IATP Hog Report - Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Section 7
important, from a welfare standpoint, in treating farm animals for diseases
of bacterial origin. Therefore, it is desirable to discontinue non-therapeutic
uses in animal agriculture that contribute to resistance.
Several groups are making antibiotic resistance a priority issue this year.
Scientists at the Union of Concerned Scientists are working with
counterparts in Environmental Defense and the Alliance for the Prudent
Use of Antibiotics (at Tufts University) to look for ways to use available
data and new studies to demonstrate effectively that non-therapeutic drug
use in animals contributes to the problem of antibiotic resistance in
treating human diseases. They also hope their work will show the need for
more humane, sustainable approaches to farm animal production. Together
with food-related organizations, such as the Center for Science in the
Public Interest, they are lobbying Congress and federal agencies for strong
legislative and regulatory approaches. Concerns are that the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration's framework for restricting antibiotic use in farm
animals does not go far enough to solve the problem.
Hog farm workers are not unionized. Most of the work being done, to
provide information to support reform of hog factory practices and protect
farmers and farm workers, comes out of schools of medicine and public
health at universities. Dr. Susan Schiffman of Duke University School of
Medicine and Dr. Kelley Donham of the University of Iowa conduct
scientific investigations and research into the impacts of hog factory air
quality on the health and safety of workers. They are extending their work
to health impacts of hog factory emissions on nearby residents.
Strategy 7.
Humane Treatment of Animals
Efforts to promote the welfare of animals reared for food include:
publicizing the cruelty of factory farming, searching for and promoting
alternative production methods that incorporate animal welfare
requirements in ways that are sustainable and profitable to the farmer,
lobbying for changes in laws regarding treatment of farm animals, and
assisting and promoting farmers who are rearing their animals sustainably,
with dignity and respect.
The Humane Society of the U.S. works to promote cooperation among
national and regional sustainable agriculture organizations and humane
groups on the issue of factory farming and engages in public education.
The Animal Welfare Institute's sister organization, Society for Animal
Protection Legislation, lobbies Congress for humane treatment of animals.
The Institute itself helps educate the public about humane farming
methods, works with farmers to help them adopt welfare-compatible and
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