from John Goodwin -
[email protected]
Support the Leahy-Fitzgerald Amendment to S 1191, the FY
2002 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. We need you to contact your two
U.S Senators immediately to combat the forced molting of hens in egg
production.
Forced molting is the practice of starving hens in order
to shock their system into a new egg-laying cycle. Factory farmers
routinely starve hens for a period ranging from three to fourteen days,
forcing them into a new molt. Once placed back on feed-if they survive
the starvation period, the hens will produce bigger eggs.
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Peter Fitzgerald
(R-IL) will introduce an amendment to S. 1191 to bar the USDA from
spending tax dollars to purchase eggs from producers that use forced
molting for the School Lunch Program.
Contact your two U.S. Senators and urge them to vote YES
on the Leahy-Fitzgerald amendment. You may wish to make some of the
following arguments.
* Forced molting is inhumane. Intentionally starving an
animal is cruel Most anywhere in the nation an individual would be
arrested for starving a dog or a cat in the way egg producers commonly
starve hens. The birds lose up to 30% of their body weight during this
starvation period.
* Forced molting is a threat to human health. Because
the hens are starved, and so stressed, they are highly susceptible to
salmonella infections. Eggs from hens that undergo forced molting are
significantly more likely to carry, shed or transmit Salmonella
enteritidis than hens that are allowed access to food and water.
Children are most susceptible to salmonella poisoning. It just makes
sense not to use eggs from producers that use forced molting in our
school lunch program.
* Major fast food companies have recently stopped buying
eggs from farms that use forced molting. McDonald's and Burger King have
both announced that their egg producers are no longer allowed to force
molt by starving birds. The Food Safety Inspection Service, which is
part of the USDA, also recommends "egg producers eliminate forced
molting practices and adopt alternatives that reduce public health
risks."
This is our chance to have the USDA School Lunch program
join large fast food chains such as McDonalds and Burger King, in saying
no to the use of starvation as a means of increasing egg production.
Please contact both of your U.S. Senators immediately
and ask them to SUPPORT the Leahy-Fitzgerald amendment to the
Agriculture Appropriations bill. You can reach both of your U.S.
Senators offices through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Phone calls and faxes are the best means of reaching
your senators on this matter. Due to the fact this may come to a vote
within days, letters may not arrive in time for this vote. Please make
phone calls and ask everyone you know to make phone calls to their two
U.S. Senators as well!
If you need assistance in identifying who your U.S.
Senators are, or to get their fax number, please call the Humane Society
of the U.S. at 202-955-3666.
Go on to Your Dog May
Be Dying
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