & tranquilizers with no regard to
the consequences to the human consumer.
An observation on priorities
Animal Welfare, Performance, Profit,
Winning Shows
Or,
All of the Above?
Animal Agriculture’s Response
to increasing criticism
Tactics include:
“Confrontation”
“Isolation and Ag-Gag Laws”
Confrontation?
• We use arguments such as:
– “Of course we care about animal welfare – if we
didn’t we wouldn’t be profitable”
•
This makes the activist’s point - money is all that really
matters
– “We need farmers so we can feed the world”
•
•
Do farmers really want to feed the world or do they
want the world to be fed?
Are they interested in feeding everyone or just those
who can afford it?
Confrontation?
It is probably of little value to either confront or
comply with those with the Child-like Perspective
of the World.
– Efforts to change the minds of animal activists is
largely wasted effort
Ag-Gag Laws
Instead of building coalitions that include the
public (consumers) we build barriers that
foster distrust
- Ag-Gag Laws suggest that animal agriculture has something to hide
Another Approach
• Why not identify and appeal to core values
– Compassion, Justice, Fairness and Freedom
“People tend to support positions and behaviors that
reinforce “connections” with them and others”
– Comments of Candace Croney, AVMA “Can you hear me now?”
“…how could they abandon the one who fed them? The pain was so
great that he entered a period of severe depression whereby he
entered a trance and dreamed that he was being hunted by the sea
lions he himself had once hunted.…he suddenly awoke from the trance
and began to search for his People, who were by then very hungry.”
Current and Future Realities
A growing population – currently there are 7.1 billion
people – estimates are that this number will rise to 9
billion by mid-century and a growing number of
malnourished
The World’s Food Supply
• Currently,
– Food insecurity threatens more than 1 billion people
worldwide
– Global food costs reached record levels in 2011, and
are expected to persist for the foreseeable future (UN
FAO)
• By 2050,
– we will need 100% more food (UN FAO)
– 70% must come efficiency enhancing technologies
J. Simmons, Technology’s Role in the 21st Century: “Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality”.
Statistics on World Hunger
• In the developing world hunger kills more people
worldwide each year than war, AIDS, malaria, and
tuberculosis combined
– Worldwide, 720 children die every hour from a lack of food
• Poverty and hunger affects
–
–
–
–
2 of every 5 children living in inner London
1 of every 8 children in France
1 of every 7 children in Japan
1 of every 5 children in the United States
• People in developing countries spend from 50% to 80%
of their total income on food
J. Simmons, Technology’s Role in the 21st Century: “Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality”.
Statistics on World Hunger
• Nearly 43% of the world’s population live on
less than $2/day
• People in developing countries spend from
50% to 80% of their total income on food
J. Simmons, Technology’s Role in the 21st Century: “Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality”.
What is the solution to
addressing world hunger?
“Technology is the key to efficient food production
and helping to end world hunger, lowering food
costs, protecting consumer rights and safeguarding
our natural resources”.
Jeff Simmons, President of Elanco and winner of the 2013 Council for
Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) Communication Award
J. Simmons, Technology’s Role in the 21st Century: “Making safe, affordable and abundant food a global reality”.
Solving the disconnect…?
Requires changing the image and nature
of the human-animal relationship
“Reverence for Life”
"To the man who is truly ethical all life is sacred, including
that which from the human point of view seems lower. Man
makes distinctions...under the pressure of necessity, as for
example, when it falls to him to decide which of two lives he
must sacrifice in order to preserve the other. But through it
all he knows that he bears the responsibility for the life that
is sacrificed.“
Dr. Albert Schweitzer
“Reverence for Life”
• It’s the reason why Temple Grandin bows her
head in silence when entering a slaughter
plant
• It’s the reason why the native American
Indians danced around the campfire in
celebration after a successful hunt
• It’s the reason we bow our heads in prayer at
Thanksgiving
Solving the Disconnect also requires…
Adopting the idea that the welfare of animals is
more important than performance, profit or
winning shows
“When the hunter awoke from his dream he began
once more to do that which he was born to do: he
began to hunt, but this time - his heart carrying the
memory of what it felt like to be hunted and
consumed.”
As in the legend of The Man Who Killed too Many, once
the hunter learned to honor the animals for their sacrifice,
he earned not only the right to do that which he was born
to do; but also the respect of his people.
From: Ronald Keith Salmon, “A Mythological/Historical Consideration of the Human-Animal Relationship”, High Technology
and Animal Welfare : Proceedings of the 1991 High Technology and Animal Welfare Symposium : November 13-15, 1991,.
A righteous man cares for the
needs of his animal…
Proverbs 12:10