Civil Eats

Last year, the term “Prop 2” was virtually synonymous with a step forward for animal welfare. Opponents of factory farming won a major victory in California with Proposition 2’s passage, in which voters overwhelmingly banned battery cages, gestation crates, and veal crates (with a phase-out).

This November however, the ballot number 2 has a much different meaning.

Two thousand miles away from the Golden State, Issue 2 will be on Ohio’s the statewide ballot November 3^rd. In short, it would amend the state constitution by creating a council that would have the authority to adopt regulations for the treatment of farm animals in the state. Sounds pretty good, right?

Unfortunately, while designed to give the appearance of helping farm animals, Issue 2 is little more than a power grab by Ohio’s agribusiness lobby. The industry-dominated “animal care” council that Issue 2 proposes is really intended to thwart meaningful improvements in how Ohio factory farms treat tens of millions of farm animals. Read More

An alliance of consumer, farmer, environmental, ethical investor, and food safety groups yesterday urged Ohio Governor Ted Strickland to repeal a February 2008 emergency rule he issued for labeling dairy products in his state. The rule stipulates that Ohio’s dairy producers cannot use the widely used and understood term “rbGH-free” on labels and must rather describe products as “from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.” The rule also requires that a disclaimer must be included stating that there is “no significant difference between milk from rbGH-treated cows and milk from untreated cows.”

The International Dairy Foods Association and the Organic Trade Association have mounted an appeal, and the Ohio courts have postponed enforcement of the rule until its resolution. On July 23 these associations will enter mediation with the Ohio Department of Agriculture. The allied groups are encouraging opponents of the rule to write Governor Strickland and urge him to rescind it before the mediation gets underway. Read More

When Michael Jones, a chef by trade, came to Columbus, Ohio back in 1995 he was surprised there weren’t more local foods available for purchase by restaurants. Since Columbus is situated smack dab in the middle of a state whose number one industry is agriculture, he thought fresh local produce would abound. He quickly learned that commodity crops ruled just as heavily as fast food restaurants. Fifteen years later there’s been a huge shift. “People are more aware of different types of cuisine and there is more and more awareness of local food and its importance,” says Jones; and he should know. As the Executive Director of Local Matters, a non-profit whose mission is simply to build supply and demand for local food and make it equally accessible to underserved neighborhoods, he’s had a hand in supporting it. Read More