A N I M A L
VOICE OFFICIAL MOUTHPIECE IN SOUTH AFRICA
FOR COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING
SA big business moves into Africa to monopolise chicken, dairy and animal feed production.
Millions of small-scale farmers stand to lose their livelihoods. See page 3 October 2014
Increasing our Compassionate Footprint
SA
A NIMAL V OICE C O NTENTS
UPDATE 3 SA Food Giants introduce Africa to new st aple food
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Broken Chickens Appeal to S A Poultry Associa tion
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Woolw orths claims another “first” for Animal Welfare
Dear Supporter, Factory farming is spreading like wildfire through Africa and those who promote it are calling it 'progress'.
INSIGHT 6 D e ba t e Should animals be off our S A menus?
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Philip Lymbery is Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming and author of FARMAGEDDON: The true cost of cheap meat
Law Prof essor calls for recognition of animals as individuals
13 M ea t-fre e Mondays Will City of CT reinst a te MFM in interest of food security?
INSPIRATION 10 F elicity The fight for her and billions of others...
15 Conf essions of a convert Meet Ivanka Corradi
You and I know that factory farming is poisoning our planet, swallowing up small family farms and completely ruining the lives of animals. Yet, the African continent has become the new target for aggressive expansionism for factory farming. With your help, Compassion can persuade more food industry leaders to use their massive marketing machines to promote humane, sustainable farming. We can expand our investigations into cruelty. And we can build our army of voices through public events and global online campaigns. Please give generously to our South African office!
BOOK REVIEW 17 Every Tw elve Seconds
Louise v an d e r M e r w e Direct or: CIWF (SA)
Writ ten by Timothy Pachira t
The Humane Education Trust is licensed to represent Compassion in World Farming in South Africa. Account Name THE HUMANE EDUCATION TRUST Bank Name ABSA, Somerset West Account Number 9094070046
ACTION 18 Action Alerts Wha t you can do...
SA
W E BSIT E: SA O F FICE w w w.ciw f.org.z a w w w.human e-e duca t ion.org.z a Email: a v oice @ y e b o.co.z a W E BSIT E: CIW F H Q w w w.ciw f.org
P O ST A L A D DRESS T h e H uman e E duca t ion T rus t P O B o x 825 Som e rse t W es t 7129 RSA In t e rna t iona l: +27 21 852 8160 T e l: 021 852 8160 F a x: 021 4131297
SA food giants are changing the die t of A frica's burge oning urban popula tions with po t entially dire social, health and environment al conse quences claims ne w re port. A new report by the Johannesburg-based NGO African Centre for Biosafety claims South African Agribusiness conglomerates and food retailers are fast moving into the continent of Africa to take advantage of untapped markets created by burgeoning urban populations. By 2030, it states, Africa's top 18 cities will have a combined spending power of US$1.3 trillion, of which US$400 billion will likely be spent on food each year.
justice.” Rainbow Chicken features prominently in the report. However, it states, “Rainbow is not the only South African poultry company interested in new African markets.”
In this 'nutrition transition' brought on by urbanisation and the “aggressive expansionism” of South African food giants, people will move away from existing diets primarily to dominate derived from plant-based sources, low in fat and high in fibre, to more western-style diets that are energy-dense and low in fibre.
Astral is close on the heels of Rainbow , along with others including Pioneer Foods (which owns Quantum Foods which owns Nulaid eggs), AFGRI which deals in day-old chick hatchery supplies, Clover Holdings (dairy giant), and the Oceana Group Holdings. Retail giants like Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Woolworths and Spar are included in the list. Shoprite, it states, is already operating in 16 African countries African diet through 1525 corporate and 377 franchise outlets and holds more than 34% of the supermarket market share on the continent.
RAINB O W
TM
Chicken
The report warns that moving away from staple foods such as sorghum, millet and maize to a Western-style diet, has health implications such as obesity, heart disease and strokes.
The report, titled 'Africa an El Dorado for South Africa's Agribusiness Giants' states that SA's Big Businesses are setting themselves up throughout the continent bringing promises of food security, job creation, skills transfer and infrastructure development while ignoring the fact that traditional farming systems on which millions of Africans depend for survival, will be displaced. The report predicts that while smallholders around Africa still produce 90% of Africa's agricultural output, this will all change with the infiltration of the modern industrialised farming model (factory farming) which is focused on ‘biotechnology, synthetic fertilisers and debt-driven commercialisation’. See http://www.acbio.org.za/
But more than this, “expansion of the 'mega' into new markets tends to displace the small and varied farms and suppliers who traditionally operate in that space.” South Africa is its own example: By 2007, the 1,700-odd supermarkets in South Africa had replaced an equivalent of 350 000 spaza-type shops. This should be seen in the context that small spaza-type shops provide more jobs per volume than supermarkets and “emerging evidence indicates that mega markets jettison three jobs for every two they create”.
Moreover, it states, there are potentially dire implications for Africa's food sovereignty movement too. Food Sovereignty is defined as “the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” Modern industrialised (factory) farming does not deliver food sovereignty and, says the report, despite achieving increases in yield “has not necessarily translated into increased access to food, increased income or increased nutritional security, ecological sustainability or social
The report concludes: “There is no doubt that African farmers need support. For example, poor post-harvest storage accounts for 40% loss... What is debatable is how this should be done.” While South African agribusinesses move in, disrupting traditional farming systems on which millions of Africans depend for survival, and posing a threat to the environment, ecology and bio-diversity of the continent... “the voices of those likely to be most affected have not been heard.” 3
‘Broken’ chickens Compassion support er challenges poultry industry CE O t o s t o p t h e su f f e ring The gut-wrenching sight of end-of-lay hens b eing crushe d int o impossible spaces and thro wn out if 'broken', has promp t e d Compassion support er Janin e N ash t o issue a challenge t o K e vin Lo v e ll, CEO of the South African Poultry Associa tion. In an op en le t t er t o Kevin Lovell, she says: St o p t h e su f f e ring! J a n i n e's ope n let te r...
Good day Mr Lovell T hank you f or reading my ema il. se some ex ba t t ery I recen t ly wen t t o a cull depo t t o purcha ul anim al cruel ty. hens and was wi t ness t o t he mos t dre adf f live hens t o I a t t ach pho t os and ask t ha t t he sale o I am sur e you will inf orm al t raders be s t opped immedia t ely. images I managed t o agr ee wi t h me af t er seeing t he shocking hens in t o cap t ure. T he t raders wer e f orcing t he live g t he hens away by wheelba rrows, t iny boxes, t hey wer e car ryin f t he bak kie o f hens t he f ee t, 2 or 3 in each hand, t he owner o in t o a space big pic t ured her e was f orcing about 20 hens ring t hem delibera t ely enough f or about 4. He was ac t ually inju being cruel bec ause he in order t o f orce more in. He knew he was ed me i f I was f rom didn’ t wan t a record o f his cruel ty. He ask orced me t o dele t e t he SPCA. He t hen t hre a t ened me and f his knowledge o f cell t he images I had ob t ained. For t una t ely keep t hem. phones was lack ing and so I managed t o o t he su f f ering o f T he cull depo t wor kers wer e indi f f eren t t s out. I o f f ered t o t he hens casually t hrowing t he 'broken' one I couldn’ t have her buy one o f t he su f f ering hens and was t old bec ause she was 'broken'. man will no t allow t his I f eel sur e t ha t you as a compassion a t e cruel ty t o con t inue. T hanking you mos t sinc erely in advanc e Janine Nash
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E n d-of-l a y h e ns a r e cr ush ed i n to i m possible sp aces...
bro k e n a n d d y i ng...
dep r i v ed of w a te r a n d food...
A ction
A le r t
!
Janine's call for compassion has the full force of CIWF’s support. Write your own email to Kevin Lovell at k e vin @ sa p oul t ry.co.z a Tell him that the brutality and callous disregard for animal suffering exhibited by the poultry industry is a national disgrace. 5
Should animals be South African menus?
off
Speakers for the motion were: Pro f essor D a vid B e na t ar (H ead of the Department of Philosophy a t UCT) N i k k i B o t ha (Che f a t Plant Cafe and animal activist) B r e t t T hompson (Digit al marke ting manager a t Fry's and proponent of Mea t Free Mondays-S A ) Speakers against the motion were: A ngus McIn t osh (Farm manager a t Spier and a leading Biodynamic farmer of grass-f e d ca t tle and fre e range hens) M arg o t Janse (Executive Che f a t Le Quartier Francais, Franschho ek) Jacqu es Rousse au (Lecturer in Business Ethics in the Faculty of Commerce ) Angus McIntosh: Every single time w e ea t w e are vo ting for the farmer whose produce w e choose t o ea t. If you choose t o ea t fact ory farme d food you are choosing a process tha t is chemically d e p end ent and b elieve d t o b e connect e d with the increase in autism, cancer and ob esity. Breast milk, for example, d e eme d t o b e the purest of milks, now cont ains the residue of more than 200 p esticid es according t o recent research. Regenera tive agriculture, on the o ther hand, reverses the damage done by fact ory farming. It se quest ers carbon back int o the soil, composts the soil, and the soil holds more wa t er as humus increases. Through our buying pow er w e can choose drugd e p end ent f e e dlo t b e e f or healthy grass-f e d b e e f. There is d estructive farming and there is regenera tive farming. By proxy, you choose which you want every time you ea t.
This TedxCapeTown debate took place before a packed audience at the University of Cape Town's Kramer Lecture Theatre on 31st July 2014
Before the debate started, 60% of the audience voted for the motion. At the end of the debate, 71% of the audience voted for the motion.
Nikki Botha: I sp eak on b ehalf of the animals. O ne of the fundament al dif f erences b e t w e en humans and non-humans is the right t o choice. W e choose t o exercise our right t o choice in a sadistic and arrogant manner. W e are now the inhuman sp ecies. Ea ting mea t is an extreme form of bullying. It is unnecessary t o ea t animals and their products and science has irre fut able proof tha t veganism is the saviour of this plane t. Brett Thompson: The consump tion of animal products is the leading cause of most of the environment al challenges facing our plane t. A cow produces 500 litres of me thane every single day and there are 2 million cows slaught ere d annually in South A frica alone. By switching t o a plant-base d die t you will b e making the biggest possible impact for good on our plane t.
Jacques Rousseau: Lo ts of our current mea t consump tion is unconscionable but this do es no t mean tha t ea ting mea t is necessarily imp ermissible. W e ne e d t o resp ect sentience; w e ne e d t o avoid unnecessary animal suf f ering. But sentience is no t the same as self-awareness. If animals are no t self-aware in accordance with the mirror t est (ie recognising tha t the image in the mirror is their own), then I don't se e a moral obliga tion no t t o ea t them and kill them in a pain-fre e way. Cows and chickens are no t self aware.
David Benatar: There are many arguments why animals should b e of f the menu, including environment al reasons and health b ene fits. I want t o focus on the e thical question of our trea t ment of the animals themselves. In South A frica there are w ell in excess of a billion animals kille d for food annually. Most have suf f ere d unb elievably through the course of their lives. The imposition of this suf f ering is unacce p t able, but b ecause our opponents in this d e ba t e agre e, I shall no t argue further for this. Le t's assume tha t animals could b e reare d and slaught ere d painlessly. Would it b e acce p t able t o t ake their lives merely b ecause they are no t self-aware? If it w ere, then it would b e p ermissible t o kill and ea t those humans — babies and the severely d ement e d, for example, who lack selfawareness. To kill any sentient b eing for one's own pleasure is unacce p t able. W e do no t ne e d t o ea t animals t o survive and thrive and w e should d esist from our consump tion of animals entirely.
Margot Janse: Just as cows are no t mad e t o ea t grain in the f e e dlo ts, w e are no t mad e t o ea t just plants. Pe ople ne e d about 75 – 80 grams of animal pro t ein a day and w e are far exce e ding this re quirement. So le t's ea t less mea t, avoid fake fast food – but don't t ake away my choice t o ea t mea t. The way t o win, is t o live with resp ect – for each o ther and the choices w e make, as w ell as the animals w e ea t. 6
Menu Roast Beef beef Roast W eane d a t 7 months and 'finishe d' in a f e e dlo t for 100 days. Hormones and antibio tics includ e d for fre e. OR Pas t ur e-r e ar e d on a bio d ynamic f arm. (W a rning! This op tion costs ex t r a!)
LegLeg of 10-month-old Lamb of 10-month-old lamb (By-ca tch includ es jackal, caracal and le opard. Warning: focusing on the by-ca tch can lead t o loss of app e tit e) OR Sh e ph e rd in a t t e nd ance wi t h no b y-ca t ch (W a rning! This op tion costs ex t r a!)
Breast ofofObese Breast (ob ese)Chicken chicken 'Harvest e d' a t 39 days with thre e times more fa t than 40 years ago. Antibio tics and bact eria includ e d for fre e. Sp ecial discount if evid ence found of black ammonia burns from resting on filthy lit t er . OR W e ll-mana g e d f r e e rang e a ll o wing f or na t ura l b e ha viour and e x p e ri e nce o f sunshin e, soil and grass. (W a rning! This op tion costs ex t r a!)
Pork PorkRibs Ribs Harvest e d from six-month-old pigs who never exp erience d a blad e of grass or a ray of sunshine . Antibio tics includ e d for fre e. OR F r e e t o f ora g e, ro o t around and pl a y. (W a rning! This op tion costs ex t r a!) Scramble d Eggs Eggs Scrambled Laid by maime d hens crushe d int o space allowances of 75% of an A4 she e t of pap er each. OR W e ll-mana g e d f r e e rang e a ll o wing f or na t ura l b e ha viour and e x p e ri e nce o f sunshin e, soil, grass and a bili t y t o use l e gs. (W a rning! This op tion costs ex t r a!) MilkPudding Pudding Milk Supplie d by cows whose calves are ripp e d from them a t one day old . OR N o o p t ion a v ail a bl e.
Bon appetite! 7
Woolworths b ecom es
First Major South A frican Re t ailer t o introduce Sow-Friendlier Pork Products
Woolworths announce d in July 2014 tha t from the end of Se p t emb er, all fresh pork sold a t Woolworths will b e source d from farms tha t no longer use sow st alls t o restrain pregnant sows. Compassion in World Farming has w elcome d the Woolworths announcement. Said Compassion’s SA Direct or Louise van d er M erw e: We congr a t ul a te Wool w or t hs for t a k i ng t h is m ajor step for w a r d on be h a l f of mot h e r pigs a n d w e hope t h a t Wool w or t hs' i n iti a ti v e w ill ch a lle nge a n d i nspi r e t h e r est of t h e m igh t y por k i n dust r y to i nsist on li v es w or t h li v i ng for t h ei r br eedi ng so w s as a m a t te r of u rge nc y. We' r e t a l k i ng h e r e abou t t h e Sou t h A f r ica n Por k P roduce rs' Orga n isa tion , T h e Sou t h A f r ica n M e a t P rocessors A ssoci a tion , Es k or t L td., P r e m ie r Por k , Wi n el a n ds Por k , r et a ile rs li k e Pic k n P a y , Shop r ite C h ec k e rs a n d Sp a r a n d t h e list goes on . Com p assion i n Wor ld F a r m i ng a n d its su p por te rs u rge a ll of t h e m : Ple ase joi n t h a t p a r t of societ y t h a t st r i v es for a k i n de r w or ld.
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14: April 20
Woolworths became the first African retailer to receive Compassion’s Good Egg Award for its commitment to cage-free eggs. ht t p:/ /goo.gl/PrvevC w w w.youtub e.com/ wa tch?v=dLQ wjCu9yhI 8
University of Johannesburg Professor
calls for legislators, policy-makers and courts to recognise the interests of animals as individuals Speaking at the Global Animal Law Conference in Barcelona, Spain, in July, Professor David Bilchitz said the under-valuing of animal interests had been a characteristic element of legal developments in South Africa since the advent of democracy. By continuing to ignore the interests of animals, courts and legislators contributed towards the continued blindness of many humans to the value and importance of animals.
As an example, Pro f essor Bilchi t z re f erre d t o the large amount of environment al legisla tion tha t had b e en passe d in South A frica, most of which " assiduously avoid e d the mention of animal w elfare.”
“Key conce p ts,” he said, “w ere 'biological diversity', the pro t ection of 'ecosyst ems' and 'sp ecies' with animals b eing re f erre d t o simply as part of South A frica's 'biological resources' t o b e utilize d in a sust ainable manner. The no tion of the sentience of individual animals and their w elfare was no t expressly engage d with by the legal frame w ork making it ‘d e e ply flaw e d’ and ill-e quipp e d t o addressing import ant questions rela ting t o the regula tion, for example, of hunting.” " Animals have int erests tha t ma t t er in and of themselves and the invasion of their most fundament al int erests is a serious moral wrong, " he said. “The re fusal t o sanction injustice must no t arbitrarily b e confine d t o the human sp ecies.” Prof essor Bilchit z is also Direct or of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and Interna tional La w , and Secre t ary-General (Acting), of the Interna tional Associa tion of Constitutional La w.
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Fighting for Felicity Clare Druce looks back over 40 years of activism
In 1989, Animal Voice editor Louise van der Merwe saw her first debeaked hen. To her shock and dismay, she soon discovered that debeaking was standard practice in egg farming all over the world. Then came a glimmer of hope... there was an organisation in the UK called Chickens' Lib which, like herself, was opposed to debeaking as well as the entire battery system for laying hens. Louise made contact with Chickens' Lib and its leader, Clare Druce became an inspiration and guide in the years to follow. In a new book titled Chickens' Lib, Clare gives a fascinating account of her struggle over more than 40 years to bring the plight of factory farmed chickens to the attention of the public and the powers that be. Here she talks to Animal Voice ... A V: Ruth Harrison's seminal book Animal Machines was publishe d in 1964. By 1967, there w ere a f e w pione ers st e pping int o the unchart e d t errit ory of farme d animal w elfare. Among them in the UK was yourself, your mo ther Viole t Spalding, and Pe t er Rob erts who found e d Compassion in World Farming. Your book Chickens’ Lib is a fascina ting account of the unfolding of a social revolution tha t is still unfolding t oday. Looking back, wha t w ould you say was the hard est part of se t ting foo t int o this unkno wn t errit ory?
F e lici t y - read her full st ory in Clare Druce’s ne w book:
But w e never und ert ook brave activities like secre t filming. Those activists are the real hero es! A V: Way back In 1991 you issue d a warning about the dangers of using antibio tics t o prop up farme d animals in a sick industry. In June this year the British Food St andards Agency launche d a campaign t o st op p e ople washing raw chicken b e fore cooking b ecause of the bact eria tha t spla t t er all over the kitchen.
Cl ar e D ruce: I think it was when w e first found out tha t many p e ople whose job it was t o uphold d ecent st andards for “food” animals (our Ministry of Agriculture, Environment al H ealth O f ficers, e tc.) w ere directly engage d in whit e washing the whole grim scene. Tha t was d e e ply discouraging, and indica t e d tha t there was no appropria t e authority t o which t o turn.
ht t p:/ /goo.gl/ t kFq7E Cl ar e D ruce: Yes ind e e d. The grea t est threa t comes from broiler (mea t-typ e) chickens ke p t by their t ens of thousands in a single she d, living on their o wn faeces, und er t errible stress, and with no hop e of ke e ping themselves clean. Broiler she ds are a recip e for disast er. it's no surprise tha t these young birds harbour bact eria like campylobact er. But it's no t only food poisoning tha t threa t ens human health – the antibio tics routinely given t o many “food” animals have contribut e d t o a scenario d e e ply f eare d by me dical exp erts the w orld over: w e are fast approaching a post-antibio tic era, where the bugs will have built up resist ance t o most or all of the drugs w e've come t o rely on.
A V: The pho t ographs in your book give a t ast e of wha t you w ere up against. For inst ance, the pho t ograph of you holding a cage of ba t t ery chickens while b eing escort e d out of Wake field Ca the dral, sp eaks volumes. Was there ever a moment when you f eare d for your own saf e ty? Cl ar e D ruce: W e cert ainly ran risks but I think when one's mind is b ent on finding out wha t's going on b ehind those close d doors, one ge ts a lit tle reckless. 10
f act: F actor y
much in our lives, the ripples in the pond are se emingly never ending.
f a r m i ng is illega l.
I t v iol a tes S A’ s A n i m a ls P rotection A ct on t h r ee cou n ts: • I n a dequ a te sp ace • M a i m i ng • U n n eccesa r y su f f e r i ng
A V: You are a strong proponent of challenging the legality of fact ory farming in a court of law. You will rememb er tha t w e a t t emp t e d t o do just this in South A frica in January 1992 when w e laid a formal complaint with the police tha t ba t t ery farming viola t e d our Animals Pro t ection Act on thre e counts: 'inad e qua t e space', 'maiming' and 'unnecessary suf f ering'. O ur Direct or of Prosecutions back then, d ecline d t o prosecut e. Why do you think there's a reluct ance w orldwid e t o lay criminal charges?
This is a t errifying prosp ect. In the UK some 40% of all antibio tics produce d go t o farme d animals, and it's much worse in the USA. In fact the global threa t from antibio tic resist ance is extreme, and fact ory farming has playe d its part in this. A V: Earlier this year, Compassion in World Farming (S A ) aske d the CE O of the South A frican Poultry Industry, for the ump t e enth time, for a phase out of ba t t ery cages for laying hens. The CE O , Kevin Lovell re plie d as follows: “When more consumers can af ford t o sp end more on their food, then more consumers will exercise their discre tion t o buy in t erms of their consciences ra ther than their pocke t.” Please comment.
Cl ar e D ruce: I can only t ake a cynical vie w, in any a t t emp t t o explain this reluct ance. Hist orically, so many crimes have b e en sw e p t und er the carp e t b ecause t o expose them, would damage trad e. In some cases the reluct ance se eme d connect e d with a wish no t t o bring do wn p e ople in positions of pow er or resp ect. W e w ere of t en struck by ho w some of the most squalid fact ory farms w ere run by individuals or companies of good st anding. Mayb e, in these days when w e hear so much about the ne e d for 'transparency', this reluct ance can b e overcome. But I susp ect progress will only b e mad e as a result of relentless pressure from campaigners w orldwid e.
Cl ar e D ruce: The vie w tha t cheap food is good enough for less w ell-of f consumers is, a t the very least, short-sight e d. Chicken mea t, now cont ains more fa t than pro t ein. Add t o this the environment al impact of huge numb ers of animals cramme d t oge ther, the e f f ects on the health of the w orkforce in these conditions, and the stress and disease necessit a ting antibio tic trea t ment for the animals, and the only reasonable conclusion is tha t t oday's cheap food is a dangerous commodity. In t erms of animal, human and environment al health, fact ory farming is proving t o b e very exp ensive ind e e d.
A V: You b egan fighting the oppression of farme d animals a t a time when the w orld was still fighting for Women's Lib, a t a time when the Gay Rights movement was in its infancy, a t a time when N elson Mand ela was still incarcera t e d on Robb en Island and the oppression of black p e ople was still entrenche d in South A frica law. Would you agre e tha t oppression in wha t ever form it t akes (slavery, sexism, gay-bashing, racism e tc) is roo t e d in a ment ality of sup eriority and entitlement and tha t animals in the world t oday are victims of our ment ality of sup eriority and entitlement?
A V: Do you envisage a time in the future when re trosp ective apologies will b e d emand e d from our major food suppliers for their support of an inhumane farming industry? O r is this just t oo farf e tche d?
Cl ar e D ruce: I w ould cert ainly agre e with tha t. It is my b elie f tha t the human sp ecies will never b e a t p eace until w e st op looking on o thers as if they exist for our ne e ds or d esires. I canno t se e a good future for the plane t, if w e continue t o exploit animals.
Cl ar e D ruce: It's a good question, and relevant t o happ enings in the UK a t this moment, where 'hist orical crimes' (such as allega tions of sexual abuse back in the 'eighties and b e fore) are much in the ne ws. Re trosp ective arrests, never mind apologies, are happ ening for crimes commit t e d d ecad es ago. But food involves just about everybody – minist ers in relevant government d e part ments, various multina tionals, fast food companies, farmers, and consumers themselves. Int ensive farming me thods have cont amina t e d so
Note f rom E d: Cl a r e D r uce's f asci n a ti ng boo k w ill becom e a v it a l r esou rce for h istor i a ns w ish i ng to st ud y t h e e v olu tion of soci a l ch a nge. C h ic k e ns' Lib, t h e boo k , is no w is a v a il able f rom K a l a h a r i.com i n h a r d co v e r a t R 3 7 3 . 0 0 a n d as a n e-boo k for R 9 9 . 0 0 . 11
SOCIAL JUSTICE Dr Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns in the USA, questions corporate morality in employing people for jobs that involve cruelty and violence. She says: “Social justice advocacy groups in the United States have begun to question whether jobs which involve cruelty can be tolerated in a world which, to an ever-increasing extent, demands social justice in the work place.” She adds: “Corporate commitment to a worthwhile life for humans means supporting morally responsible occupations, not cruel and unconscionable ones.” 12
2009: Compassion negotiates with Cape Town City Health for the city's endorsement of one meat-free day a week. 2012: The City summarily withdraws its support for one meat-free day a week. Dr Pieter Prinsloo, chairman of the Red Meat Producers Organisation in South Africa admitted to Animal Voice editor, Louise van der Merwe, that he had persuaded Mayor Patricia de Lille to rescind the one-meat-free-day-a-week policy.
NOW Free State Agricultural Researcher (Entomologist) Dr Astrid Jankielsohn explains why one meat-free day a week can play a vital role in achieving food security.
Mea t-free Mondays production will b e necessary t o f e e d this popula tion ad e qua t ely. Drastic changes are ne e d e d, firstly in our ea ting habits and secondly in the typ e and production of food, t o b e able t o manage these challenges successfully...
The grea t est challenge in agriculture t oday is t o ensure food security for a gro wing human popula tion. It is estima t e d tha t with the current grow th ra t e the human popula tion will reach 9.2 billion by 2050. A 70% increase in food
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... W e will have t o d e t ermine which farming practices will d eliver the grea t est production with the least impact on na tural resources and move t o int egra t e d syst ems where biological cycles are combine d with the e f f ective use of ext ernal inputs t o increase yield through improve d crop cultivars.
The shif t t o chicken, eggs and mea t as food sources is a less e f f ective use of South A frica's grain compare d t o direct human consump tion. Approxima t ely half of South A frica's maize is use d for animal f e e d. O riginally ca t tle graze d on grassveld tha t was unsuit able for crop production. This process convert e d ine dible grass t o usable pro t ein. Today 75% of ca t tle in South A frica sp end a third of their lives in f e e dlo ts where they are f e d grains produce d on scarce arable land. N o t only do es this practice produce mea t with an unhealthy fa t ty acid profile, but litres of wa t er and valuable resources are lost in the process.
If w e look a t basic biological principles w e can ge t an id ea of which syst ems will b e most e f ficient and sust ainable. Primary producers (plants) comprise the first trophic level, follo w e d by primary consumers (herbivores) and secondary consumers (carnivores) on the highest trophic level. Energy is lost from one trophic level t o the next and only 10% of the energy use d in one level is available for the next level.
To produce 1kg of mea t 2.7kg maize is ne e d e d. The wa t er e f ficiency of maize is 1.6 kg/m3 (this means 0.63 kg/m3 is use d t o produce 1 kg of maize). To produce 2.7 kg of maize 1.69 kg/m3 (1 690l) is there fore ne e d e d. The t o t al drinking wa t er for a kg f e e dlo t mea t is 26.75l. A t o t al of 1 716.75l wa t er is there fore use d t o produce 1kg of grain f e d b e e f. F e e dlo ts also put a lo t of pressure on South A frica's maize production.
For any syst em t o remain ecologically viable the biomass of organisms will have t o d ecrease from one level t o the next since less energy is available when moving up t o higher trophic levels and there are there fore f e w er herbivores than plants and f e w er carnivores than herbivores in a syst em. If w e consid er the numb ers of the t o t al human popula tion it makes no ecological sense for humans t o occupy the highest trophic level.
Maize is the st aple die t of the majority of the South A frican popula tion and an af fordable source of energy and pro t ein. According t o the WH O an int ake of 56g pro t ein is suf ficient for a 75kg man. The recommenda tion is tha t our daily energy int ake should cont ain 10% pro t ein for our daily re quirement. Legumes (b eans, p eas and lentils) cont ain 27% pro t ein, nuts 13% and grain 12%. The pro t ein in alt erna tive plant food sources is there fore suf ficient for a human's daily re quirements. A grea t d eal of energy and wa t er is lost in the process of converting plant pro t ein t o animal pro t ein while the direct use of plant pro t ein is suf ficient for humans. To b e able t o produce sust ainable food t o a gro wing popula tion in future w e will have t o t ake these facts int o account and adap t t o alt erna tive farming syst ems.
The idea of meat free Mondays is a good one to help us in the adaptation process to alternative food choices.
Agricultural Researcher Dr. Astrid Jankielsohn
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t r e v n o C a f o s n o i s Confes I have of t en consid ere d just quit ting mea t. Just me and my t w o f e e t, walking away. But there was always the knowing, in the background, tha t my foo tst e ps would no t so much as make an echo. In a world where mea t is everywhere, and with it, suf f ering: incessant, inevit able, insurmount able – wha t change could I hop e t o e f f ect? I think I have always b e en aware, through a glass darkly , of the horrors of fact ory farming. Ye t I'd manage d t o convince myself tha t 'it's just a f e w farms, and tha t's no t where my mea t comes from anyway.' But the truth is, it's almost every farm, and tha t is exactly where my mea t comes from.
Factory farming is evil in shades of gray. And tha t ext ends out t o more so-calle d 'fre e-range' and 'organic' op era tions than one would like t o b elieve, many of which are as int ensive and provid e as lit tle a semblance of a 'normal lif e' as their fact ory count erparts. W e've se en improve d t echnology drive down prices. TVs and mobile phones cost less and of f er more than ever in their hist ory. But applie d t o mea t, this logic t akes on a dif f erent t one. In the case of broiler chickens, for example, 'improve d t echnology' means tha t w e've figure d out how t o cripple them in no time a t all by messing with their gene tics and d emanding
more mea t than they w ere ever built t o carry. W e've figure d out wha t strange, unna tural things t o f e e d them (input) t o produce a t ast e (out put) consumers want, even if it's as divorce d from their na tural t ast e as 'strawb erry flavour' is from strawb erries. To us they are glorifie d machines, and w e have mast ere d their inner w orkings.
semblance of 'na tural'.
Somewhere along the way we have forgotten that it's not meat we're buying, it's a life.
'W ho will f e e d t h e masses?' they say, 'human b e ings n e e d pro t e in', when in fact there is more pro t ein in 100g of black b eans than 100g of b e e f mince.
It did no t origina t e in a can or on a tre e, but within a living b eing capable of robustly enjoying lif e's basic gif ts, of ela tion, memories, friendships, as w ell as f ear, anxie ty, t orment, frustra tion and pain.
I think sup ermarke ts can t ake the dubious cre dit for nudging me int o consciousness. If you've ever aske d your sup ermarke t where the mea t comes from, you will know wha t I mean. Your inquiry will b e me t with a combina tion of vagaries and pleasantries, from 'source d from local farms' (where 'local' is t o their minds errone ously synonymous with 'small, familyrun') t o 'where they have access t o the out doors' (which in many cases means an op en door which they are t oo horribly cripple d t o ever ge t out of).
But w e strive for cheap mea t, and here money has a direct correla tion with the lif e of the animal. The less I want t o pay, the more wre tche d tha t lif e will have b e en. It' simple, logical, ra tional. The continual d emand for cheap er mea t means an everw orsening, ever-short ening lif e, progressively remove d from any 15
Ivanka Corradi Ivanka has a Masters in Philosophy from the London School of Economics and works in London as an editor. She regularly visits her family in Cape Town.
Why is this information so… buried? I can ge t a calorie cont ent and nutritional breakdown in a 10 second encount er with any product, but no t know where it comes from, even af t er ext ensive digging. I am no longer afraid t o know, even if kno wing means no t ea ting mea t, or having t o ea t it more care fully, b eing a pain a t dinner parties. I am no t afraid t o join the Sisyphean struggle against the cruelty tha t p ervad es our plane t, and our conscious, delibera te disavo wal of kno wle dge tha t makes it possible. W e are, t o quo t e Pink Floyd, comfort ably numb.
But w e are no t self-t aught; sup ermarke ts have gone t o grea t leng ths t o gradually disloca t e us from this knowle dge, t o bury it.
We need to be conscious consumers. Le t us kno w wha t w e are ea ting – for b e t t er or for worse. W e're no t children, t o b e spare d the horror. It is my basic right t o know this informa tion, I am no t asking for anything dif ficult or strange, just the me thods of production and the origin of the mea t print e d across its packaging. If a sup ermarke t
N o t e from Ed: Compassion (S A ) has calle d on H ealth Minist er A aron M o t so a l e di t o make 'living conditions” a compulsory component of all lab elling of animald erive d products.
chooses t o st ock cruelty, then so b e it, but own it. Do no t make us party t o your actions out of ignorance. As for the farmers. A t this st age, any farmer who w elcomes me through his or her op en ga t e, will ge t my vo t e.
My vote is for transparency, so that we may make our own decisions in broad daylight.
New flexitarian fad is a cause for concern for meat industry A r e y ou a F l e xi t arian? If you are, it means your die t choice is t o cut do wn, ra ther than cut out your mea t consump tion. According t o ne w research from D a t a monit or Consumer , around onethird of consumers, globally, are actively re ducing their mea t int ake, and this is calle d 'flexit arian ea ting'. The key fact or driving flexit arianism, according t o the research, is the grea t er consumer awareness about the nega tive health implica tions of overconsump tion of mea t.
Da t amonitor Consumer pre dicts tha t the flexit arian ment ality will increase in the years ahead and 'b ecome a significant concern for mea t manufacturers'. Se e: ht t p:/ /goo.gl/C6aN MZ 16
According to Wikipedia: A semi-vegetarian or flexitarian diet is one that is plant-based with the occasional inclusion of meat products. In 2003, the American Dialect Society voted flexitarian as the year's most useful word and defined it as "a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat". In 2012, the term was listed for the first time in the mainstream MerriamWebster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Ton y Ge r r a ns r e v ie w s... E v e ry 12 Seconds Industrialize d Slaught er and the Politics of Sight by Timothy Pachira t Publishe d by Yale University Press Available: A ma z on.com Timo t hy Pachira t worke d for five months und ercover in a N e braska ca t tle aba t t oir which kills and processes 2,500 cows p er day – one animal every 12 seconds! His book raises import ant questions for anyone who has ever w ond ere d ho w exactly a living, sentient co w is transforme d int o the st eak on their pla t e and explores how the massive institutionalize d violence inherent in the process, is ra tionalize d and p erp e tua t e d. In an unsentiment al, almost clinical narra tive, Pachira t guid es the read er through the process by which each animal is driven up t o the killing box, (usually) stunne d, slung up invert e d by a rear leg, his or her throa t slit, ble d out, shocke d and then increment ally disassemble d through over 150 further linear se quential st e ps. N o part of the body is wast e d – the logic of capit alist e f ficiency ensures tha t every last piece of every animal is turne d t o profit. The d escrip tion of the processing line as it is exp erience d by the w orkers shows how living cows b ecome objects of w ork, swinging by every 12 seconds. Each of the more than 800 employe es has only a brie f inst ant t o execut e his re quire d function b e fore the carcass swings ont o the next st a tion and is re place d by the next, then the next, and then the next. The work b ecomes numbingly re p e titive with w orkers re duce d in most cases t o virtual aut oma t ons, mindlessly re p ea ting the same f e w cuts, knif e-strokes or o ther menial activities 2,500 times p er day. O nly in a f e w rare inst ances do es Pachira t address the horror of wha t happ ens insid e the windo wless, seale d building:
Division of w ork, and the int ense sp ecialisa tion of function along the production line, serve no t just t o op timize e f ficiency, but also t o disempow er workers and re press any moral resist ance t o the w ork they might harbour. Just how this is achieve d forms a second major theme in the book. Read ers are sho wn tha t the division and compart ment aliza tion of work is so extreme tha t it is no t even clear who actually kills each animal– the st a tions a t which the animal is stunne d, throa t slit, ble d out and shocke d are all physically se para t e and typically out of sight of each o ther - by d esign. The physical se para tion, forming part of wha t Pachira t calls the ”politics of sight”, masks the moral issues inherent in killing on such a massive scale. Every 12 S econds is an import ant work, no t only b ecause it exposes some of the ext ensive exploit a tion impose d on bo th animals and p e ople in the mea t industry, but also b ecause it provid es a frame w ork for possibly und erst anding o ther cont exts of syst emic violence and cruelty. Pachira t's explora tion of the politics of sight may help us b e t t er und erst and the d e pravity of Apartheid, the Holocaust, e thnic cleansing and genocid e. This book is a thought-provoking and recommend e d read for anyone int erest e d in ho w our mod ern socie ties conceal, ra tionalize and p erp e tua t e violence and cruelty. The following extract from The Dreaded Comparison – Human and Animal Slavery by Marjorie Spiegel, has relevance to Pachirat's research on the role of 'visual confrontation' in our reaction to cruelty and violence: “Segregation was another apparatus by which a complex and disturbing social reality (racism) was concealed from members of (white) society... segregation served to forestall 'unpleasant' awakenings into the gross disparities between the economic and educational situation and opportunities of the two races... Secrecy and distancing are also used to protect the very profitable institutionalised cruelty to animals as it exists today. Vivisection laboratories and other facilities are notoriously difficult to enter... Likewise the public are not generally admitted to the windowless 'factory farm' buildings... All this secrecy is necessary to keep the system intact.”
The visual confrontation with the head line is shocking: taking in head after head gliding above the kill floor in what seems like an endless succession, one is able to grasp … the sheer, staggering volume of the killing. The disembodied massing of that one small part of the animal, which of all the body parts continues to refer unambiguously to life – the face – offers a haunting image of vast destruction.
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Wha t you can do!
air! Sp r e a d t h e w o r d o n
RE SCUE ! Adop t an e nd-o f-l a y h e n
Con t ac t y our l oca l ra dio s t a t ion and ask it t o host a programme t o consid er t ha t w e t a k e t h e liv es o f anima ls and t h e ir pro duc t s with a sense of entitlement and no thought about wha t w e o w e them in re turn.
from Chicken R escue and R ehabilit a tion S A. Candy Ristic and Janine Nash will support you and your ‘girls’ through the process. Go t o: ht t p:/ /goo.gl/zF9528
Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.
Co lle c t si g n a t u r e s
- Milan Kundera
f or t h e a b o li t ion o f b a t t e ry f arming Hard copy: ht t p:/ /goo.gl/zl4o7A O n-line version: ht t p:/ /goo.gl/pb Ns1X
W r i t e t o... Make a dona tion t o Compassion in World Farming (S A ) and help us f igh t f or liv es w or t h living f or f arm e d anima ls
Cap e Town Mayor PATRICIA DE LILLE and re quest her t o reinst a t e City H ealth’s O n e M e a t-f r e e D a y a W e e k policy. Email: M a y or.M a y or @ ca p e t o w n.g o v.z a
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B o o k a Wo r k s h o p
B o o k y o u r t a bl e
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Pie t er Erasmus is an artist who uses his crea tive t alent t o change consciousness by d ecora ting crockery, sculp ting and painting ont o palle t wood of f-cuts. Email: pie t apaint er @ gmail.com
C a ll o n Po p e F r a n c is ... t o use the full w eight of his authority t o cond emn and do all he can t o st op human abuse of animals and entrench animal rights as sacre d.
o d o? S t ill t hi n k i n g w h a t t Please dona t e by clicking on the dona t e but t on on our w e bsit e: w w w.ciw f.org.za
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SA
The Humane Education Trust is licensed to represent Compassion in World Farming in South Africa. Compassion in World Farming is a company limited by guarantee (Company No: 4590804) Registered Charity No. 1095050 (England and & Wales) Registered office: River Court, Mill Lane, Godalming, GU7 1EZ, United Kingdom.
Louise van der Merwe Director in South Africa: Compassion in World Farming Editor: Animal Voice Managing Trustee: The Humane Education Trust Tony Gerrans, Trustee of The Humane Education Trust is Compassion (SA)'s Representative on Sustainability. Anyone wishing to book him for his 40-minute presentation should contact Tony on tony@animal-voice.org
Zwivhuya Ramashia Humane Education’s teacher at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg
Eileen Chapman
Compassion (SA)'s Representative
in Gauteng
Vivienne Rutgers Humane Education's adviser on Curriculum Compliancy. Here she stands with Phil Arkow, international expert on the link between animal cruelty and human violence.
In the first ten months of 2014 Humane Education reached more than 8000 learners in disadvantaged schools in SA through its workshops.