Posted on 12/04/2016 10:55:15 AM PST by Mariner
WASHINGTON — All hogs in Massachusetts will be able to stretch their legs and turn around in their crates and all hens will be able to spread their wings under a law passed in November by voters in the state.
Laws like this one, which strictly regulate how farm animals are confined, are becoming more common across the U.S., as large-scale farming replaces family farms and consumers learn more about what happens behind barn doors. Massachusetts is the 12th state to ban the use of some livestock- and poultry-raising cages or crates, such as gestation crates for sows, veal crates for calves or battery cages for chickens, which critics say abusively restrict the animals’ movement.
The restrictive laws have taken hold so far in states that have relatively small agriculture industries for animals and animal products and fewer large-scale farming operations. But producers in big farming states see the writing on the wall. Backed by state farm bureaus, large-scale industrial farmers are pushing for changes that would make it harder for states to further regulate the way they do business.
North Dakota and Missouri adopted amendments in the last few years that enshrined into their constitutions the right of farmers and ranchers to use current practices and technology. Legislatures in many states, including Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska and West Virginia, considered proposed amendments this year. And Oklahoma voters rejected a similar amendment sent to them by the Legislature in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at lacrossetribune.com ...
I buy the good stuff when I can, even in the city. And I live in the center of the agricultural universe...Sacramento.
And it’s till expensive, even directly from the farm.
I can taste the difference in a second...the very first bite. Sometimes from the aroma.
My grocery bill easily runs $150+ per week and I live alone.
I'm with you, brother.
We have a Biblical responsibility to treat animals humanely. Maximizing profits at all costs takes some of our humanity away, too.
My weekly bill is usually $100-$125, not including cosmetics or pet stuff other than their cat food-given the price difference between the states we live in it sounds about the same. I grow as many of my own veggies as possible from April to 1st freeze-around mid November-I eat a lot of protein and fresh veggies-and no processed/junk/convenience food, same way I grew up eating-I just don’t like eating any other way-meat and eggs that is not from free range animals is practically tasteless to me-especially the beef...
Agreed. I wish it didn’t have to be like that. We didn’t raise a steer this season as Beau was convinced he’d have a bear, an elk and a deer in the freezer by now - we have the bear, but no other RED meat. :(
There’s one more deer season this month, so not all hope is lost!
We’re also buying each other fishing tackle for Christmas gifts. We want to do more fishing, too.
However, I will miss having beef steaks & roasts in the freezer this winter! We’ve raised both beef and pork, and plan to do more of both in the future.
Life Is Good! :)
Oh, now isn’t that an ugly truth!! Good one!
As a farm boy, while even installing corner protection areas and heat lamps to draw the piglets away from the sow, even laying on ONE piglet, screaming, has resulted in the sow going nuts and attacking the screaming piglet and other piglets, at times resulting in the sow eating some of the piglets. Farrowing is a messy, horrifying, and yet rewarding experience when most, if not all, piglets can be saved. We had sows birthing 21-22 piglets. Try saving all of them!
I agree, but I did not vote for this. It gives the state too much power.
Most of the people around here who have a few cattle did not slaughter this fall, so they don’t have beef to barter or sell-they were saving that steer or cow in case Hillary won, so they wouldn’t have to buy another at prices that were sure to go up-so I’ll buy beef at the locker plant-but one of my neighbors who raises hogs-the smaller and leaner ones that healthy food types like me enjoy-made a good deal with me and another neighbor for meat when he slaughters in a week or two, so there will be pork chops on the grill...
I haven’t had a place to hunt in 3 years-since the rancher who let a couple of us neighbors hunt on his 30 acres bought a bigger place in far West Texas-it is not possible I’ll find a place before the season closes in January, so I’m venisonless unless one of the guys I work with has a successful hunt and will trade for some fresh herbs, late veggies or a few loaves of homemade bread.
I was going to walk down to the river and try to get a catfish over the weekend, but it started raining Sat morning and it is still raining-maybe next weekend-the river bottom here is rocky, so the catfish don’t have a muddy taste, which is nice.
Hard times or not, life is still good when you don’t have to depend on a city to survive, even living alone-and that is a good thing
Now I remember why we didn’t raise a hog this year - we’re coming to TX to hunt hog in January!
Beau ‘won’ a Silent Auction package deal. He and I are driving down from The Frozen Tundra and picking up a friend that’s flying into San Antonio for the long weekend. I’m going to stay there at the most luxurious spa/casino I can find (LOL!) and Beau and his friend are driving another 2 hours south to hunt.
Beau owes me. In the past 2 years I’ve prepped and sold 2 homes for him, sold MY farm and moved to his (bigger) farm, and I’ve been taking care of all of his animals, PLUS raising a litter of pups for him since he retired at the end of August...and promptly left for Bear, Elk (CO), Elk (WY), Elk (CO) and Deer hunting. AND Coyote hunting in NE between Christmas and New Years. Things just fell that way this year; he got tags all over the place and they all fell into THIS Fall & Winter after a 10-year wait on some of them. His Black Bear was 534#!
Again, Life Is Good. :)
There are quite a few feral hogs in this county, but we aren’t overrun like some places-probably because most people don’t mind eating them at all, so they get culled-and some people who have domestic hogs will trap young ones-preferably sows- and add them to their stock of free range pigs-where they breed and have piglets that will be healthier, leaner and more flavorful than most all-domestic hogs-I prefer lean pork...
Hope your man has a successful hunt and you enjoy the feral hog chops, sausage, etc...
Not true, inhumane treatment is a corporation’s way to make money without ethical reasoning. It is disgusting and should not be allowed.
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