Beautiful and gentle cows greet me in the morning. Calves playfully wrestle and chase each other the same way puppies do.
Take a moment and think back to the times you watched news reports or documentaries that described the horrendous conditions in factory farms. Sick animals laying in their own waste. Facilities so crowded that just turning around was next to impossible. Dead animals lying on the ground. Pigs - animals with the intelligence of dogs - placed in rectangular pens too small to allow any movement. Acre after acre of manure seeping into the ground and contaminating groundwater.
Now, try to remember the feelings of disgust you felt as you watched. Your sympathy for the animals. Your anger at corporate perpetrators who would inflict such cruelty on hundreds of millions of innocent and defenseless beings.
On Monday, I was part of an overflow group of Democrats who were treated to a presentation by Cassie King of the Coalition to End Factory Farming at the East Rec. I learned that J is not about jobs or the end of Sonoma County as we know it. That's what backers like Perdue ($507,000) and other Big Ag businesses want you to think. It's about human decency, plain and simple.
Unfortunately, thanks to more than $1 million in backing by local and national Big Ag companies in opposition, Measure J is likely to go down in defeat. However, a big showing of support by voters can send a message to factory farms nationwide that the days of animal cruelty and environmental degradation are numbered. That unless they make changes, the next wave of ballot initiatives may very well pass.
If you're like me and many other attendees on Monday who planned to vote against Measure J, Cassie King will change your mind. Take a few minutes to watch her presentation before you cast your vote.
I appreciate this post. Unfortunately, it is a bit misguided. The first 2 paragraphs are certainly crafted to illicit an emotional response which is unfortunate because legislating based on emotion isn't always the most effective way to address what may be best for Sonoma County. I think it is best to look at any issue in totality. No where did you mention the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act which voters passed in 2018. Nor did you mention the Standards for Confining Farm Animals initiative passed in 2008. Both of these laws address your emotionally charged opening.
Nowhere in the language of Measure J does it mention the words "factory farms" nor does it mention anything about animal cruelty.…