Report: No action on industrial food production policies
October 23, 2013 | 12:16 AM
The Obama administration and Congress have done nothing to act on the recommendations made by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production five years ago, according to a new analysis by Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future.
Robert S. Lawrence
The Pew report called for a ban on non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in food animal production and a number of changes in how animals are handled.
“There has been an appalling lack of progress,” said Robert S. Lawrence, a physician who is the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
“The failure to act by the USDA and FDA, the lack of action or concern by the Congress, and continued intransigence of the animal agriculture industry have made all of our problems worse.”
Randy Spronk
But the National Pork Producers Council said that the report ignores advances in animal care and environmental standards.
“Just as it was five years ago, the charges against animal agriculture made in the CLF report bear little resemblance to the truth,” said Randy Spronk, a pork producer from Edgerton, Minn., and president of the National Pork Producers Council.
“The report is wrong in every aspect, and the CLF ignored the extensive steps animal agriculture has taken over the last decade or more to address various industry challenges,” Spronk said. “We have continuously made improvements in animal care, including protecting them from diseases, and we always have been good stewards of the land, air and water we use.”
The Animal Agriculture Alliance also issued a report to counter the Center for a Livable Future report.
The Pew report called for a ban on non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in food animal production and a number of changes in how animals are handled.
“There has been an appalling lack of progress,” said Robert S. Lawrence, a physician who is the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
“The failure to act by the USDA and FDA, the lack of action or concern by the Congress, and continued intransigence of the animal agriculture industry have made all of our problems worse.”
But the National Pork Producers Council said that the report ignores advances in animal care and environmental standards.
“Just as it was five years ago, the charges against animal agriculture made in the CLF report bear little resemblance to the truth,” said Randy Spronk, a pork producer from Edgerton, Minn., and president of the National Pork Producers Council.
“The report is wrong in every aspect, and the CLF ignored the extensive steps animal agriculture has taken over the last decade or more to address various industry challenges,” Spronk said. “We have continuously made improvements in animal care, including protecting them from diseases, and we always have been good stewards of the land, air and water we use.”
The Animal Agriculture Alliance also issued a report to counter the Center for a Livable Future report.
- Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production — Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America
- John Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future — Industrial Food Animal Production in America: Examining the Impact of the Pew Commission’s Priority Recommendations
- Animal Agriculture Alliance — What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission & Others Aren’t Telling You About Food Production
