This week, former presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) signed on as a sponsor of the Farm System Reform Act (FSRA). Vegan Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced FSRA in December. FSRA aims to transition animal agriculture away from factory farming by banning the opening of new large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and limiting the growth of existing CAFOs in the meat and dairy sector. The bill also aims to phase out the largest CAFOs—as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency—by 2040 and hold large meatpackers accountable for the pollution they create.
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FSRA is gaining traction amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed the inefficiencies and zoonotic disease potential of the heavily consolidated meat industry—which is controlled by only a few multinational companies in a virtual monopoly. “Factory farming is not only an urgent environmental, justice, and ethical issue but also an issue of public health,” Michael Webermann, US Executive Director of nonprofit ProVeg International, said. “Mega-farms have taken over the agriculture sector, leaving fewer choices for consumers and creating a breeding ground for future pathogens because animals are cramped tightly together in severe, unsanitary conditions. We’ve long known that factory farms pollute the air, contaminate water, and destroy biodiversity. But now that we are living the consequences of a global pandemic, we can no longer stand idly by without change.”
Veg News
Major kudos to the sponsors for taking up this issue which is rarely talked about outside animal rights circles.
No offense to the person responsible for the second quote but the world is currently experiencing the largest animal disease crisis in history of humankind in ASF and the reality on the ground explicitly contradicts his point. Backyard breeders raising a few animals outside are the ones getting crushed with hogs dying in droves. Its the large corporate feeders that are surviving and actually expanding operations. Its almost like they've done literally 0 research on this, its honestly laughable.
