VOA标准英语2012--Animal Welfare Drives Changes on US Farms

Animal Welfare Drives Changes on US Farms

Battery cage battle

Nearly all eggs in the United States come from large facilities where hens are kept in small pens called battery cages.

The Humane¹ Society of the United States and other animal-welfare groups consider them cruel because the birds have little room to move and can get caught and injured in the cages’ metal wires.

In 2008, the groups collected enough signatures for a California state ballot² initiative to ban the battery cages. The advertising³ war was fierce.

Farm-group ads said the law would raise food prices, increase the risk of diseases and put farmers out of business. The humane society ads disagreed, showing graphic⁴ hidden-camera videos of animal abuse at large farms. 

Jill Benson, senior vice⁵ president at JS West and Companies, a major California egg producer, campaigned against the proposal.

“At the end of the day, the voters made it clear that they wanted changes in the hen habitat," she says. "And so, we felt it was important that we listen.”

Making changes

After the initiative passed and became state law, JS West became the first company in the United States to install so-called “enriched” cages for its hens.

The birds get twice as much space as in the old battery cages. And the enriched cages have perches⁶, areas to dust-bathe and nesting boxes where the hens lay their eggs.

While she doesn't think the hens were unhappy in the old cages, Benson she says they definitely like the new cages. “What was a surprise is that the hens are producing just as many eggs, if not more, and they’re living better. In fact, there’s less mortality.”

The company has even installed live webcams so the public can see the hens in the new cages in real time.

Now the humane society is pushing for a federal law that would require these cages nationwide.

“The laws and the policies that we are seeking to implement⁷, while not necessarily creating idyllic⁸ living conditions for these animals by any means, would be significant advancements,” says Paul Shapiro, head of the society’s farm-animal program.

Uniform rules

To her surprise, Benson finds herself on the same side as the humane society.

"As a long-time adversary⁹ of the Humane Society of the United States, I have to say that it’s a little bit of a different situation," she says. "We cannot survive in a climate where there’s a patchwork¹⁰ of state-by-state rules.”

Benson believes since eggs are shipped nationwide, the rules for how they are produced need to be uniform. 

When California passed its rule, four other states were considering putting the issue to voters as well. Egg farmers worried they would lose those battles, says Gene¹¹ Gregory, president of United Egg Producers (UEP), the biggest egg-farmers’ group in the country.

“So what we did, we reached out to the Humane Society of the United States and said, ‘Let’s have a discussion about this and see if we can’t resolve this conflict,’" Gregory says. "And surprisingly, we were able to do this.”

UEP and the Humane Society are now working together to lobby for national legislation. 

'Slippery slope'

That move is opposed by other farm groups, including the nation’s largest, the American Farm Bureau Federation¹². Kelli Ludlum is livestock¹³ policy specialist for the Farm Bureau.

“I think it puts us on kind-of a slippery slope," says Kelli Ludlum, livestock policy specialist for the farm bureau, "to make changes that may not ultimately be in the best interests of either animals, producers or consumers.”

According to Ludlum, there are good reasons for some of the practices animal-welfare advocates consider inhumane. Hens peck each other less in smaller cages, for example. And since enriched cages cost more, they push up the cost of eggs. 

Ludlum says consumers should be able to choose whether or not to spend more. “But I think that this really eliminates that choice by requiring everyone shift to the enriched cages.”

Ludlum is also concerned about the legal precedent¹⁴ that a new federal rule on animal welfare would set for other livestock producers. 

The National Pork Producers Council also opposes the bill. It says the industry is responding to its customers, including McDonald’s and Hormel, who are phasing out confining crates¹⁵ for pigs, which animal welfare groups oppose. 

And that fundamental change, they say, does not require an act of Congress.

1 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

2 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 perches   

栖息处( perch的名词复数 )； 栖枝； 高处； 鲈鱼

参考例句：

• Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
• The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去，吱吱地叫着。

7 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

8 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

9 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

10 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

11 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

12 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

13 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

14 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

15 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。