Program Term Archive
Farmed Animals
California Ballot Initiative Seeks Stronger Confinement Ban
Farmed AnimalsThis November, California citizens may have the chance to vote for farm animal welfare. A coalition of stakeholders is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would strengthen the California...
Drawing a Curtain on Cruel Confinement of Veal Calves
Farmed AnimalsThe end of cruel confinement methods for veal calves in the United States is drawing ever closer. In 2007, the American Veal Association (AVA) pledged to transition away from solitary...
USDA Thumbs Nose at Public, Moves to Withdraw Organic Animal Rule
Farmed AnimalsIn January, the US Department of Agriculture proposed withdrawing the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule. The rule represents the culmination of a decades-long process involving multiple stakeholder groups, including...
AWI Statement: Iowa Gov. Reynolds Should Veto Legislation that Harms Business Owners, Egg-Laying Hens
Press StatementMarch 6, 2018Farmed AnimalsThe Iowa State Senate has now passed HF 2408, a bill that would force grocery stores to sell eggs from hens packed into cages so densely crowded they can barely...
AWI Statement: USDA Rejection of Line Speed Petition Still Leaves Chickens Vulnerable at Slaughter
Press StatementJanuary 31, 2018Farmed AnimalsFollowing a comment period that produced over 100,000 comments, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced late yesterday its rejection of a petition submitted by...
Animal Welfare Groups Warn Proposed Slaughter Rule Would Prompt Pig Abuse
Press ReleaseJanuary 22, 2018Farmed AnimalsThe Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and Mercy For Animals (MFA) condemn the USDA’s plan, released last week, to allow...
California Foie Gras Ban Back on Track
Farmed AnimalsIn a unanimous opinion, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision striking down California’s ban on foie gras. The production of foie gras requires gavage, the...
Clean Plate? Lab-to-Table Meat Detours Around Animal Cruelty
Farmed AnimalsOf the 9 billion land animals raised for food in the United States each year, less than 1 percent live out their lives on pasture, breathing fresh air. The vast...
First Amendment Fells Utah’s Ag-gag Law
Farmed AnimalsA federal district court in Utah has ruled the state’s “ag-gag” law is unconstitutional. The law made it illegal for an individual to use false pretenses to gain access to...
Tyson Workers Convicted of Animal Cruelty
Farmed AnimalsSeven workers at a Tyson factory farm in Virginia were recently convicted of cruelty to animals after an undercover investigation revealed severe mistreatment of chickens. In a video, the workers...