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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday May 30 2015, @03:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the no-more-horsing-around dept.

The Intercept reporter Lee Fang obtained emails through an Idaho public records request exposing dairy lobbyist involvement in crafting "Ag-gag" legislation. "Ag-gag" describes a class of agricultural industry anti-whistleblower legislation that now exists in several states, usually prohibiting photography and audio/visual recording:

State Sen. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, said he sponsored the bill in response to an activist-filmed undercover video that showed cows at an Idaho plant being beaten by workers, dragged by the neck with chains, and forced to live in pens covered in fæces, which activists said made the cows slip, fall and injure themselves. The facility, Bettencourt Dairies, is a major supplier for Burger King and Kraft. The workers who were filmed were fired.

Introducing the bill, Patrick compared the activists behind the Bettencourt video to marauding invaders who burned crops to starve their enemies. "This is clear back in the sixth century B.C.," Patrick said, according to Al Jazeera America. "This is the way you combat your enemies." Patrick's bill was introduced on February 10, 2014, sailed through committee within days, and was signed by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter on February 28. The legislation calls for a year in jail and fines up to $5,000 for covertly recording abuses on farms or for those who lie on employment applications about ties to animal rights groups or news organizations.

But the groundwork was laid by Dan Steenson, a registered lobbyist (pdf) for the Idaho Dairymen's Association, a trade group for the industry. Steenson testified in support of the ag-gag bill, clearly disclosing his relationship with the trade group. Emails, however, show that he also helped draft the bill. On January 30, before Sen. Patrick's bill was formally introduced, Steenson emailed Bob Naerebout, another Dairymen lobbyist, and Brian Kane, the Assistant Chief Deputy of the state attorney general's office, with a copy of the legislation. "The attached draft incorporates the suggestions you gave us this morning," Steenson wrote, thanking Kane for his help in reviewing the bill. Kane responded with "one minor addition" to the legislation, which he described to Steenson as "your draft." The draft text of the legislation emailed by Steenson closely mirrors the bill (pdf) signed into law.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by tynin on Saturday May 30 2015, @04:50PM

    by tynin (2013) on Saturday May 30 2015, @04:50PM (#190146) Journal

    I hope this doesn't slow down those that would shine a light on what goes on in some of these less than sanitary meat harvest factories. Without some manor of oversight their is no reason for companies not to take the cheapest path and cut corners, be that with sanitation, quality of food, and general conditions these animals are kept in. And for my own selfish reasons, animals that die happy taste better than those that die scared, or injured.

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  • (Score: 4, Touché) by isostatic on Saturday May 30 2015, @05:38PM

    by isostatic (365) on Saturday May 30 2015, @05:38PM (#190158) Journal

    Invisible hand! The market will provide!

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @06:25PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @06:25PM (#190172)

    "Manor of Oversight" - Is that like the Big Brother house?

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by tynin on Saturday May 30 2015, @06:34PM

      by tynin (2013) on Saturday May 30 2015, @06:34PM (#190176) Journal

      LOL, whoops. :)

      Tune in tonight for Manor of Oversight and see who will be nominated for evisceration.

  • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Saturday May 30 2015, @08:04PM

    by isostatic (365) on Saturday May 30 2015, @08:04PM (#190203) Journal

    animals that die happy taste better than those that die scared, or injured

    Do you have a link to a peer reviewed paper? Double blind experiments etc? Have you personally participated in one of those experiments to confirm your thoughts on the matter?

    • (Score: 2) by tynin on Saturday May 30 2015, @08:20PM

      by tynin (2013) on Saturday May 30 2015, @08:20PM (#190206) Journal

      This is about the best i could find on short notice:
      http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf960136%2B [acs.org]

      Not sure about any double blinds.

      I've personally had both deer and hog that were killed instantly, quickly cleaned and cooled. I've also had them where the first shot didn't do the job and they continued to run for a couple miles. Animals that are scared and hurt taste quite a bit different. I haven't experienced the difference in cow personally under those conditions.

      • (Score: 1) by Squidious on Sunday May 31 2015, @08:28PM

        by Squidious (4327) on Sunday May 31 2015, @08:28PM (#190486)

        Adrenalin causes a bad taste. That is why game killed quickly tastes better.

        --
        The terrorists have won, game, set, match. They've scared the people into electing authoritarian regimes.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @10:21PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 30 2015, @10:21PM (#190230)

      Do you have a link that explains why you missed the bit where he explains that it's for his own "selfish reasons?"

      • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Sunday May 31 2015, @12:34AM

        by isostatic (365) on Sunday May 31 2015, @12:34AM (#190264) Journal

        I have not wrong with his "for selfish reasons" choice, as a free market proponent that believes libertarianism is the answer it's clearly the best position for him to take.

        I just wonders of there was any non-anecdotal evidence. Obviously I'm willing to pay for such evidence, and pay to confirm such evidence is legitimate, and ultimatum reproduce the tests myself, but a head start would be appreciated.

  • (Score: 1) by Anonymous Cowherd on Saturday May 30 2015, @10:40PM

    by Anonymous Cowherd (3699) on Saturday May 30 2015, @10:40PM (#190238)

    Too late for that - by buying animal products from farms in ag-gag states you're already voting with your dollars on the issue.