Factory Farming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture report highlights significant epidemiological events of 2007 and provides insight into the nation's animal health surveillance activities. The report also presents an update on programs, both new and existing, that strive to maintain healthy livestock, poultry, and aquaculture populations.

An opinion poll conducted at a European poultry technical seminar found that nearly a third of nutritionists, veterinarians, and other industry experts believe that the European Union (EU) program to reduce salmonella contamination in eggs and poultry flocks will put the competitiveness of EU poultry producers at risk.

This report offers from Concensus, a pro-aquaculture group, provides information on efforts to improve the sustainability of European aquaculture. Specifically, it addresses the welfare of farmed fish as producers seek out stocking densities and handling practices that optimize growth and health status while minimizing suffering. Scientific studies have identified indicators of fish welfare which can enable producers to measure the welfare of their farms.

Australians are voting with their wallets regarding the way that chickens for meat consumption are raised, with three in five Australians choosing chickens that are "free to roam outside in paddocks and guaranteed to not contain growth hormones."

In "Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry," Worldwatch Institute researcher Danielle Nierenberg documents the harmful effects of factory farming in both industrialized and developing countries and explains the range of consequences for the environment, human health, and local communities.

Higher standards of animal welfare can provide positive benefits to producers and consumers, but producers by themselves are unlikely to maximize either animal or social welfare. Consequently, government involvement is warranted to ensure that the interests of consumers who care about animal welfare are considered. This paper analyzes the economic benefits of improving the welfare of "broiler" chickens.

Research conducted among Turkish veterinarians showed that, in general, this group supports animal welfare concerns with the exception of statements regarding the "stunning of ruminants pre-slaughter," the "phasing out of battery cages for poultry," and the "not operating on animals for aesthetic purposes."

In pig farming, welfare concerns should be ranked on the basis of effect and "manipulability" (likeliness of being able to be implemented by farmers). Lameness may be one of the most important concerns, having a profound impact on reproductive performance and consequently economics.

Dutch supermarket chains, Aldi and Lidl announced that they will only sell meat from pigs which have not been castrated due campaigns by animal welfare groups. An estimated three million piglets are castrated each year in the Netherlands.

This brief overview of the International Egg Commission's (IEC) meeting in Shanghai, China summarizes recent developments in the North American egg industry. Animal welfare concerns continue to effect the egg industry in both Canada and the United States, but they do not currently have a major impact on consumers or the market in Mexico.