Judge Orders USDA To Quit Buying Anti-Prop 2 Ads
The USDA has been helping the ‘no on Prop 2′ campaign, but luckily justice prevailed and they’ve been ordered to quit buying anti-Prop. 2 ads:
Prop. 2 would prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens, pregnant pigs or veal calves in cages that prevent them from standing up, lying down or turning around freely. [...]
In a lawsuit filed Aug. 13, sponsors of Prop. 2 said the American Egg Board voted to spend $3 million against the ballot measure at a November meeting in Napa. The board is a government-supervised group of 18 egg producers that uses fees from the industry to research and promote egg products.
[...] documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act confirmed the egg board’s plans. Government records also showed that Agriculture Secretary Ed Schaefer had approved the spending and endorsed the advertising, the plaintiffs said.
Two ads touted the virtues of locally produced eggs and said buying them saves transportation costs and fuel. The ads don’t mention Prop. 2, but the announcer is a No on 2 spokesman who is also featured in privately funded campaign commercials declaring that the ballot measure would force Californians to buy more eggs from out of state
Source: SFGate
As one of the commenters wrote:
It really is appalling that the very agency that is supposed to monitor the humane treatment of farm animals has gone to bed with the farmers who commit the abuses.
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