Minnesota next up to pass law banning undercover farm videos

[marmar]

from Grist:



Minnesota next up to pass law banning undercover farm videos

by Tom Laskawy
13 Apr 2011 12:07 PM


NPR had a report today on the anti-whistleblower laws in Florida and Iowa that would make it illegal to take photos or undercover videos of livestock facilities. (It's always nice to be NPR's assignment editor!)

But it doesn't end in those two states -- this "campaign" by Big Ag to shield its production techniques from scrutiny is going national.

Writer Will Potter -- author of the book Green Is the New Red about "how animal rights and environmental activists are being labeled 'eco-terrorists,' and what that means for the safety and freedom of us all" -- uncovered a Minnesota bill that would go even further. The bill -- proposed by a state legislator who is, according to Potter, the "past president of the Minnesota Pork Producers, and a current member" -- wouldn't just make it illegal to produce an undercover video at a factory farm. It would also make it illegal to possess or distribute it. "Hello, Big Ag? It's the Constitution calling. Remember me ... ?"

It would be nice to think this spate of bills is just a merry coincidence. But Big Ag, whether through farm groups or individual corporations, has been known to coordinate legislative campaigns state by state. One of the more notorious was Monsanto's campaign to pass bills prohibiting the labeling of milk as containing artificial hormones in 14 states across the country. They failed everywhere but in Ohio -- and that "success" was overturned by the courts. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/factory-farms/2011-04-13-minnesota-next-up-to-pass-law-banning-undercover-farm-videos

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sharp_stick]

2. Is there anywhere in this country

that actually calls these places factories? Being someone who grew up on a farm I despise these massive organizations pretending to be farmers just so they don't have to follow OSHA or EPA rules.

If we could get some clarification on the difference between a farm and a factory I think we would have much much better animal welfare right off the bat.

[GKirk]

5. Do they raise crops or cattle?

Sounds like a farm to me.

[sharp_stick]

10. From the article

NPR had a report today on the anti-whistleblower laws in Florida and Iowa that would make it illegal to take photos or undercover videos of livestock facilities. (It's always nice to be NPR's assignment editor!).

I don't see a lot of people heading out with video cameras to catch people mistreating a stalk of barley.

The factory farms that I'm referring to are the massive chicken, egg and pork facilities mainly. You can't drive off the I-95 in North Carolina without being assailed by the most foul order of chicken and pig shit on Earth. These "farmers" use the fact that they are called farmers to put the waste in open pits, spray the waste on fields without testing and pretty much do whatever the hell they want to the animals with underpaid, non-trained often illegal, help.

[GKirk]

14. This was funny:

"I don't see a lot of people heading out with video cameras to catch people mistreating a stalk of barley"

You probably meant broccoli (or maybe a shock of barley) but still funny.

[Critters2]

20. No honest person calls these farms. The industry uses the term "CAFO"

Confined animal feeding operation

[Blue Owl]

3. Seems like a law enabling animal abuse/torture

Goddamn sick fucks -- no more factory farm products for me, ever.

[GKirk]

6. And how the Hell

are you going to know what came from a 'factory' farm?

[justiceischeap]

9. Pretty much anything that is found in a chain grocery store is produced on a factory farm

In some areas you can go to a local farm and get butchered animals but almost everything people ingest is from factory farming. A little research about the food you eat can go a long way in learning about these things. And not only do these factory farms treat the animals poorly but they also are major producers of pollution.

[Blue Owl]

11. oh, I can tell

The taste, color, and price are usually giveaways.

[marmar]

12. Well going to a supermarket is a start.

nt

[DirkGently]

4. They're always organized. Always keep pushing.

[hifiguy]

7. I don't see Governor Dayton signing this

even if it gets through the legislature. Nope. Not at all.

[Taverner]

8. Doesn't that fly in the face of the Bill of Rights?

[GKirk]

15. You mean taking a job and...

...then secretly recording things at your jobsite?
I'm thinking not.

[Selatius]

17. Nobody said an employee can't also operate his own press. It's a First Amendment issue nt

[GKirk]

18. In there own time sure...

...but you aren't free to discuss many things
about the company you work for.

I'm not defending mis-treatment of animals I'm talking
about proper things an employee can and can not do.

[Selatius]

23. But morality tends to be guided by something higher than employer rules/regulations though.

This is the crux of the problem. I hope such laws fail to pass. Laws governing trade secrets do not apply to the mistreatment of animals.

[highplainsdem]

13. ALEC is behind these bills. See Will Potter's blog, which that article links to.

Not just his blog post on the Minnesota bill

http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/minnesota-bill-factory-farm-photos/4626/

but the earlier post on the bills in Iowa and Florida:

http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/iowa-florida-animal-agriculture-investigation-photography/4608/


If you look at the long compilation topic on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) you'll see more information about these bills in some of the replies.

[OmahaBlueDog]

16. So let's say PETA starts a newspaper

..and then let's say they send in an undercover worker

Doesn't first amendment overrule this law?

(that's intended as a question, not a comment)

[GKirk]

19. You mean...

...big ag sends an undercover person into PETA?

the first amendment doesn't mean you can repeat
anything you hear at work, trade secrets and all.

[marmar]

21. Inhumane treatment of animals is not a "trade secret"

nt

[Critters2]

22. The first amendment doesn't apply to private employers--only the government.

It does mean the government can't tell you you can't repeat what you hear at work. Once the government gets involved, it becomes a First Amendment issue. If we had an objection Supreme Court--which we don't--this wouldn't pass Constitutional muster.

[rbixby]

24. I doubt Mark Dayton would sign a bill like that

and the legislature doesn't have a big enough majority to override a veto.