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THE MAG OF MFA. FALL-WINTER 10 ISSUE 7

Dairy Farm

Brutality MFA's Most Shocking Exposé Yet

Cracking

the Case

Egg Farm Pleads Guilty to Cruelty Charges

Second Nature Exclusive Interview with Dr. Jonathan Balcombe

The Kind Diet

Tantalizing Treats from Alicia Silverstone's Kitchen MercyForAnimals.org

But then something changed – Mercy For Animals stepped in. We worked with local law enforcement to arrest, charge, criminally prosecute and jail the primary abuser. The gut-wrenching images shot by our investigator stirred a media firestorm, followed by an international public outcry. From elderly grandmothers in rural towns to young Hollywood celebrities, people across the world reacted in much the same way – unadulterated anger. And while many people shouted at their television or computer screens as the disturbing images unfolded – placing the blame and anger squarely on the “sick” and “twisted” farm workers – others saw the symptoms of a larger problem. These thoughtful viewers paused to ask: Are my food choices contributing to this abuse?

Dear Friends, For over a decade, Mercy For Animals has served as a watchdog for consumers and an uncompromising voice for farmed animals – going undercover to expose the sickening conditions inside factory farms, hatcheries and slaughterhouses. This work is often brutal, emotionally taxing and unpopular. Yet, we’ve pressed on, recognizing its critical importance in bringing about meaningful change, holding abusers accountable, pushing for stronger animal protections laws, and awakening the hearts and minds of millions to the power – and consequences – of our food choices. This issue of CL continues that tradition – highlighting the findings of our most shocking exposé yet. At the center of this case is a small dairy farm in central Ohio. A brave MFA investigator risked his safety to expose the horrors unfolding behind the walls of this seemingly innocent operation. The images he captured on hidden camera are heartbreaking, stomach-turning and infuriating. At this facility, newborn calves – the very essence of innocence and vulnerability – are seen having their heads kicked and stomped on by a farm operative clad in heavy work boots, being lifted by their legs, then forcefully slammed to the ground moments later. These docile creatures were dragged across the rough concrete flooring, thrown by their ears and repeatedly punched in their heads. But their mothers had it even worse. Their daily terror included having their tails twisted until the bones snapped, and being savagely beaten in the face with crowbars and stabbed with pitchforks until they bled. They screamed and bellowed in distress – but their cries fell on the deaf ears of their abusers.

2 Compassionate Living Mercyforanimals.org

Far from an isolated incident, the unpleasant truth about cruelty to farmed animals is that it’s commonplace. In many of its forms, such mistreatment is even legal, standard and defended by agribusiness. And while the sadistic abuse uncovered during this latest investigation highlights the darkest side of farm workers’ behavior – conduct likely learned or trained – it merely scratches the surface of a much larger, and deeply entrenched, system. Treated as commodities to be bought, traded, killed, skinned, dismembered and sold for a profit, billions of farmed animals are victims of brutal exploitation. From being condemned to lives locked in metal crates barely larger than their own bodies to being disfigured without painkillers, these animals experience a frightening and miserable journey through life. In industrialized farming, supply and demand fuels the race to produce inexpensive commodities – with thinking, feeling creatures caught in the fray. Yet, for an ever-increasing majority of consumers, the current mistreatment of farmed animals falls well outside their comfort level – landing sharply at odds with their moral and ethical values. With the empowering realization that compassionate, vegetarian food choices can prevent suffering and spare lives, a rapidly growing movement of conscious consumers has emerged. For them, the issue of ending cruelty to farmed animals is simply a matter of putting our ethics where they belong – on the dinner table. For a kinder tomorrow,

CL

Meat-Free Movement Gaining Momentum Recent measures give important institutional credibility to the benefits of adopting a vegan diet. The United Nation's Environment Programme released in June a report citing a "substantial worldwide diet change away from animal products" as the only way to sustainably meet the demands of a growing world population.

Contributors Amy Bradley Derek Coons Daniel Hauff Arathi Jayaram Matt Rice Anya Todd

Jessica Breen Eddie Garza Jonathan Hussain Brooke Mays Nathan Runkle

In September, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urged one meat-free day a week to curb

carbon emissions, an idea that caught fire across the globe this year: Baltimore City Public Schools eliminated meat from its Monday menus, the state of Michigan held a one-day "Meatout," and the city of Ghent in Belgium became the first European city to endorse a weekly meatfree day. More exciting strides include the D.C. Healthy Schools Act, expanding vegan cafeteria options at D.C. area schools, and thirty-two U.S. hospitals committing to reduce meat purchases by 20 percent as part of the Balanced Menu Challenge.

Front Cover

From Farmville to Farm Rescue

Cowboy, taken at Animal Acres, Acton, California. Photo by Susan Weingartner - SusanWeingartner.com

Facebook users now have a fun, animal-friendly alternative to the interactive game Farmville. This past July, Mark Middleton, the mind behind AnimalVisuals.org, released Farm Rescue, a game on Facebook where people can rescue virtual hens from battery cages. Once rescued, the hens must be nurtured back to health and can then be placed in adoptive homes. The game includes interesting facts about chickens, cute animated graphics and the opportunity to "Take Action" to help save real chickens by spreading the word to friends and family about the plight of egg-laying hens or by sponsoring the care of a chicken at a farmed animal sanctuary. Viewers also have the opportunity to watch Mercy For Animals' undercover investigation of a factory farm in Maine.

Eggs-Posés

Mercy For Animals (MFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal advocacy organization that believes non-human animals are irreplaceable individuals who have morally significant interests and hence rights, including the right to live free of unnecessary suffering. MFA is dedicated to establishing and defending the rights of all animals. Given that over 97% of animal cruelty occurs in the production of meat, dairy, and eggs, MFA’s main function is promoting a vegetarian diet. MFA works to be a voice for animals through public education and advertisement campaigns, research and investigations, working with news media, and grassroots activism. MFA relies on the generous support of compassionate individuals to carry on our life-saving work. To become a member, simply send a contribution of $15 to:

Nathan Runkle Executive Director

newswatch

Compassionate Living

dear friends

Mercy For Animals 3712 N. Broadway, Ste. 560 Chicago, IL 60613 1-866-632-6446 [email protected]

This year The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Compassion Over Killing (COK) released investigative findings of egg factory farm and hatchery abuse that corroborate the results of MFA’s own undercover cruelty investigations – demonstrating again that animal cruelty is the industry M.O. In April, HSUS hidden camera exposés of Iowa’s Rose Acre Farms and Rembrandt Enterprises revealed what all seven of MFA’s investigations into egg farms across the country have shown: hens so densely packed into cages that they could barely move, and birds trampled to death by cage mates or left to die entangled in cage wire.

Farm Rescue is not only a fantastic tool for animal advocates to educate the public on the injustices of animal exploitation using compelling visuals and interactive media, it is a whole lot of fun too! Embark on a virtual rescue mission at FarmRescueGame.com.

In June, COK released undercover footage of Santa Cruz’s Cal-Cruz Hatcheries, exposing chicks and ducklings mangled in machinery, unwanted hatchlings dumped down disposal chutes and birds sent through scalding machinery wash cycles. MFA’s 2009 investigation into Hy-Line International – the largest egg-laying breed hatchery in the world – found similar gruesome abuses.

Animal Rights Diving into the Mainstream According to the May cover story of National Journal Magazine, the animal rights movement has become “a sophisticated, well-organized, mainstream movement with far-reaching implications.” With Ohio poised to join seven other states that have banned the intensive confinement of certain farmed animals, the number of law schools offering animal law programs increasing from a handful to more than a hundred and the number of states that treat animal abuse as a felony skyrocketing from eight in 1980 to 46 today, the movement is indeed gaining ground.

While animal rights issues were once largely ignored by the media, things are starting to change. CNN’s Headline News Network recently aired an hour-long program on animal rights and the New York Times printed a powerful, pro-vegan op-ed last November. This was followed by an equally powerful editorial in July that echoed the growing public sentiment that “there is no justification, economic or otherwise, for the abusive practice of confining animals in spaces barely larger than the volume of their bodies.” CHOOSEVEG.COM

FAll-Winter 10

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meetmfa

actionreport

Vegan Fest-ivities Hundreds of thousands of people learned about MFA’s important work at this year’s most notable festivals and animal rights conferences. Featured among some of the most prominent speakers in the animal protection movement, Executive Director Nathan Runkle and Director of Investigations Daniel Hauff presented high-energy, thought-provoking talks at Portland, Oregon’s Let Live Conference, Minneapolis’ Their Lives Our Voices, and Washington, D.C.’s 2010 Animal Rights National Conference.

Changing New York's State of Mind

This summer, MFA unveiled a stylish new conference exhibit featuring a heartwarming image of a young calf being lovingly nuzzled by her mother, juxtaposed with streaming footage of MFA’s graphic undercover factory farming investigations. MFA also heated up the festival circuit this summer, reaching out to thousands of people from coast-to-coast. In Asheville, North Carolina, MFA volunteers delighted festival-goers with Vegetarian Starter Kits and mock chicken samples. Chicagoans also got a taste of compassion at the Andersonville Midsommarfest, VeggieFest and Northalsted Market Days as animal advocates passed out free SO Delicious ice cream bars and sandwiches, leafleted the crowds and staffed tables full of pro-veg literature. MFA also exhibited at festivals in California, Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Ohio.

Matt Rice serves as Mercy For Animals' New York Campaign Coordinator, overseeing projects, outreach events and volunteers throughout New York City and the state. Matt resides in Queens with his partner, Tammy, and when he’s not working, he can be found hiking with his two rescued vegan dogs, or singing along to

MercyForAnimals.org/Festivals

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

Total Recall

CL: What inspired you to go vegan? MR: My partner Tammy introduced me to the concept of veganism.

In response to the largest egg recall in U.S. history, MFA “biohazard crews” converged outside grocery stores in Chicago and Dallas this summer, urging shoppers to protect animals from abuse and their health from salmonella by eliminating eggs from their diets. Donning white jumpsuits, rubber gloves and face protection masks, the MFA crews wielded signs with images of rotting dead hens in cages next to dirty eggs that read, “Recall All Eggs. Choose Vegan!”

She helped me to understand how my own values were not in line with my behavior as long as I continued to pay people to needlessly hurt and kill animals. Tammy helped me to realize that there is no

Activist Spotlight: Matt Rice

meaningful difference between my beloved dog, Tessa, and a cow, or a pig, or a chicken. If I wouldn’t want someone to needlessly kill

Position with MFA: New York Campaign Coordinator Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO Email: [email protected] Favorite Quote: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.” - Jivamukti Yoga Sutra

and eat Tessa, why would I pay someone to hurt or kill any animal when I could just as easily choose vegan foods instead?

CL: Why did you get involved in the animal protection movement? MR: At first, I kept my newfound lifestyle choices to myself. Veganism seemed like a personal choice to me. But once I started seeing undercover investigative footage showing egg-laying

Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs after a nationwide outbreak of salmonella poisoning was linked to the Iowa farm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1,500 people in as many as 11 states were likely infected by the farm’s eggs. Wright County Egg uses a caged confinement system and is owned by Austin “Jack” DeCoster, who also owns Quality Egg of New England, the subject of a 2009 MFA undercover cruelty investigation. MFA’s investigation into DeCoster’s Maine facility revealed hens so densely packed into cages that they could not escape their own excrement or rotting corpses of cage mates. MFA’s biohazard crews graphically illustrated for shoppers that factory farm egg production is not only cruel to animals but a threat to public health.

MercyForAnimals.org/EggRecall

hens having their beaks seared off with a hot blade before being crammed into tiny wire cages or their male chicks being ground up alive in giant macerators, my perspective changed. I realized that

organizing screenings of our award-winning documentary, Fowl Play,

being vegan is not about me, or my choices, it is about the animals

and more, we are winning the hearts and minds of New Yorkers every

who suffer without a voice. Like most people, I considered myself

day.

to be a good person and believed that if I ever came face-to-face with an atrocity or violent crime I would not be the kind of person who

CL: What tips do you have for people who want to be more

looks the other way. Seeing the atrocities committed against billions

effective advocates for animals?

of sentient beings in factory farms and slaughterhouses inspired me to take action.

CL: How is activism different in New York City?

MR: Animal advocacy isn’t about winning arguments with people, it is about planting seeds of empathy and creating an environment in which people are encouraged to allow those seeds to grow. Practically speaking, that means being polite and respectful of others and treating

MR: Practically every street corner is bustling with people, so it is

them as potential allies instead of enemies. Instead of lecturing people,

relatively easy to reach out to a large number of people in New York.

try having a conversation and really listening to what the other person

One person can easily give out 300 to 400 pro-vegan brochures and

has to say. Not only will this usually open that person up and make him

talk to dozens of people in only an hour. At the same time, it can be

or her more willing to listen to what you have to say, it will help you

challenging trying to get the message of Mercy For Animals out to

to better understand where the other person is coming from so you

more than eight million people in five boroughs. But with a growing

can steer the conversation toward topics that concern them. The vegan

team of volunteers helping to staff tables at street fairs and festivals,

message of compassion can appeal to everyone, and it's important to

encouraging restaurants to add vegan options to their menus,

focus on that common ground in all your interactions.

MFA Wrangles Texas Mercy For Animals has officially opened up shop in cattle country! Our newest outpost and advocacy center is located in the heart of Dallas, and is led by native Texan, Eddie Garza, who is “committed to driving a new breed of animal activism in the land of beef, beef and more beef.” We officially kicked things off in Dallas at Rock Out for the Animals, a benefit concert for MFA featuring popular local bands. MFA packed the house and the benefit was selected as a “Top Pick” by several media outlets. Several MFA campaigns are already well underway, including our humane education campaign, which commenced with a presentation at Texas Campaign for the Environment. Downtown Dallas is also the hub of MFA’s vegetarian leafleting campaign, as high foot traffic and tourist attractions make it a prime spot to spread the word about compassionate living.

MercyForAnimals.org/Dallas 4 Compassionate Living Mercyforanimals.org

Celebrating Compassion & Diversity Energized and inspired, MFA advocates hit the streets in full force this summer, bringing our message of social justice, compassion and respect for everyone to six major cities during their annual gay pride parades. In Dayton, Dallas, Columbus, Cleveland, New York and Chicago, activists marched behind striking banners bearing the MFA logo and the message, "No one is free when others are oppressed." Over 140 marchers joined the celebration, many waving large MFA logo and rainbow pride flags. Combined, volunteers distributed 13,500 pieces of literature, highlighting the health, ethical and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet.

MercyForAnimals.org/Pride

vegan flavor

vegan health

Recipes from

Toasted Nori Burritos

The Kind Diet Ingredients:

Bottom-line, if you are eating a well-balanced diet, iron intake should not be an issue for you.

Ask Anya Anya Todd is a vegan registered and licensed dietitian who graduated from Case Western Reserve University and completed her internship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Anya looks forward to cooler weather and ingesting iron in the form of three-bean chili, with a side of cornbread, of course.

Q:

My parents are worried about my iron intake now that I am vegan. Am I going to be anemic?

When it comes to the “most frequently asked questions” I receive, this is number two behind “How do you get your protein?” Just like protein, many of us were taught to think meat was the only way we could obtain iron. Well, we were lied to. It’s not. Iron is an essential mineral that helps red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. It also acts in energy production, as well as assists in the maintenance of the immune and central nervous systems. Two forms of iron exist in food: heme (animal sourced) and non-heme (plant and animal sourced). Heme is more bioavailable (meaning


Radicchio Pizza w/ Truffle Oil

Tear the umeboshi plum into little pieces and discard the pit. Place half the rice on each sheet of nori and top with the remaining ingredients. Roll the nori into a cone shape around the filling; if it’s rolled tightly, you can seal the edges by wetting your finger to dampen the edges of the nori.

our bodies absorb it more easily) than non-heme; however, when it comes to being utilized on a cellular level, it makes no difference what the iron source is. Iron-rich plant sources include legumes, whole grains, seeds, dried fruit and blackstrap molasses. Bottom-line, if you are eating a well-balanced diet, iron intake should not be an issue for you. To maximize absorption of the iron in your diet, there are “tricks” you can use, like consuming a vitamin-C-rich food at the same time. So, a bowl of three-bean chili is a total winner – a perfect combination of iron (legumes) and vitamin C (tomato sauce). Preparing your food in cast-iron cookware will also lend some iron to your diet, especially when cooking foods that are more acidic, like tomato sauce. Conversely, there are substances that can decrease iron absorption, including tannins in green and black tea and coffee. Calcium and zinc supplements can also interfere with iron absorption, so plan to take them at different times. Antacid use can also be detrimental because it decreases the acidity of the stomach that the iron needs to properly digest. How much iron do vegans need? This is an issue of some debate. The current government recommendation for iron is 1.8 times higher for vegetarians than for non-vegetarians because of the issue of iron bioavailability. That being said, most studies indicate that vegans have fairly equal iron intakes when compared to omnivores and no significant difference in rate of deficiencies. One’s personal iron recommendation is based on stage of life. Growing children obviously have higher needs than a middle-aged man. Women of childbearing age who must endure monthly visits from “that special Aunt” will also have increased iron needs. When one’s diet lacks enough iron, a condition known as irondeficiency anemia can occur. Symptoms include lethargy, headaches and irritability. As you can see from these symptoms, it is easy to mistakenly self-diagnose “anemia” as your condition when it may be something more benign, such as lack of sleep or in my case, cupcake withdrawal. If you are truly concerned, some simple blood work can reveal your iron status. In the meantime, there is an ironpacked lentil burger with your name all over it.

1 umeboshi plum 1 cup cooked brown rice (leftover is great) 2 sheets toasted nori 2 romaine lettuce leaves 1 avocado, sliced 1 apple, sliced 4 fresh basil leaves Leaves from 6 cilantro sprigs Leftover cooked kale or salad greens

Serves 2 Ingredients: 1 large head radicchio Olive oil Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste White truffle oil, to taste 1 fresh pizza crust (preferably a healthy, whole grain variety)

Cut the radicchio in half, then slice each half crosswise into thin ribbons (as thin as possible!). Dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few dashes of white truffle oil to taste. Preheat the oven to 415°F. Toast the pizza crust in the oven for 7 minutes or until it is heated through and slightly golden but not crunchy. Scatter the dressed radicchio over the pizza crust and return to the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the radicchio is warm and just starting to wilt. Serve immediately.

Serves 2-4

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CHOOSEVEG.COM

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cover story

cover story

“ It is hard to put into words what you have captured in this footage, total abuse of animals…This is beyond comprehension...” - Internationally renowned dairy industry expert, William Wailes

Billy Joe Gregg, Jr., was a 25-year-old local college student. An average-looking guy with short brown hair, Gregg claimed he was a former Atlanta-area police officer and a disabled veteran. Conklin Dairy’s owner, Gary Conklin, says he hired Gregg many months before MFA’s investigation began, citing Gregg’s lifetime of work on dairy farms.

DAIRY FARM

BRUTALITY

MFA’s Most Shocking Undercover Investigation Yet

Resting off a backcountry road on the outskirts of Plain City is a quiet Ohio dairy facility, known by the locals as Conklin Dairy Farms. From a distance, this rural operation seems tranquil, all the while hiding a horrific reality for the cows and calves kept behind its closed doors. A recent Mercy For Animals undercover investigation of the farm revealed some of the most malicious cruelty to animals by farm workers ever caught on film. 8

Compassionate Living Mercyforanimals.org

On the job, day after day, Gregg and another Conklin employee openly shared sadistic stories, describing in graphic detail their cruel, calculated acts of violence against the cows and newborn calves at the farm. They discussed how the owner of the facility not only knew about the violence, but had a history of abusing the animals himself. But what the workers didn’t know was that the recent new hire, “Jeff,” was actually an MFA undercover investigator, secretly recording the disclosure of their despicable acts. They certainly didn’t know the undercover video evidence of Gregg viciously punching newborn calves in their faces and heads, stomping on them, throwing them and mercilessly beating restrained cows using metal pipes would create an international media firestorm, shaking the dairy industry to its core.

Calculated, deliberate cruelty For nearly four weeks during April and May of this year, Jeff worked side-by-side with other Conklin employees, wired with a pinhole-sized hidden camera. He endured witnessing routine violence against docile and defenseless animals in order to expose their abuse. Jeff was prepared to see the standard dairy industry cruelty – the cramped indoor confinement, newborn calves torn from their mothers’ sides and the torturous removal of horns. What Jeff didn’t expect, however, was the sadistic and relentless beating of cows and calves on nearly a daily basis.

A young calf is dragged by his front leg along the rough concrete flooring by a worker at Conklin Dairy Farms.

On his very first day at Conklin Dairy, Jeff documented workers callously dropping newborns from standing height to crash onto a transport truck floor, some on top of other calves, so that they could be shipped to slaughter. Jeff even observed Gregg dragging newborn calves from their stalls, scraping them along the rough flooring the entire time. And that was just the beginning. As the weeks progressed, the cruelty mounted, particularly by Gregg. Jeff documented Gregg violently punching young calves in their faces, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears. Gregg’s violent outbursts included brutally beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars – some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head and causing such intense pain that Jeff’s body vibrated from the volume of their defenseless bellowing. But the abuse wasn’t isolated to Gregg. Jeff’s recordings include other employees’ abuses as well, most notably those of longstanding worker Shawn Hoffman, who admits on film that he beat cows with metal bars, finding humor in cracking them over the head so forcefully that he would knock them unconscious. During a conversation in the milking barn, Hoffman said, “[N]ow we don't have sedatives, so you gotta' do it with a pipe." Gregg and Hoffman even laughed together about dumping a cow too sick or injured to stand into a putrid pond to drown among other cows’ rotting carcasses. CHOOSEVEG.COM

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cover story

cover story Both Gregg and Hoffman can be seen on film jabbing pitchforks into the cows’ faces, legs and stomachs.

In his investigative journal, Jeff writes: I pointed out to Gregg that the cow he had stabbed for over two minutes was bleeding from her face. I asked, "Is that okay? Do we gotta’ put anything on that?” “No, you leave it,” he told me. “You’ll see worse than that. We beat ‘em in the head with a pipe. When they kick too hard and [Hoffman] hits ‘em in the head with a pipe – then, they’ll be pouring out. That’s just a poke hole.”

Cows, covered in dirt and feces, are hooked up to electric milking machines several times per day.

Workers often broke cows’ tails by twisting them until they snapped. Jeff wrote in his investigative journal that he could see that half a cow’s tail was limply hanging at what appeared to be a break. “What happened to her tail?” Jeff asked Hoffman.

Jeff writes:

“Somehow it broke,” he replied, smiling.

I listen as two workers discuss a

Even owner Gary Conklin repeatedly and violently kicked a downed cow in the head, knocking her jaw open with such force that it sent her saliva across the barn. Agribusiness interests excused this abuse, defending it as “acceptable” and “appropriate,” even though respected veterinarians condemned the behavior as a brutal means of getting a downed cow to her feet.

cow on the property who is ill and appears to be starving. She has no Top: A restrained cow is viciously beaten in the face with a crowbar. Bottom: Gary Conklin repeatedly kicks an injured cow in the face.

HIDDEN HORROR Conklin Dairy, which is relatively small and inconspicuous among dairy operations, was randomly chosen for MFA’s investigation. As Jeff soon realized, even at this small farm, egregious cruelty was a routine occurrence, with sick animals often suffering neglect. Individualized veterinary care is typically lax or non-existent for farmed animals. At Conklin, one cow’s teats were torn open and left untreated for weeks, yet she was hooked up to machines and milked anyway. Conklin employees repeatedly expressed a callousness regarding the care of animals – often commenting on the animals’ disposability. When production decreases or an animal is ill, it’s frequently more economical for a facility to replace her than to treat her medically.

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food and doesn’t seem to be receiving proper medical care. One of them tells me she’s “not worth a sh-t.”

Dr. Debra Teachout, a practicing veterinarian, took special note of the culture of cruelty at Conklin, stating: The fact that there are several different people captured

”

in the acts of malicious attacks on the calves and cows suggests an exceedingly permissive and even supportive atmosphere for animal cruelty to become the norm at this facility...There is obviously no respect for the animals or for their welfare at all...The lives of the calves and cows at this farm are full of terror and pain.

AN UNDERVALUED LIFE Cruelty to dairy cows is cyclical. The cows are repeatedly artificially impregnated. After birth, their calves are taken away – causing psychological distress for both mother and calf – all so the milk intended for the calves can be taken for human consumption. The male calves, because they won’t produce milk and are not of the beef-cattle breed, have little economic value to the dairy industry. Many will be sold to veal farms, where they will be chained by their necks in filthy, tiny stalls so small the animals cannot turn around or walk.

Some of the females will replace their mothers in the milking herd, also entering a life of artificial insemination, traumatic separation from their calves, and mechanized milking until their milk production slows to an unprofitable level. This cycle will repeat until the cows’ bodies are too worn down to endure the stress of another pregnancy, and then they will be shipped to a slaughter plant. After the newborn calves have been dragged from their mothers, they are bottle-fed a milk replacer. When they reject the artificial nipple and refuse to drink, tubes are painfully shoved down their throats and they are force-fed. At Conklin, the force-feeding became violent. When the calves would not drink from the bottles right away, Gregg would explode into a rage – punching the newborn calves in the head. He would even slam confused and terrified calves into the ground and stomp on their heads with his heavy work boots. Other abuses documented at Conklin Dairy were standard industry practices. Cows and calves used in dairy production commonly have their horns removed from their skulls without any painkillers or veterinary aftercare, a practice known as “dehorning” or “disbudding.” This painful mutilation is often performed by burning out the horns with a smoking cautery, or at Conklin Dairy, by wrapping a wire around one horn at a time and dragging the wire back and forth to slowly saw the bone from the skull.

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cover story Unlawful Order As Jeff’s assignment came to a close, the monstrous violence that had gone undetected for so long was on the verge of exposure. Conklin Dairy Farms would soon become perhaps the most notorious animal farming operation in U.S. history. Armed with clear evidence of repeated violations of Ohio’s anti-cruelty laws, MFA’s Director of Investigations Daniel Hauff called Union County law enforcement on the final day of Jeff’s assignment. Fearing for Jeff’s and the public’s safety, Daniel stressed the sadistic nature of the violence perpetrated at Conklin Dairy.

Two days after MFA delivered the evidence, law enforcement arrested Gregg and charged him with 12 counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals. Bail was set at $100,000. Unable to post bail, he sat in jail, waiting to face justice. Following Gregg’s arrest, MFA called news conferences statewide and released the undercover footage to the public. Shocked and disgusted, numerous businesses terminated their buyer relationships with Conklin Dairy.

An Outraged Nation A media flurry erupted as the investigation’s violent imagery quickly crossed the country, inflaming national public awareness, and capturing the attention of nearly every major television station from ABC to CNN. Clad in an orange and white jail jumpsuit and shackled at his hands and feet, Gregg’s courtroom photos were posted worldwide. Over half a million YouTube users viewed the hidden-camera footage, and as word of the investigation spread virally through Twitter and Facebook, many of Hollywood’s most public figures spoke out. Actor Alicia Silverstone urged her blog’s readers to cut dairy cruelty from their diets for good, and Ashton Kutcher shared his anger online with his over five million Facebook fans.

Both Daniel and Jeff met with representatives of the City Prosecutor, hand-delivering a detailed legal complaint and all of the unedited video evidence. MFA urged authorities to immediately apprehend Billy Joe Gregg, Jr., and to prosecute all offenders to the full extent of the law.

Actor and longtime animal advocate Alec Baldwin proclaimed, “Let me assure you, someone risked their health and maybe their life to record that video. When you see this, you will never again doubt the necessity for and the courage of the animal rights movement.” And in an open letter to Gary Conklin, actor Jamie Lee Curtis and husband director Christopher Guest called on him to “have the courage, as the brave person who filmed this did,” to change his ways.

By documenting Gregg’s longstanding pattern of abuse, MFA clearly illustrated the extreme and constant danger he posed to animals, creating urgency not only to remove him from the facility, but also society at large.

In Ohio, a statewide ballot initiative was underway to end some of the worst standard abuses that Ohio’s farmed animals suffer. The shocking Conklin Dairy footage prompted many Ohio voters to seriously consider the plight of animals raised for food in the state. The exposé also helped pave the way for a landmark animal welfare agreement brokered by the governor and reached between leaders of the humane and farming communities.

As veterinarian Dr. Geoff Ball stated after reviewing evidence from Conklin: The [workers] shown should be viewed as a threat to all species of animals and should be investigated as far as

And perhaps most importantly, public debate intensified as many Americans took their first critical look into the dairy industry, learning about the separation of mothers from their young, the painful mutilations of cows and calves, and the violent slaughter that awaits virtually every cow born to dairy farmers.

SEEKING JUSTICE On September 24th – four months after law enforcement brought his violent abuse to a halt – Gregg sat in a small Marysville, Ohio courtroom. Labeled “the national poster child for animal abuse” by local media, Gregg pled guilty to six count of cruelty to animals and was sentenced to eight months in jail and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Gregg was also barred from contact with animals for three years

[their] potential to strike the same sort of suffering on humans as well. This footage should be seen as a red flag for child, spousal and other forms of violence.

Top: Gregg appears in court, charged with 12 counts of cruelty to animals. Bottom: A Conklin Dairy Farm worker stabs a cow with a pitchfork.

“Let me assure you, someone risked their health and maybe their life to record that video. When you see this, you will never again doubt the necessity for and the courage of the animal rights movement.” - Actor and longtime animal

Watch the undercover video at MercyForAnimals.org/OHDairy

advocate, Alec Baldwin

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cover story

cover story and ordered to undergo counseling through a program for individuals involved in animal abuse.

GENTLE GIANTS : The Intellectual and Emotional World of Cows

Sadly, as Gregg’s sentencing illustrated, Ohio’s anti-cruelty statutes are some of the weakest in the country, landing in 43rd place out of all 50 states. As the Conklin investigation shows, no matter how horrific the cruelty or extensive and repeated the abuse, cruelty to farmed animals in Ohio is a mere misdemeanor – an injustice that MFA has strongly urgently urged lawmakers to address. The situation is even worse on a federal level, with not a single law protecting farmed animals during their lives on farms. Additionally, many state laws contain exemptions for “common” farming practices, effectively legalizing heinous violence, such as dehorning and “tail docking” – a practice that involves cutting through sensitive skin, nerve endings and tailbone without painkillers. The deplorable conditions uncovered at Conklin Dairy Farms highlight the reality that animal agriculture cannot be trusted to self-regulate and that meaningful federal and state laws must be implemented and strengthened to prevent egregious cruelty to farmed animals, including making such acts of cruelty felonies. Although many of the abuses documented at Conklin Dairy Farms were expressions of Gregg’s sadistic pathology, undercover investigations continue to reveal that violence and abuse to farmed animals – whether malicious or institutionalized – run rampant nationwide.

"This is probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen. The video depicts calculated, deliberate cruelty, based not on momentary rage but on taking pleasure through causing pain to

A cow’s capacity for thought and profound emotion is poignantly illustrated in a story from Dr. Holly Cheever, of a “bovine Sophie’s Choice.” While working as a veterinarian on an upstate New York dairy farm, Cheever was confronted with the mystery of a cow whose udder was empty when she returned from pasture each day to be milked. (These were the days before the predominance of factory dairy farms, when many dairy cows had outdoor access and some freedom to roam.) The mystery lay in the fact that the cow had just given birth, and should have been full of milk, as her calf, like all of her calves before him, had been taken from her side immediately after birth.

According to Amy Hatkoff, author of The Inner World of Farm Animals, cows also “love an intellectual challenge.” Indeed, research has shown that cows may experience excitement at their own learning. Donald M. Broom, Professor of Animal Welfare at Cambridge University, led an experiment in which young calves obtained food by learning to unlatch a gate. Broom describes their moment of learning as a “eureka” moment, with the calves exhibiting increased heart rates, more animated behavior and even jumping. Calves that were simply given the food without having to learn to maneuver the gate did not exhibit any of these responses.

Baffled, the farmer followed her through the pasture one day and into the woods beyond it. To his shock, he discovered that the cow had delivered twins during her most recent pregnancy, leading only one back to the barn, and keeping one hidden in the woods for herself. Imagine, Cheever says, “what this cow was capable of.” Not only did she possess memory – the memory of losing all of her previous calves after bringing them to the barn – but she could also formulate and execute a plan. Cheever marvels at how the cow knew not to arouse suspicion by failing to bring at least one calf back to the barn.

Cows are also known to learn from observing each other’s successes and failures, to take turns calf-sitting, while others in their herds graze, and to mourn their dead. They often like to be touched and petted, and form strong emotional bonds not only with each other, but also with humans and other animal species. Cows comfort the aging and ailing by curling up against them at night, and many reciprocate human affection with generous, albeit slobbery, “cow licks.”

cows and calves who are defenseless. In my opinion, the individuals shown are twisted and dangerous." - Bernard Rollin, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and member of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production

GOT ETHICS? The meat, egg and seafood industries also subject animals to unconscionable, systemic abuse. Thankfully, compassionate consumers can end their direct financial support of farmed animal abuse by rejecting dairy and other animal products, and adopting a delicious and healthy vegan diet. The array of vegan products on the market, including hearty faux meats and delicious alternatives to dairy products, is rapidly expanding and increasingly mainstream, making cruelty-free living easier now than ever.

Compassionate consumers can end their direct financial support of farmed animal abuse by rejecting dairy and other animal products, and adopting a delicious and healthy vegan diet.

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DeCoster's Rotten Record

Earlier this year, as part of a landmark civil settlement, Quality Egg of New England (QENE), one of the largest egg producers in the nation, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of cruelty to animals. The factory farming operation also agreed to pay over $130,000 in fines and restitution, as well as hand over authority to the state of Maine to conduct unannounced inspections of the facility for the next five years. The settlement is the direct result of a 2008-2009 MFA undercover investigation, documenting unconscionable cruelty to egg-laying hens at QENE’s Turner, Maine facility. It is truly historic, as it represents perhaps the largest fine ever levied in the U.S. on grounds of farmed animal cruelty. Assisted by legal counsel from Compassion Over Killing, MFA filed an extensive complaint with state officials, urging enforcement of Maine's anti-cruelty statutes. Abuses uncovered during the investigation include: • Workers and managers killing birds by swinging them in circles by their heads – attempts to break their necks which were often botched and resulted in prolonged, torturous deaths. • Birds suffering from broken bones, bloody open wounds, untreated infections and prolapsed uteruses. • Supervisors and workers throwing live birds into trash cans. • Rotting carcasses in cages with live hens still laying eggs for human consumption. Living 16 Compassionate Compassionate Living Mercyforanimals.org Mercyforanimals.org

• Birds entangled in cage wire or lodged under feeding trays unable to reach food or water. • Hens confined four to six in tiny wire cages so cramped they were unable to stretch their wings or perform other basic movements.

GUARDING the Henhouse In response to MFA’s complaint, the Animal Welfare Program of the Maine Department of Agriculture procured a search warrant and state investigators raided the farm. During the eight-hour raid, the investigators collected further evidence of animal cruelty, including 70 dead hens. Four state workers who participated in the raid developed burning sinuses, coughing and tightness of breath and immediately sought medical attention for ammonia exposure – the same searing and choking exposure to which the hens at QENE are subjected 24-7 for their entire lives. Release of the investigative findings prompted Eggland’s Best to drop its QENE distributor, Radlo Foods, which in turn dropped QENE. Radlo Foods subsequently announced that it would phase out battery cages within ten years, making Radlo the first egg producer in the nation to adopt a battery cage phase-out plan and representing perhaps the largest corporate policy change ever to result from an animal cruelty investigation.

QENE is owned by Austin “Jack” DeCoster, who is no stranger to legal wrangling. In addition to paying millions of dollars in penalties over the past 30 years for repeated violations of environmental, immigration, labor and animal cruelty laws, DeCoster was at the center of multiple lawsuits this summer in connection with a nationwide outbreak of salmonella poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 1,500 people in as many as 11 states were infected by eggs likely from Wright County Egg, a DeCoster facility in Iowa. The outbreak resulted in the recall of 380 million eggs – the largest egg recall in U.S. history.

A broken Industry The findings of MFA's QENE investigation are similar to those documented at numerous egg farms across the country in recent

years – illustrating that animal neglect and abuse are the egg industry standard, not the exception. During the time of the undercover investigation, QENE was even certified by the United Egg Producers' (UEP) voluntary animal care program. QENE’s admission to 10 counts of cruelty to animals is further evidence that the UEP program fails to prevent cruelty and abuse.

As consumers, we have the power to end animal suffering. By adopting a vegan diet, we withdraw our financial support of the egg, meat and dairy industries, and reduce the needless exploitation of hens and other animals used in food production.

exclusive interview

second nature Exclusive Interview with Dr. Jonathan Balcombe

Jonathan Balcombe is an animal behaviorist and critically acclaimed author of Pleasurable Kingdom. A popular speaker, he has given invited presentations on six continents. In addition to writing many scientific papers and lay-articles on animal behavior and animal protection, Dr. Balcombe has provided expert testimony for MFA undercover cruelty investigations. He recently sat down with CL to discuss his latest book, Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals.

CL: You spoke with CL in 2007 about your second book, Pleasurable Kingdom. What are you aiming to address in Second Nature that you didn't in your last book? JB: Pleasurable Kingdom focused specifically on positive aspects of animals’ lives – a topic so often overlooked in our view of animals. Second Nature is more ambitious in the sense that it uses a broader brush and seeks a complete overhaul in our relationship to animals. Several chapters present scientific studies and observations demonstrating animals’ perceptiveness, intelligence, awareness, sociality and virtue. I dedicate two chapters to addressing the common misperceptions that life in the wild is unrelentingly harsh and cruel, and that we are better than animals. I discuss what it is going to take to repair our relationship to animals and the planet, including most notably curbing our growth and our appetite for meat.

CL: In several passages you explain and explore the significance of sentience. What is sentience and why is it so central to the moral case for animal rights? JB: Sentience is the capacity to feel things, in particular pains and pleasures. Sentience has profound moral implications; in fact, it is the bedrock of ethics. It follows that sentient animals have interests; at the very least, they have an interest in avoiding pain and suffering. The reason we have moral codes is that others have interests that derive from their sentience. It’s wrong to harm or kill another person because


that person has an interest in not being harmed or killed. Why is murder such a heinous crime? Because death – even a pristine death that causes no pain or suffering – deprives the victim of the opportunity to live what remained of life to enjoy the fruits of existence. It’s easy to see from this that animals’ capacity for pleasure has great significance in the moral landscape. Moral discourse about animals is generally focused on their capacity to feel pain and suffer. That’s supremely important, but when we add their ability to feel good things, the stakes are raised further. When we gratuitously kill a sentient animal – as we do for meat, science, sport and other forms of entertainment – we do immeasurable harm to them by depriving them the chance to pursue their lives.

CL: What aspects of animal behavior are in greatest need of further observation? JB: I hope scientists begin to take some interest in animal pleasure. It’s a terribly important and equally neglected topic. You won’t find “pleasure” in most biology textbook indexes, even though there are 23 or more journals dedicated to the study of pain. The study of animal virtue is another exciting frontier in animal behavior. Animals often act cooperatively, synergistically, altruistically and benevolently. Selflessness is widespread in nature and there are good evolutionary theories to explain it. Yet popular culture continues to instill the myth that life in the wild is just harsh and cruel and bloodthirsty. That’s an impoverished view. Finally, I hope that more of the exciting discoveries about fishes make their way into the

They recognize, they compare, they remember, they cooperate, they prefer, and whoever would have guessed it – they don’t want to die. public’s consciousness. Fishes think, they monitor, they gauge, they recognize, they compare, they remember, they cooperate, they prefer, and – whoever would have guessed it – they don’t want to die.

CL: Could you share some of the most recent findings about fish emotion and intelligence? JB: We’ve missed the boat with fishes (so to speak). Our blinkered cultural view of fishes is profoundly at odds with what careful scientific study is now revealing about them. There’s very little on fish emotions yet. However, there’s a lot of information on fish minds. Recent findings show that fishes monitor and keep track of things, as well as cooperate with each other; for example, sticklebacks (small, fresh-water fishes) inspect predators, usually in pairs. Studies find that they prefer to team up with the same inspection partner, based on past observations of trustworthiness. Groupers (large, bony fish) signal to moray eels that they want to go hunting together; when these two species hunt cooperatively, both are more successful than when they hunt alone. Most fishes learn by association in just one presentation of a cue (e.g., a blue flag) with a stimulus (e.g., food), and the response can last up to two months even though the blue

flag has not been seen since the initial trial. British ethologist Donald Broom believes fishes may in some cases suffer more than we do, for they may lack ways that we have for dealing with pain. For instance, we can be told, or can rationalize that a pain will not last for long, whereas they presumably are unable to do so.

CL: What resources are available to laypersons who want to learn more about contemporary research on animal behavior? JB: Besides books like mine, anyone can go online and look up the latest research published in journals like Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare, Applied Animal Behavior Science, and Animal Cognition. Otherwise, you have to rely on journalists to pick and choose what they feel is the most attention-grabbing new science of the day. They often do a good job of it, but a lot of really fascinating and revealing science remains buried in the scholarly journals and textbooks.

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must know

The writing is on th e wall for factory farmin g: Americans will no t tolerate cruelty to animals . FINDING

Common Ground

on strangulation and other forms of on-farm killing that are not included in the standards of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently allows 11 percent oftransport a carcass’s A ban on the of cows too sick or injured to stand (”downers”) for slaughter. weight to consist of absorbed fecal Establishment of felony-level penalties for cock fighters. Legislation regulating puppy mills. soup sold at chicken meat prices.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of determined animal advocates, on June 30th a landmark settlement was reached by the Ohio Farm Bureau, humane leaders and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. Upon learning that animal advocates had succeeded in gathering enough signatures – over 500,000 – to place a farmed animal protection measure on Ohio’s November ballot, the Ohio Farm Bureau decided to come to the discussion table in order to avoid costly and contentious campaigning. The settlement aims to ban or halt the expansion of some of the worst factory farming abuses in Ohio. Among these are intensive confinement systems, such as cages for multiple hens that are so restrictive the birds are unable to spread even one wing and crates for individual pigs and calves that prohibit the animals from turning around or taking more than one step forward or back. Specifically, it recommends that the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, the state legislature and the governor work to adopt the following eight animal protection reforms:

.. .

A ban on veal crates for calves effective in 2017. A ban on additional gestation crates for pregnant pigs effective December 31, 2010. Existing gestation-crate facilities must discontinue use of crates within 15 years. A moratorium on permits for new battery-cage confinement facilities for hens. This includes a halt on the construction of Hi-Q – a proposed massive egg factory farm that would have confined over six million hens. Regulations regarding the manner in which sick and injured farmed animals can be killed, including a ban

.

Compassionate LivingMercyforanimals.org Mercyforanimals.org Living 20 Compassionate

. .. .

A ban on the acquisition of dangerous exotic animals as pets, such as primates, bears, lions, tigers, large constricting and venomous snakes, crocodiles and alligators.

While there is still much work ahead of us to end the abuse and exploitation of farmed animals, the above reforms will lessen the suffering of countless factory-farmed animals in Ohio. Currently, tens of thousands of calves and approximately 170,000 pigs per year in Ohio endure confinement in crates barely larger than their bodies. The moratorium on new battery-cage facilities will spare millions of additional birds the same fate suffered by Ohio’s current 27 million battery-caged hens. The reforms relating to cock fighting, puppy mills and exotic animals were added during negotiations, giving the settlement a welcome, broader sweep than the original ballot measure with respect to species of animals protected. This agreement puts a hold on the planned anti-factory farming measure for the November ballot, but the gathered signatures will not expire, giving animal advocates the option to return to the ballot, if the terms of the agreement are not fulfilled.

GRASSROOTS Grindstone

This historic farmed animal protection campaign began in early March, and from day one Mercy For Animals was on the ground, in the streets and behind the scenes mobilizing support and gathering signatures. A highly organized and painstaking process, collecting the necessary signatures included qualifying 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, which entailed obtaining signatures from at least five percent of the registered voters in each county who voted in the last election – a monumental feat in itself. Among the counties qualified were Union County, the location of MFA’s Conklin Dairy Farms investigation, Wayne County, the scene of the infamous pig hangings that were featured on HBO’s Death on a Factory Farm, and Holmes County, one of the largest puppy-mill breeding counties in the country. The success of this campaign illustrates the growing influence and support of the animal advocacy movement, even in largely rural and agricultural areas. Animal advocates prevailed in Ohio – one of the most agricultural states in the nation.

FORTIFIED Front

Through the campaign, a new, powerful coalition of Ohio animal advocates from across the state has emerged. The signature-drive was a point of entry into the animal advocacy movement for many Ohioans previously uninvolved. This hard-fought progress for farmed animals would not have been possible without the selfless determination of these hundreds of volunteers and supporters. As Mercy For Animals and partner organizations continue to pressure the Ohio legislature, Livestock Care Standards Board and the governor to

ensure that all of the terms of the settlement are speedily enacted, we will work to maintain the momentum and solidarity of this new allied front for animals. This initial success is ours, but the struggle is not over.

NUMBERED Days With this pivotal agreement, Ohio is poised to become the sixth state in the nation to ban gestation crates, the fifth to prohibit veal crates, and the third to limit the use of battery cages. Recently, Governor Schwarzenegger reinforced the ethics underpinning California’s ban on battery-cage egg production by signing into law a bill prohibiting the sale of eggs from battery-caged hens as well. As the national movement to protect farmed animals gains mainstream momentum, from coast-to-coast and in the heartland, the writing is on the wall for factory farming: Americans will not tolerate cruelty to animals. Ohio’s recommended reforms represent a tremendous stride toward a kinder future. Nevertheless, they are modest and do not address other routine factory farming abuses, such as amputations without anesthesia, neglect, brutal handling and exposure to harsh weather during transport. Accordingly, MFA will steadfastly continue to push for stricter state and federal laws to protect Ohio’s and the nation’s farmed animals. By furthering our public education campaigns, we will also inspire countless more consumers to choose kindness over cruelty at each meal by adopting a compassionate vegan diet – still the most impactful step any of us can take to lessen the suffering of farmed animals. CHOOSEVEG.COM

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PUT YOUR COMPASSION INTO ACTION

INTERN WITH MFA! Use your voice to advocate on behalf of the voiceless as an MFA intern! Organize and participate in exhibits at concerts and festivals, film screenings, feed-ins, protests, and more.

Apply today at InternWithMFA.com