Ag gag or not?

Ag gag or not?

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Ag gag or not? I received a press release from the Cornucopia Institute entitled " Latest USDA scandal: Organic program dismisses legal complaints targeting factory farms- without investigating". It went on to say The Cornucopia Institute harshly criticized the USDA for its failure to conduct an investigation of 14 legal complaints filed by the Wisconsin-based organic industry watchdog group last December. The complaints allege a systemic pattern of livestock management violations occurring on some of the nation's biggest certified organic "factory farm" poultry and dairy operations. Spokesperson Mark Kastel is very concerned that lots of production agriculture operations falsely present themselves as organic producers. "The real gold standard for poultry production either broilers or laying hens is pasture poultry."

But here's the tie in to Ag gag. There are three or four pictures taken from the air, probably via drone. One of the pictures shows a huge series of barns housing poultry and the barns are surrounded by grass lawns. The caption to the picture reads "Overview of some of the 40 barns at MBA Poultry (dba Smart Chicken) in Tecumseh, Nebraska. On the day of the flyover no chickens were observed outdoors and the meticulously maintained lawn between the buildings was being mowed. The condition of the grass indicated no chickens had been out at any time." Should the cornucopia Institute be prosecuted or not. They would be in Idaho where an ag-gag law exists.

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