The Peoples’ Union is dedicated to promoting sustainable and ethical practices in the agricultural industry. While we recognize the need for livestock farming to meet food demands, we are committed to ensuring that our food is produced in a manner that is clean, safe, and ethical. Through comprehensive regulation and resource allocation, we will strive to improve animal welfare, reduce cruelty and stress, and promote responsible farming practices.
Factory farming of pigs, chickens, and cattle has increased exponentially over the past several decades. It is difficult for small family farms to compete with large corporations. The Peoples’ Union is in favor of eliminating massive, cruel, and toxic factory farming practices. Factory farms have overtaken small family farms in producing the majority of animal food products in the U.S. Some of the many concerns about factory farming include:
- the excessive use of antibiotics has contributed to the rise of antibiotic resistance, a pressing global health concern
- the spread of avian flu
- cruel animal care practices including extreme confinement, lack of airflow and light, and the separation of calves from cows
- the reduction of biodiversity of Midwest prairie grasslands which are being converted into fields for soy and corn production for feeding animals raised on factory farms
The proliferation of factory farms has environmental implications including runoff of animal manure toxins into rivers and streams. According to Vox, half of Iowa’s rivers are too polluted to function as wildlife habitats and are not safe for fishing. Furthermore, runoff is polluting well water in communities across the country (Food Empowerment Project, 2024).
Factory farming is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane and CO2. As the industry is estimated to be the third leading cause of global warming, we will dedicate substantial resources and implement regulations to reduce emissions associated with factory farming. This will involve exploring innovative technologies, promoting sustainable farming practices, and incentivizing the adoption of environmentally friendly approaches.
We will look to France, which has implemented policies regarding the treatment, medical care, feeding, and slaughter of animals, as a model for humane and responsible farming practices. By adopting similar policies, we aim to improve animal welfare standards and ensure that animals are treated with care and respect throughout their lives.
France has implemented the following regulations and guidelines in livestock and agricultural production (sources: Taste France, EuroNews):
- calves can now roam rather than being confined to boxes
- barns constructed with better airflow and natural lighting
- anesthesia used during castration of pigs
- use of AI to observe animals and prevent disease
- detecting sex of chicken embryos so male chicks do not have to be destroyed
- presence of animal welfare specialist at every animal production facility
- reliable labelling of animal products indicating level of animal welfare standards followed
- banning live animal transport
Chemicals and GM in Food Production
The Peoples’ Union is concerned about chemicals used in food production and food products. Some American food products are banned by other countries because of health concerns including pork containing ractopamine, potassium bromate, food dyes, animal growth hormones, olestra, arsenic, BHA and BHT (e.g., used to keep cereals fresh), and azodicarbonamide (e.g. used in frozen meals and baked goods) (Spector, 2021).
We also are in favor of limiting the production of genetically modified (GM) food products. Although there are some benefits of GM foods, such as increased crop yields and boosted nutritional values, there are serious ecological concerns. GM foods have led to the growth of pesticide resistant insects and herbicide resistant superweeds (Sharma et al., 2022). We advocate adopting EU type policies that regulate the process of GM food production, not just the product. In the U.S. regulations are more focused on food product safety and nutritional value, largely leaving out biodiversity and ecological concerns (Lau, 2015).