Saturday, January 5, 2013

CERTIFIED HUMANE AND ORGANIC - HEALTHY? HUMANE?

(I have used the source UPConline.org [United Poultry Concerns] for much of this post.) 

REGULATIONS OF CERTIFIED HUMANE AND ORGANIC LABELING
THINK EATING MEAT IS HUMANE OR HEALTHY?

Recently many vegans and vegetarians have been told that it's okay now to eat meat because they now have "humane laws" and certifications!  Not surprisingly, meat and dairy industry spokesmen are now on those humane law making boards, and are making laws that sound good but do little, and they are the ones promoting the humane laws!   You see, it is a profit for the meat and dairy industry to carry a “humane” label, as more people will purchase that product.

They will also find one vegetarian who became a slaughterhouse worker because he said slaughterhouses are now humane, and try to convince people it is fine to eat meat.  Think about the word: “slaughterhouse.”  Killing an animal who does not want to die and could be well if you took care of it.  Humane slaughter.  That makes no sense.

But for most of us vegans and vegetarians, there will never be a reason to return to eating meat or dairy.  (Here’s the gross part – live through.)  Also, I have watched some videos about slaughterhouses where the cows are cut up before they are dead.  I’ve seen this with leather factories too. Yes, their throats are slit, but they are alive five minutes later and their legs are cut off right here (above the ankles), and the workers keep going while the cow is still alive.  The video cuts off and I don’t see how long they stay alive.  Cutting up animals alive is common according to slaughterhouse workers. 

We need to know what some of the certifications actually mean.  I chose to investigate "Certified Humane" because I thought it was probably the most humane label that had rules for all the farm animals (Animal Welfare Institute only did a couple animals, but gave them a little more room – I guess they are working on it); and the label for "Organic" farming.

On to the regulations:


We will compare organic and then certified humane for different animals.

Organic:  This is the label that could be called the "I trust you!" label.  Because there are almost no regulations!

For any of the animals in organic they do not use antibiotics or hormones, so that is to their credit, and why they are called organic.

Inspections are once a year and sometimes unannounced, so the unannounced part is also to their credit.

Certified Humane:  This label should be called, “Just a little less horrendous.”

Because it makes only slight improvements in regular factory farm methods.

Inspections are once a year and I believe they give them 48 hours notice; correct me if I am wrong.  But if they don’t meet the inspection criteria, the inspectors come back one more time to see if they have corrected their flaws.


FIRST CATEGORY - BEEF CATTLE

Organic 
Rules regarding access to pasture: 
Required; temporary confinement allowed in some situations; feedlots prohibited.  Many organic farmers use the temporary confinement to keep them confined most of the time.  Keep in mind organic rules do not tell how many animals they can keep or how close together.  This crowding could promote more diseases! 

Certified Humane
Access to Pasture: 
Not required; cattle may be maintained in feedlots. Crowded, nothing there, extremely hot, and standing in their own feces.


Organic 
Castration: 
“Physical alterations must be performed as needed to promote animal welfare and in a manner that minimizes pain and stress. “  As much as possible, I have used the actual wording from the regulations.

Certified Humane
Castration: 
Recommend be done at earliest age possible; anesthesia required for surgical removal after 2 months of age.


Organic 
Dehorning or Debudding: 
Physical alterations must be performed as needed to promote animal welfare and in a manner that minimizes pain and stress.
.

Certified Humane
Dehorning or Debudding:
In first 4 months using hot iron okay with or without anesthesia.

Organic 
Electric Prod Use: 
Not addressed.

Certified Humane
Electric Prod Use:    
Permitted in emergencies only (and they come by once a year to check).  Think about a farmer with thousands of cows and an electric prod in his pocket.


SECOND CATEGORY  - DAIRY COWS

Once again with organic: opportunity to exercise and access to outdoors must be provided; temporary confinement allowed.

Organic 
Tail Docking:
Physical alterations must be performed as needed to ensure animal welfare. (What does that mean?)

Certified Humane
Tail Docking:
Switch trimming permitted. (They cut off the hairs at the end of the tail that the cows use to swat flies or scratch themselves.)


A couple of important issues to point out for dairy cows:
The mother cows are raped by a farmer sticking his arm all the way in to the cow with a metal hook and artificially inseminating her.  They keep her continuously pregnant in order to get milk out of her.  The boys born to her become veal calves, so if you drink milk, you support the veal industry.  The boys are kept in tiny hutches with “certified humane” where they can just barely turn around. 


THIRD CATEGORY - SHEEP

Organic 
Tail Docking:
(As usual!)  Physical alterations must be performed as needed to promote animal welfare.

Certified Humane
Tail Docking: 
May be performed between 1 and 14 days using rubber ring or hot iron; anesthetic not required.


FOURTH CATEGORY - PIGS

Access to Outdoors

Organic 
Required; temporary confinement allowed.

Certified Humane
NOT REQUIRED!


Slatted, wired floors: 

Organic
Not addressed.  (You will see this answer ‘not addressed” many times for organic foods.)

Certified Humane
Prohibited.


Feed Restriction for sows/boars: 

Organic
Not addressed, but animals must be provided “a total feed ration.”

Certified Humane
Permitted but dietary or environmental supplements must be provided
Starve them but give them vitamins.


FIFTH CATEGORY – BROILER HENS

Access to Outdoors:

Organic
Required; temporary confinement allowed.

Certified Humane
NOT REQUIRED!



PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!

Conditions leading up to slaughter:

Organic
Feed withdrawal before slaughter: Not addressed.
Maximum transport time:  Not addressed
Slaughter Holding time:  Not addressed
Acceptable methods of stunning for slaughter:  Not addressed

Certified Humane
Feed withdrawal before slaughter: 16 hours or less
Maximum transport time:  12 hours to unloading at plant
Slaughter Holding time: 10 hours or less
ADD UP THE MAXIMUM TIMES:  38 Hours with no food before being killed.  What happened to a Last Supper?!
Acceptable methods of stunning for slaughter:  Electrical stunning, bath, dry stunner, hand-held stunner, gas stunning.


SIXTH AND LAST CATEGORY - EGG LAYING HENS

Indoor Lighting: 

Organic
Access to direct sunlight required.  (Always notice the word “access.”)

Certified Humane
Minimum 8 hours light; 6 hours darkness required per day.
(Most are  never are outside.)


Beak Trimming:

Organic
Physical alterations must be performed as needed to promote animal welfare and in a manner that minimizes pain and stress.  (Excuses!  If they didn’t have them crowded they wouldn’t have to trim the beaks!) 

Certified Humane
Permitted before 11 days of age but must be phased out when causes and preventative measures identified; analgesia not required.



PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ONE!

Killing of male chicks:

Organic
Not addressed.

Certified Humane
Not addressed.

No category addressed male chicks!  Why?  Almost all male chicks are killed (either ground up in big chunks [sometimes they stay alive for a short while] or thrown in a huge bin to crush each other to death).




Again:  My information came primarily from United Poultry Concerns.  They have the standards for several of the labels listed online - UPConline.







2 comments:

  1. Ah Ha! With labeling it's safe to say that "humane" is a subjective word. Humane according to whom? And what is their motivation for warping the truth? That ought to sum every lie that is told...

    Organic may have objective standards - But there again - How are they enforced? I read an article recently about an unscrupulous rancher who actually switched ear-tags on his "free range" and "standard fed" cows. Nothing about organic is trustworthy either and it goes without saying that it doesn't mean a thing in the realm of kindness to the animals either. :(

    You're absolutely right that people need to investigate and question things further than the manipulating "facts" they are fed. The best choice obviously is to eschew the idea of meat, dairy and eggs. Thank goodness we don't need them anyway! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed! Everything about the meat and dairy industries is just shocking and inhumane.

    ReplyDelete