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#1 by Thomas Jones on October 10, 2009 - 5:21 pm
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Dear Equine and Organic Farming Friends,
It is time to tell you that Tom and I are opposed to Ohio Issue 2. We urge you to vote against it, not because we are anti-farming, but because the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Pork Producers Council, and the Ohio Livestock Commission, have unduly influenced your state legislators to put before you the prospect of an AMENDMENT to the Ohio Constitution which cannot and will not be permitted to be changed if Issue 2 passes.
Back in February when the HSUS came to Ohio, it indicated that there were a large number of factory farms here that engaged in less than humane treatment of animals. Instead of being involved in a meaningful dialogue, OFBF started lobbying your state legislators. On June 24 the Ohio House of Representatives passed legislation calling for an amendment to the Ohio Constitution. On June 25 the Ohio Senate by unanimous vote agreed. I am appalled to say that our State Senator, Tim Grendell, was influenced by Ohio Farm Bureau to vote for legislation which, if it passes as Issue 2, will take all rights away from the voters of Ohio regarding their food supply and the care and welfare of Ohio livestock and place it in the hands of 13 people appointed by Governor Strickland. This Board will have answerability to no one; there will be no oversight on their decisions and actions. If Issue 2 passes, one of the appointees is likely to be State Veterinarian, Tony Forshey, a strong proponent of National Animal Identification System, which recently was denied any further national funding as a result of legislation introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. Additionally, one of the appointees to the Board will be from a farmers’ group (AKA, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, which is strongly in the back pocket of Ohio Big Agriculture, as represented by the Ohio Pork Producers’ Council and the Ohio Livestock Coalition, and strongly pro-NAIS. Thus, in spite of the termination of NAIS funding at the federal level, NAIS could still be implemented in Ohio by a group of 13 individuals whose majority will come from the ranks of big Ag.
As a former member and trustee of the Geauga County Farm Bureau, I would have liked to tell you that OFBF’s position on Issue 2 is beneficial to small and independent farmers, but nothing could be farther from the truth. OFBF would like voters to believe that HSUS and PETA will destroy animal livestock ranches and farms in Ohio. What they won’t tell you is that instead of having a meaningful conversation with HSUS in February about confined living conditions for animals, they ran to OUR legislators and bought them off. Interestingly, Michigan has just passed legislation about farm animal welfare (as noted in Farm and Dairy, page 1A, October 8, 2009, at http://www.farmanddairy.com) with the input of the Humane Society of the United States. What are Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and CAFOs afraid of when they influence OUR legislators to change the Ohio Constitution regarding animal welfare? Had the Ohio Legislature simply passed an act regarding animal welfare, Tom and I could have backed that action. However, by stacking the cards so that the very organizations that promulgate the interests of Big Ag will now control animal health and welfare, as well as food safety and supply, Ohio Issue 2 places the foxes in charge of the henhouse.
At the heart of the matter is an attempt to fool Ohio voters into thinking that members of the appointed board will be “family farmers.” Brenda Hastings, the “farm” lady who appears in pro-Issue 2 ads appearing on television, is the co-owner of a 600-head Holstein dairy operation. Both she and her husband moved their dairy operation from California shortly after Proposition 2 passed there. The Hastings aspire to own a 1000-head herd, not your sustainable organic dairy operation. Nor do the Hastings represent the average “family farm,” consisting of a husband-wife-children operation. According to Ohio Against Constitutional Takeover (ACT) http://www.ohioact.org, one of the biggest sources of misrepresentation and dishonesty is section 3 of Issue 2, which reads:
“This proposed amendment [to Section 1 of Article XIV of the Constitution of the State of Ohio] would [P]rovide that the board shall be comprised of thirteen Ohio residents including representatives of Ohio family farms, farming organizations, food safety experts, veterinarians, consumers, the dean of the agriculture department of an Ohio college or university and a county humane society representative.”
Ohio Against Constitutional Takeover reports,
“While Issue 2 requires the membership of several ‘family farmers’ on the Board, this cannot be seen as a safeguard to prevent the panel from being overtaken by corporate agribusiness and factory farming interests. While there is no legal definition for a family farmer in the U.S., the United States Department of Agriculture has stated that 98% of all factory farms, for example, are operated through what would be considered ‘family farms.’
“Ohio has a disconcerting number of factory farms–and that number could increase if an industry-led Board decides to ease regulations on animal production. According to the Ohio EPA, the state has close to 200 factory farms, including four beef operations with more than 3000 animals, 29 dairy operations with more than 1000 animals, and a staggering 98 poultry and egg-laying operations with more than 100,000 birds each, including 9 with more than a million birds.” SOURCE: Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, “Map of permitted livestock facilities in Ohio,’ prepared June 13, 2008, available online at http://web.epa.state.oh.us
Please remember how your state legislators have sold you out to big agribusiness interests, especially the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Remember to VOTE NO on OHIO ISSUE #2. While you’re aroused, please remember to turn the bums out of Ohio office as soon as possible. Don’t let your legislators give power to a cohort of 13 who will not be subject to any oversight.
DEFEAT OHIO ISSUE #2 IN NOVEMBER!!!!!
Sincerely,
Diane and Tom Jones
Windt im Wald Farm
Auburn Township, Ohio 44023
http://www.wiwfarm.com
#2 by Philip Brennan on July 6, 2010 - 2:44 pm
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http://www.philipbrennan.net/2010/07/01/the-oskar-schindler-covenant/
please disseminate this.
Philip Brennan