What does California's Prop 2 mean for the future?

Almost a week after the election and the passage of California's Prop 2, pundits on both sides of the issue are debating what happened and what the longer term consequences will be both for farmers and consumers. Brownfield Ag News has this report, with comments from the Humane Society of the United States and Animal Agriculture Alliance.

Consumers need permission to live as hypocrites

Following the success of Proposition 2 in California earlier this week, livestock farmers are wondering how to accommodate or simply to understand the demands of their customers.

Prop 2, which passed by more than 60 percent, requires livestock farmers to supply certain livestock with a minimum of space for movement. Most notably, the proposition was also directed toward poultry production, a first in the United States.

The increasing interest in animal welfare, including the welfare of agricultural livestock destined for slaughter, is not a passing fad, according to Dr. Wes Jamison, a researcher at the University of Florida specializing in agricultural politics. Jamison spoke with a reporter for Brownfield Ag News at a conference in Lincoln, Neb. Friday.

"The other side has figured out the language to sell these initiatives," Jamison said, and it's important that agriculturalists learn this language as well.

For urban consumers, animals have assumed an entirely new role and are widely regarded as members of the family, Jamison said. That viewpoint has been extended to agricultural animals, and farmers need to understand that and respond in kind. They must demonstrate to consumers its OK to love animals and to eat them.

You have to give them permission to live as hypocrites, Jamison said.

For the full story at Brownfield click here and here.

Chickens win over gay rights

In one of the more odd moments in what has been nothing shy of an earth-shaking election, California's chickens have come out on top in a race that has left gay and lesbian Californian's feeling like second class citizens.

Voters in California have approved Proposition 2, or "Standards for Confining Farm Animals". Prop 2 would require “that calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens and pregnant pigs be confined only in ways that allow these animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely”.

Proposition 8 would require an amendment to California's constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. As of this writing, Prop 2 had support from about 70 percent of voters (or a ratio of 3-2, according to the San Francisco Chronicle). Prop 8 also appears to have won, 52 to 48 percent.

The results of Prop 2 won't be fully implemented for more than six years. The lawsuits stemming from Prop 8 should begin just about any moment now.