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| Iowa is pushing to keep activists from exposing the conditions in the state's factory farms. (photo: Rosino/flickr) |
03 March 12
The video below compiled by Mercy For Animals
includes video shot at McDonald's former egg supplier Sparboe Egg
Farms. Once made public, the video led to McDonald's dropping Sparboe's
contract. A note of warning, the video is graphic and discretion is
advised. -- JPS/RSN
owa is set to become the first state to pass one of the recent "Ag Gag" laws introduced across the country to target undercover investigators who expose animal welfare violations on factory farms.
House File 589 creates a new crime of "agricultural
production facility fraud," and it has already passed the Iowa House and
Senate with bipartisan support. It is on the desk of Gov. Terry
Branstad for signature or veto.
The bill, and similar efforts such as Utah's Ag Gag bill, carve out special protections in the law to shield factory farms from public scrutiny.
As Randall Wilson of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union of Iowa said:
"We all know it's a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate investigative
reporting and whistle-blowing regarding abuses in our food production
chain."
It should come as no surprise who is behind these
efforts. For example, Iowa State Rep Annette Sweeney, a proponent of the
bill, is the former Executive Director of the Iowa Angus Association. And Simpson Farms, Florida’s second biggest egg producer, helped draft the language of that bill target animal welfare activists with up to 30 years in prison. It failed. READ MORE
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