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Consumers demand animal welfare, experts say

by Tom Johnston for Meatingplace.co
Washington D.C. — "I get all the hate mail," Dennis Treacy, VP of environmental and corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods, said after introducing himself Thursday at USDA's Food Animal Agriculture in 2020 Symposium.
Treacy joined Smithfield, a favorite target for activists alleging animal and environmental abuses, six years ago after heading up Virginia's environmental agency. "Within one year, animal welfare issues began occupying as much, if not more, of my time than environmental issues," he told Meatingplace.com following his speech.

Animal welfare is an issue that is picking up steam, and is something the industry must address now and long-term if it wants to satisfy the demands of the changing consumer, Treacy said, whose company decided in January to begin phasing out gestation crates, among other such pursuits.

Other major corporations such as Burger King, McDonald's and Wal-Mart also have adopted policies consistent with those efforts.

Perception

Fact is, the negative headlines about the likes of Smithfield are running in major newspapers and, like it or not, are forming public opinion and perception, Treacy noted. "Responsible companies and responsible agriculture are going to rule in the future," he said.

Wayne Pacelle, a representative of the Humane Society of the United States, echoed Treacy's comments, saying that though the vast majority of Americans aren't farmers and likely aren't familiar with farmers' work, they sustain farmers by buying and eating their products.

"What's happening at the production level, during transport and at slaughter, is not conforming to the notion Americans have about proper treatment of animals," Pacelle said.

Balance

But Steve Kopperud, who lobbies on behalf of livestock producers as senior vice president of Policy Directions Inc., said it will be crucial for the industry to balance the well-being of animals with the well-being of farmers, who will incur higher production costs and decreased margins.

"The Smithfields of the world can afford the price tag, but the majority of independent producers cannot afford to completely reconfigure their operations, especially when there's no science that says they should," Kopperud said. "Well-being is a matter of perception. What makes someone feel good to look at doesn't actually translate into a healthier animal."

Kopperud said the industry needs to embrace technologies, cloning included, that will ensure sufficient production of food animals to feed America's 350 million people and the world's 8 billion people in the future.
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