"Those Hollywood types don't have any idea what's going on out here on the farms," said Mr. Rogers, a retired dairyman from Visalia, the county seat in a Central Valley region where cows far outnumber people...
"They think fish are more important than people, that pigs are treated mean and chickens should run loose," said Mr. Rogers... "City people just don't know what it takes to get food on their table."
In Charlotte's Web, healthy animals romp around the farm, playing with their families, and enjoying a full life, fearful only of seeing their life reach its end. Many of us grew up believing farms were really like that, the image reinforced by commercials for burger joints and frozen foods. The reality of California's factory farms, unfortunately, is quite different.
During pregnancy, pigs are locked alone in gestation crates - metal cells only two feet wide. Without enough room to turn around, they often develop joint disorders that leave them unable to walk. They will bite at the metal bars, desperate to escape, but of course they are helpless. Hens on egg farms are crammed into battery cages, never once enjoying the freedom to spread their wings, let alone engage in natural behaviors such as nesting or dust bathing. Veal calves are taken from their mothers, just hours after birth, to live in crates with their necks chained in place, never able to move, held in a single position until the day they are butchered.
The animals' torment is bad enough, but these conditions produce meat and eggs that threaten consumers' health. Such stressed animals become sick, and because they are unnaturally crowded together, they spread diseases to one another at an accelerated rate.
Well, we know we've been a bit slow on the podcasts, but we're going to try to do them more frequently. After all, the election is only a few weeks away.
So, tomorrow we'll restart the thing at noon with Sacramento mayoral candidate, and former NBA All-Star, Kevin Johnson. We'll also talk with the Yes on Prop 2 Campaign Manager Jennifer Fearing. So join us tomorrow at the Calitics Show Homepage. You can also grab the podcast there, at iTunes, or stream right from the Calitics page there on the left.
Here we go again, another round of endorsements. The bulk of these will be fairly uncontroversial here. On Prop 7, Brian Leubitz did not vote due to the fact that he works for the campaign. See the flip for more information on our positions.
With a kind hat tip to Shane at CapitolAlert, we have some new data from SurveyUSA on a few of the propositions. Keep in mind that I'm not in love with the data from SurveyUSA, and proposition numbers can be particularly volitile. So, here they are.
For the good news, we see Prop 8 trailing, and Prop 2 leading. That 62 point lead for Prop 2 is actually quite staggering. It's rare to see such agreement on any issue, let alone one that has been blocked by big farming interests for so long. Other polls have showed 8 trailing more substantially, but this again confirms what we've been seeing.
On the not so good side, we have Prop 4. While we've beaten this twice before, it's been close both times. And there's nothing in this version that is any better than Props 73 or 85. One hope is that the turnout model that S-USA used for this poll has under counted youth voters. And that may be true for many of these polla, but a lot of work will (and $) will need to go to Prop 4 if we are to beat this once again.
Finally, Prop 11. Oh Prop 11, does anybody have a clue what you are? Not so much, as almost 50% of voters are undecided. I'd expect there to be a bunch of voting-day decisions on this one as many voters just don't have the time to analyze these things.
By the way, NO ON 11! It's fake reform opposed by minority organizations and labor that simply gives too much to Republicans that haven't earned it at the ballot box. Just in case you haven't heard that enough around here...
We knew the larger egg producers were desperate to kill Prop 2, a proposition that would prohibit battery cages. After all, housing six-to-eight egg-laying hens in a space so narrow that they cannot turn around or extend their wings may be excessively cruel, but it's slightly more profitable for the 30 factory farms that control the bulk of egg production in California. It's no surprise that the American Egg Board would search nationwide for the funds they need to defeat a measure presently supported by 63 percent of Californians. But illegally funnelling $3 million in federal funds to combat the initiative, as the Yes on Prop 2 campaign alleges? That's one golden egg!
Yesterday, the campaign filed a lawsuit in federal district court, alleging that the American Egg Board set aside $3 million in federal funds to help defeat Prop 2, which would be a violation of 7 U.S.C. § 2707(h), which prohibits using the money "for the purpose of influencing governmental policy or action." Sadly, it appears George Bush's Department of Agriculture may be complicit in this action, so the USDA is also party to the suit.
• Prop 2, the factory farm measure, was the subject of a favorable op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. Prop 2 would likely end the use of cages for hens in egg production. In very quick terms, it would require that the animal (e.g. chickens, pigs, and baby cows) could stand up and turn around in its cage.
• The lobbyists are gearing up to fight AB 583, Asm. Hancock's (D-Berkeley) bill to make the 2014(?) Secretary of State race a publicly-funded clean campaign. AB 583 was originally intended to fund the 2010 governor's race and some legislative races, but it was amended down. Either way, lobbyists just aren't thrilled about the increase of their fee from $25 to $700.
• The SF Chronicle reads far, far too much into the VP selections of both candidates. Once again, I strongly disagree with former Lieberman for President strategist Garry South. The VP pick is a public executive decision and gives an indicator of who the candidate is, but a good pick can't save a campaign. And a bad pick won't kill it either. I refer you to Lloyd Bentsen v. Dan Quayle.
