Ag Issues Sample Lesson

Matches National AFNR Career Cluster Content Standards: CS.01.02.02, CS.01.04.02, CS.01.05.01, CS.02.04.01, CS.02.04.03, CS.02.06.01, CS.03.02.02, AS.06.01.02, AS.06.02.01, AS.08.02.01.

MAIN IDEA: What is the difference between "animal rights" and "animal welfare?"

Most young people today have very little knowledge of what farm animals are like, or what is required to care for them. Some urban dwellers own pets, but farm animals are not pets and cannot be treated like pets. Most of what children learn about farm animals is from children's books, movies and television, in stories that are far from realistic.

Children read about and watch farm animals act like humans. Animals in books and movies talk and reason with each other. In these stories, animals are just like people. Stories with animal characters have been a part of children's literature for generations. Children that grew up on farms could easily see the difference between real animals and storybook animals. Most of today's children do not live on a farm and have not had the experience of working with real farm animals.

Agriculture has been changing dramatically as farms become larger and livestock producers take advantage of new technologies and new systems for rearing and handling animals.

• It is no longer as common to see cows grazing in a quiet green pasture. Farm flocks of chickens that once gleaned waste around farmsteads have become a thing of the past. Farming is not what it once was, leaving many Americans with an idealistic image of farming. That image is generations out of date.

• An increasing number of farm animals and birds are kept in pens, crates or cages. This practice, called "confinement" rearing, saves labor and makes more efficient use of feed.

• Keeping animals confined has become a cause for public concern. Some activists maintain that keeping animals in confinement is like keeping people in jail. Others believe confinement places undue stress on animals; while producers maintain that animals are comfortable in confinement or they would not be productive.

• New questions are emerging over the altering of animals through genetic engineering. Here are some examples: Will this practice cause increased stress on animals? Do humans have a "right" to alter animal life? Should these practices be allowed? To what extent should they be regulated?

ANIMAL WELFARE VS. ANIMAL RIGHTS

The two terms "animal welfare" and "animal rights" divide the full range of views on how animals should be treated. Both need to be taken into account because they represent some strongly held views. It also is important to understand clearly what these terms mean in order to take part in any discussion of animal treatment issues.

Animal welfare:

Animal welfare has to do with the proper care of animals. Farmers, ranchers and livestock feeders strongly support the concept that animals should be raised under humane conditions. Most producers do care about how their animals are treated and do not relish seeing an animal suffer.

Proper, humane treatment is also important to producers because it helps keep animals more productive. Animals placed under undue stress will not be productive, nor will they be profitable to maintain. The concept of animal welfare gives humans more rights than animals; but humans also have the responsibility to provide humane treatment for animals.

Animal rights:

The concept of animal rights goes far beyond protecting the physical well-being of animals. In addition, those who accept the concept of animal rights believe that animals have inherent legal and ethical rights that are the equal with those of humans. Those who take the most extreme view on animal rights support the total elimination of all uses of animals for food, clothing, leisure or research. They favor abolishing animal agriculture entirely.

Most Americans do not agree that animals have rights equal or similar to those of humans. A huge majority of Americans eat meat, drink milk and wear leather shoes and jackets. At the same time, most Americans strongly oppose farming practices that would allow an animal to suffer unnecessary pain or stress. That is where real issues may arise.

THE BATTLE FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT

Those who want to change the way farm animals are treated may go to extremes to get attention. This often has taken the form of protest demonstrations at state fairs where livestock are being exhibited, or at the annual meetings of national livestock producer organizations. The organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has become especially well-known as the driving force behind this effort. It has been very effective in getting national media attention to focus on suggestions that animals are being misused and should be granted more legal rights.

The point of protests:

The objective of these protests is to gain media attention and thus sway more Americans over to an "animal rights" point of view. These are the two main points being made:

1. Animals are like people and should not be used as a source of human food, clothing, entertainment or testing.
2. Animals suffer unnecessary pain and stress due to mistreatment by farmers and producers.

Animal rights groups know that most Americans do not accept their views on animal rights. They also want to draw a large amount of media attention to their protests and hope they can raise public doubts about how well farm animals are treated. Such doubts can then result in public support to outlaw some common livestock and poultry production practices.

Examples of charges:

Some examples of specific charges activists make that will likely cause the public to be more concerned include the following:

• Pumping drugs into animals raised in confinement places undue stress on the animals and jeopardizes animal and human health.
• Using a growth-promoting hormone is cruel to animals and produces meat that is not safe for humans to eat.
• Raising animals in pens and crates is cruel treatment.
• Eating meat and eggs and drinking milk is unhealthy for humans.
• Grain fed to livestock should be used to feed starving people around the world.

Protesters are using two basic tactics in charges such as those listed above. One is to raise concern about the welfare of animals. The other is to create fear among consumers about meat and other animal products. Making charges such as those mentioned above often attracts newspaper reporters and television cameras. News coverage of their protests gives them an opportunity to repeat their charges in newspaper articles and on evening television news shows where millions of Americans can hear and see their message.

Producer groups:

Producer groups are often put on the defensive when these protests take place. Too often newspaper and television reporters are not well-informed about modern agricultural practices. Some reporters may be sympathetic with animal rights views.

While news reporters try to be objective, their personal points of view may sway the way questions are asked and the way facts are presented. This can make it very difficult for a producer to respond without sounding argumentative and defensive. Imagine standing in front of a TV camera and trying to answer a reporter who is asking, "If you really care about your animals, how can you kill them and eat them?"

Farm organizations and producer groups have tried to respond with their own information programs. These have taken the form of media kits for reporters as well as publications distributed to schools and events. Events such as "breakfast on the farm" programs are beneficial because they invite urban children and adults to visit farms where they can see the animals and how they are treated. Chances are, however, that such an event will not attract as many TV cameras as an animal rights protest.

WHEN REAL ISSUES EMERGE

An issue becomes "real" when enough public concern is raised that specific public actions are proposed. So far, no one has seriously proposed a law against eating meat, but regulations have been passed concerning raising livestock in confinement. One example is Proposition 2, passed by 64 percent of California voters in 2008. Proposition 2 takes effect in 2015 and will require more space for veal, pigs and hens used for commercial egg production.

Disabled livestock example:

Treatment of disabled livestock is an example. There is no way producers can prevent some animals from becoming disabled. A common cause is paralysis due to calving difficulty. News stories about mistreatment of disabled animals on farms or at slaughter plants have gained a good deal of public sympathy. Experts believe that the number of disabled animals passing through markets is less than 1/10 of 1 percent.

The risk is that it takes only one picture or one news story about one downer animal to cause a great deal of public concern. While that percentage of total marketing is small, it could add up to as many as 40,000 animals per year -- enough to generate significant news coverage. That is why producer organizations discourage their members from trying to market disabled or downer animals.

In addition, the USDA placed more restrictions on cattle slaughter after the first cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were discovered in the United States. This disease, commonly known as "mad cow disease," causes an animal to stagger, stumble and fall. As a result the USDA placed a ban on the use of downer cattle for human food or food products. This includes any animal that is unable to walk when it arrives at a slaughtering plant due to disease or injury.

Winning public support:

Producers can win public support by taking a proactive approach on this issue. A good example is the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program used by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The NCBA describes it as "a producer-driven farm-to-table approach to producing the safest and best quality beef possible." The program includes guidelines on the proper administration of animal health products and best management practices as well as animal handling recommendations. The two most important things the NCBA did and that other organizations could do are to:

1. Support and promote the humane treatment of animals among their own members. Producers must do all they can to be certain that animals are not being mistreated.

2. Keep the public and the media, as well as lawmakers, well-informed about what producers are doing to protect the welfare of animals.

Many farm organizations, such as the NCBA and the National Pork Producer's Council, actively support programs encouraging the humane treatment of animals. You will find many examples of these programs at Internet Web sites maintained by these groups. One example of these efforts is the labeling of meat and other livestock products as "Certified Humane Raised & Handled." This program started in early 2003 and is backed by 10 animal welfare groups. It certifies producers and processors who meet certain standards for animal treatment.

EXERCISES:

Discuss in class, or write a report for your teacher answering the following:

1. How can there be such a wide difference of opinion among people over animal rights versus animal welfare? What factor divides people on how they feel about these two concepts?

2. List two or more "characteristics" of animal treatment methods that could cause those methods to raise public concerns. You may wish to refer to AgEdNet.com lesson IS102 How Problems Become Public Issues for suggestions.

3. Give one or more examples of the following, using only examples that have to do with issues related to the treatment of animals. See AgEdNet.com lesson IS103 Searching for the Truth about the Issues for definitions of fact, value and myth.
A. A statement of fact
B. A value
C. A myth

4. Take an AgEdNet.com instant survey about the issues covered in this lesson. You can also see how other students have answered the same questions.

    

INTERNET RESOURCES:

Government and Research Sites:

** California Legislative Analyst's Office - Proposition 2: Treatment of Farm Animals. Statute.
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2008/2_11_2008.pdf

** Michigan State University - Animal Behavior and Welfare Group
http://www.msu.edu/~zanella/current.html

** USDA Agricultural Research Service - Livestock Behavior Research
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=36022000

** USDA Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/

** USDA AWIC - Information Resources on the Care and Welfare of Beef Cattle
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Beef/beef.htm

** USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service - Key Facts: Humane Slaughter
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/key_facts_humane_slaughter/index.asp

Agricultural Groups:

** American Veterinary Medical Association - Issues - Animal Welfare
Presents the AVMA position on animal welfare principles
http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/default.asp

** Animal Agriculture Alliance
http://www.animalagalliance.org/

** Beef Daily Blog by Amanda Nolz - 7 Things You Didn't Know About HSUS
http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2009/02/05/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-hsus/

** Cattle Network - How the Game Is Played
Explains how a video friendly to pork producers was flagged as "inappropriate" at YouTube. http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Elanco_Article.aspx?oid=1125438&tid=Archive&hq_e=el&hq_m=750866&hq_l=15&hq_v=ee99267a02

** Humane Farm Animal Care
This is a certification organization.
http://www.certifiedhumane.com/

** Beef Quality Assurance
http://bqa.org/

** National Milk Producers Federation - Animal Care on Dairy Farms Fact Sheet
http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/NR/rdonlyres/27F5890B-1A1D-4A61-8A5B
-FA6AEB0C1769/0/AnimalCareFactSheet12910FINAL.pdf

** National Pork Producers Council - Animal Health and Food Safety
http://www.nppc.org/Issues/AnimalHealth_FoodSafety.htm

** Progressive Farmer - The Humane Wars: Battle Lines Are Drawn Over Animal Welfare
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com/dtnag/common/link.do?symbolicName=/free/livestock/news/template1
&product=/ag/news/livestock/features&vendorReference=0702DDBA&paneContentId=71606&paneParentId=70063

** Purdue Beef Blog - Video Feature: Mike Rowe Supporting Agriculture
6:20-minute video interview with 2009 National FFA Convention keynote speaker
http://purduephil.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/video-feature-mike-rowe-supporting-agriculture/

** Animal Agricultural Alliance - Animal Care Principles
http://www.animalagalliance.org/current/home.cfm?Category=Animal_Care&Section=Main

** American Meat Institute Foundation - Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide - 2007 Edition
Note: This is a big file and takes some time to download.
http://www.animalhandling.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/16470

Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Organizations:

** Animal Concerns Community
http://www.animalconcerns.org/index.html

** AnimalRights.net - "exposing the animal rights movement."
This Web site has more than 3,000 articles on many animal rights topics.
http://www.animalrights.net/

** Animal Welfare Institute
http://www.awionline.org/

** The Humane Society of the United States
http://www.hsus.org/index.html

** International Society for Animal Rights
http://www.isaronline.org/index.html

** Animal Liberation Front
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/

** Humane Education Network
http://www.hennet.org/home.php

** Factory Farming.com
http://www.factoryfarming.com/

TEST:

1. The animal rights concept says animals have the same __________ as humans; while the animal welfare concept says that humans have a __________ to provide humane treatment of animals.

2. Explain why we can assume that most Americans would not agree totally with the animal rights concept.

3. Animal rights protests have little or no impact because most people do not agree with the animal rights view. TRUE or FALSE? Explain your answer.

4. There is no reason for public concern over most of the questions raised by activists. TRUE or FALSE? Explain your answer.

5. List the two most important things livestock producers and their organizations must do to win public support on animal treatment issues.
A.
B.

6. What is the focus of the PETA organization?
A. Animal rights
B. Animal welfare

Correct answer: A. Animal rights

7. What is the focus of the Beef Quality Assurance program?
A. Animal rights
B. Animal welfare

Correct answer: B. Animal welfare

8. Which is the scientific name for the cattle disease commonly called "mad cow" disease?
A. Brucellosis
B. Anthrax
C. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
D. Leptospirosis

Correct answer: C. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

Copyright © 2004-2009 Stewart-Peterson, Inc. All Rights Reserved. RF/nc 706260
STEWART-PETERSON and AGEDNET.COM are registered trademarks of Stewart-Peterson, Inc.
Photo credit: USDA photo by Bill Tarpening shows chicken operation in Mississippi.

END STUDENT SECTION

TEACHER'S GUIDE

PREPARATION: Review lesson content. Be prepared to help students relate animal treatment issues to the concepts presented in AgEdNet.com lessons IS101 What Is the Hottest Ag Issue in Your Area?, IS102 How Problems Become Public Issues and IS103 Searching for the Truth about the Issues. Review exercise answers below.

INTERNET RESOURCES:

Government and Research Sites:

** California Legislative Analyst's Office - Proposition 2: Treatment of Farm Animals. Statute.
http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2008/2_11_2008.pdf

** Michigan State University - Animal Behavior and Welfare Group
http://www.msu.edu/~zanella/current.html

** USDA Agricultural Research Service - Livestock Behavior Research
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=36022000

** USDA Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/

** USDA AWIC - Information Resources on the Care and Welfare of Beef Cattle
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/Beef/beef.htm

** USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service - Key Facts: Humane Slaughter
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/key_facts_humane_slaughter/index.asp

Agricultural Groups:

** American Veterinary Medical Association - Issues - Animal Welfare
Presents the AVMA position on animal welfare principles
http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/default.asp

** Animal Agriculture Alliance
http://www.animalagalliance.org/

** Beef Daily Blog by Amanda Nolz - 7 Things You Didn't Know About HSUS
http://blog.beefmagazine.com/beef_daily/2009/02/05/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-hsus/

** Cattle Network - How the Game Is Played
Explains how a video friendly to pork producers was flagged as "inappropriate" at YouTube. http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Elanco_Article.aspx?oid=1125438&tid=Archive&hq_e=el&hq_m=750866&hq_l=15&hq_v=ee99267a02

** Humane Farm Animal Care
This is a certification organization.
http://www.certifiedhumane.com/

** Beef Quality Assurance
http://bqa.org/

** National Milk Producers Federation - Animal Care on Dairy Farms Fact Sheet
http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/NR/rdonlyres/27F5890B-1A1D-4A61-8A5B
-FA6AEB0C1769/0/AnimalCareFactSheet12910FINAL.pdf

** National Pork Producers Council - Animal Health and Food Safety
http://www.nppc.org/Issues/AnimalHealth_FoodSafety.htm

** Progressive Farmer - The Humane Wars: Battle Lines Are Drawn Over Animal Welfare
http://www.dtnprogressivefarmer.com/dtnag/common/link.do?symbolicName=/free/livestock/news/template1
&product=/ag/news/livestock/features&vendorReference=0702DDBA&paneContentId=71606&paneParentId=70063

** Purdue Beef Blog - Video Feature: Mike Rowe Supporting Agriculture
6:20-minute video interview with 2009 National FFA Convention keynote speaker
http://purduephil.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/video-feature-mike-rowe-supporting-agriculture/

** Animal Agricultural Alliance - Animal Care Principles
http://www.animalagalliance.org/current/home.cfm?Category=Animal_Care&Section=Main

** American Meat Institute Foundation - Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide - 2007 Edition
Note: This is a big file and takes some time to download.
http://www.animalhandling.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/16470

Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Organizations:

** Animal Concerns Community
http://www.animalconcerns.org/index.html

** AnimalRights.net - "exposing the animal rights movement."
This Web site has more than 3,000 articles on many animal rights topics.
http://www.animalrights.net/

** Animal Welfare Institute
http://www.awionline.org/

** The Humane Society of the United States
http://www.hsus.org/index.html

** International Society for Animal Rights
http://www.isaronline.org/index.html

** Animal Liberation Front
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/

** Humane Education Network
http://www.hennet.org/home.php

** Factory Farming.com
http://www.factoryfarming.com/

IMPORTANT TERMS: animal agriculture, Certified Humane Raised & Handled, confinement, drugs, genetic engineering, growth stimulants, humane, proactive, protest, rights, welfare.

EXTENSION: Have a committee from the class contact a local farm organization or producer group. Ask what information the group may be able to provide to your class about animal welfare. What has the group been doing to help inform the public about how farm animals are treated?

EXERCISE ANSWERS:

1. It is a basic difference in values. See AgEdNet.com lesson IS101 What Is the Hottest Ag Issue in Your Area? Animal welfare places a higher value on the rights of humans, and gives humans the responsibility of treating animals humanely. Animal rights places a higher value on giving animals rights similar to the rights of humans.

2. The following "characteristics" explained in AgEdNet.com lesson IS102 How Problems Become Public Issues could apply:

• Risks personal health and safety. Activists have raised health concerns over eating meat and safety concerns about growth stimulants and drugs used in livestock and poultry production.
• Creates an injustice or reduces equal opportunity. Activists maintain that it is an injustice to keep animals confined, or to use them as a source of food or clothing. They have also implied that large-scale confinement livestock operations reduce opportunities for small family farmers.
• Requires a role for government. New laws may be proposed. Existing laws against cruel treatment of animals may be used.

3. See AgEdNet.com lesson IS103 Searching for the Truth about the Issues for definitions. Possibilities include:

A. Facts:

• Activists have conducted protests.
• If 1/10 of 1 percent of animals passing through markets is disabled, the total number of disabled animals could reach 40,000.

B. Values:

• Animals should have the same rights as humans.
• Humans have the responsibility to treat animals humanely.

C. Myth:

• Animals raised in confinement suffer.
• All producers treat their animals well because they know mistreated animals will not be productive.
• Animals kept in confinement are pumped full of drugs causing health risks for people who drink milk or eat meat or eggs.

4. Encourage students to give their opinions about what they have learned by taking an AgEdNet.com instant survey about the issues covered in this lesson.

    

TEST KEY:

1. The animal rights concept says animals have the same rights as humans; while the animal welfare concept says that humans have a responsibility to provide humane treatment of animals.

2. Explain why we can assume that most Americans would not agree totally with the animal rights concept.

A huge majority of Americans eat meat, drink milk, wear leather shoes and make other uses of animal products.

3. Animal rights protests have little or no impact because most people do not agree with the animal rights view. TRUE or FALSE? Explain your answer.

FALSE. The protest tactic is to get media attention by doing something outrageous, which offers an opportunity to gain public support by raising questions about how animals are treated. People do care about how animals are treated and the protests can leave the impression that most farmers are mistreating their animals.

4. There is no reason for public concern over most of the questions raised by activists. TRUE or FALSE? Explain your answer.

FALSE. There are situations where animals are mistreated. In addition, unfounded concerns must be answered or they could cause harmful public concerns and result in unnecessary laws and regulations.

5. List the two most important things livestock producers and their organizations must do to win public support on animal treatment issues.
A. Support measures that will ensure the humane treatment of animals by all producers.
B. Inform the public and elected representatives about what is being done to provide for humane treatment of farm animals.

6. What is the focus of the PETA organization?
A. Animal rights
B. Animal welfare

Correct answer: A. Animal rights

7. What is the focus of the Beef Quality Assurance program?
A. Animal rights
B. Animal welfare

Correct answer: B. Animal welfare

8. Which is the scientific name for the cattle disease commonly called "mad cow" disease?
A. Brucellosis
B. Anthrax
C. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
D. Leptospirosis

Correct answer: C. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2004-2009 Stewart-Peterson, Inc. All Rights Reserved. RF/nc 706260
STEWART-PETERSON and AGEDNET.COM are registered trademarks of Stewart-Peterson, Inc.

END TEACHER'S GUIDE

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