This post is for my fellow Buckeyes (Ohio). No matter what side of the isle you are on… liberal or conservative I would hope that anyone who cares about the ethics and safety of food in Ohio will vote NO on Issue 2 come November.
This issue is no doubt being presented to us out of fear. Agribusiness in Ohio fears that one day they will be faced with legislation like what just went through California with Prop 2. Basically those dastardly Californians actually decided that livestock should have to be raised humanely.
Ohio factory farmers want to head this type of legislation off by giving themselves a position of power NOW. By voting yes on Issue 2 in Ohio we will give agri-business representatives and their appointees the ability to create an agricultural board with unchecked power over livestock rules and regulations. Their power would be locked in by the constitution and never again would they have to worry about the people choosing for themselves how they want their food to be raised. It is a power grab. This issue will help ensure that they hold all the cards from now on.
If in the future the citizens of Ohio determine that some widely accepted agricultural practice is inhumane or unsafe for food production, we will have no recourse to fight it. Agribusiness will simply bring it to the board composed of all their own people, decide in their own favor, and keep doing business as usual. There would be no plublic input, no forum for public comments, and no appeal. Their decision is FINAL.
Not only is it likely this board will be used to support unethical and inhumane production methods it could also be used to make it harder for small family farmers to operate, essentially allowing BIG agribusiness to weed them out.
Why should you care? Well, since we all eat food… and many of us try to eat lots of local food… I think we should have a say in the ethics and safety of our food production. We also have a right to choose our own food sources and we don’t want factory farms putting the little guys out of business and limiting our options. Even vegans will want to make sure that factory farms aren’t making their own rules for the humane treatment of animals. In short, factory farms and big agribusiness have no right to hijack our state constitution. If you are in Ohio vote NO on Issue 2!!
