“We have listened to our customers, and are asking our suppliers to engage in improved reporting standards and transparency measures regarding the treatment of farm animals.”For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
-- Kathleen McLaughlin, Senior Vice President, Walmart
Plants' & Animals' Civil Rights - Antihumanism
Chimps Like Black Slaves: Animal Rights Lawsuit
President Obama's Czar Nominee Elevates Animals to Human Stature
American Trend: Fewer Children, More Animals/Pets
-- From "A third of Americans believe animals deserve same rights as people, poll finds" by Alan Yuhas in New York, UK Guardian 5/19/15
Earlier this year Pew found that Americans were closely divided on animal research, with 50% opposed to animal testing and 47% in its favor; Pew also found that 89% of scientists supported animal research.
But Americans also remain among the largest consumers of meat in the world, with only 5% of the population identifying as a vegetarian and 2% as vegan. A 2014 study found that 84% of American vegetarians and vegans eventually return to eating meat.
Disparate campaigns for animal rights and protections have steadily gained momentum in recent years . . .
The US and Europe have also gradually changed their approaches to animal research. The EU banned cosmetics with animal-tested ingredients in 2013, and the US suspended medical research on chimpanzees in 2011 and began retiring the animals two years later. In the past two years, Congress has also initiated reviews of the treatment of animals in federal research programs, namely in agricultural programs found to keep livestock in dire conditions and to pose likely health risks to human consumers.
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From "Many Americans Support Equal Rights for Animals" by Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer, LiveScience 5/22/15
Across all demographic groups, an increasing fraction of people support equal rights for animals, although women were more likely than men to have this view, the poll found. About 42 percent of the women polled supported full animal equality in 2015, compared with 22 percent of men. However, the percentage of men and women who support this view has increased by about the same amount since 2008 — from 35 percent to 42 percent for women, and 14 percent to 22 percent for men.
In addition, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were more likely than their Republican counterparts to support complete animal equality. About 39 percent of liberal-leaning people supported that view this year, compared with 23 percent of conservative-leaning people. But the number of both Democrats and Republicans who support animal equality has increased since the last poll, according to Gallup.
Meanwhile, views on the treatment of marine or farm animals may have been influenced by popular documentaries such as "Blackfish" and "Food, Inc.," which sought to expose truths about the treatment of whales at SeaWorld and of farm animals raised for consumption, respectively.
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From "In U.S., More Say Animals Should Have Same Rights as People" by Rebecca Riffkin, Gallup 5/18/15
The percentage of Americans who support the idea that animals' rights should be equal to those of humans increased across all major U.S. demographic groups. . . . There continues to be little difference between younger and older Americans.
To further discern Americans' feelings about animal rights, for the first time, Gallup asked Americans about their level of concern for the treatment of animals in various settings. The percentage saying they are "very" concerned ranges from 33% for animals used in research to 21% for animals in the zoo. When combined with those "somewhat" concerned about each, Americans are most concerned about animals in the circus, animals used in competitive animal sports or contests and animals used in research, with just over two-thirds expressing concern about each. They are least concerned about the treatment of household pets, with 46% saying they are very or somewhat concerned.
And despite increasing attention focused on the treatment of chickens, cows and other animals mainly used for human food -- as exposed in the 2008 documentary Food, Inc. -- Americans show relatively less concern for how these animals are treated, with 54% at least somewhat concerned, including 26% very concerned.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Walmart Pushes for Improved Animal Welfare" by Stephanie Strom, New York Times 5/22/15
Walmart, the nation’s largest grocery retailer, said on Friday that it would ask its meat, seafood, poultry, deli and egg suppliers to adopt animal welfare standards that include sufficient space and easy access to food and water.
The company also said it would ask its suppliers to report to it annually on their use of antibiotics, and asked them to limit treatment with antibiotics to animals that are sick.
Over the last several years, dozens of companies have announced commitments to better animal welfare and to eliminating the use of human antibiotics from animal husbandry. McDonald’s won applause when it announced in March that it would begin using meat from chickens that are not raised with antibiotics important to human medicine, and a month later, one of its major chicken suppliers, Tyson Foods, said it would stop using such drugs in poultry production by 2017.
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From "Wal-Mart's Push on Animal Welfare Hailed as Game Changer" by Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press Retail Writer 5/22/15
The guidelines also aim to get suppliers to stop using pig gestation crates and other housing that doesn't give animals enough space. They're also being asked to avoid painful procedures like de-horning or castration without proper painkillers.
Other major companies, including McDonald's Corp., Nestle and Starbucks Corp., have already pledged to reduce or eliminate the use of gestation crates for pregnant sows and otherwise improve animal treatment. But activists hailed Wal-Mart's steps and said its guidelines would be one of the most sweeping and could become the blueprint for the food industry.
Wal-Mart said its own research showed 77 percent of its shoppers said they will increase their trust and 66 percent will increase their likelihood to shop at a retailer that improves the treatment of livestock.
Wal-Mart said it has adopted the "five freedoms" outlined by the World Organization for Animal Health to guide its approach to animal welfare. They include freedom from pain and injury and freedom to express normal behavior.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
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