Attacking the Messenger: Big Ag’s Attempt to Misdirect Attention from Its Own Problems

Attacking the Messenger: Big Ag’s Attempt to Misdirect Attention from Its Own Problems
By Paul Shapiro
November 24th, 2009
Link to full article below


Reading agribusiness officials’ responses to undercover exposés documenting egregious acts of cruelty to farm animals can be truly mind-boggling. I’ve written about this before, and feel compelled to follow up with a couple more recent sordid examples.

When faced with gruesome images of mistreatment of farm animals, rather than simply condemning the cruelty, some in agribusiness just can’t leave it at that. They feel the need also to attack the compassionate investigators who put themselves at great risk to go undercover and blow the whistle on such abuse.

For example, a new Mercy for Animals investigation involved videotaping workers at one of the nation’s largest pork companies throwing piglets by their ears and legs across the room, cramming pigs into cages barely larger than their own bodies for months on end, and even leaving pigs with untreated prolapses, sores and other health problems.

And what’s the response of the president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Dr. Butch Baker? Quite simply: These types of investigations “really are an attack on the rural lifestyle of America.”

To read the full article: http://civileats.com/2009/11/24/attacking-the-messenger-big-ag%E2%80%99s-attempt-to-misdirect-attention-from-its-own-problems/