Black Americans lack access to food and land—and city leaders often actively disrupt efforts to build food sovereignty. These policies could address the systemic injustices behind food apartheid and help urban ag scale up nationwide.
July 7, 2010
After months of signature gathering in Ohio for a proposed ballot measure that would improve conditions for farm animals in the state, Buckeye animal advocates achieved early progress on animal welfare reforms that few people would have thought possible in Ohio. To be honest, many of us working on the campaign wouldn’t have imagined this outcome even just a few short weeks ago.
With prospects looming for a November vote on the ballot measure, Ohioans for Humane Farms, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, The Humane Society of the United States, and the Ohio Farm Bureau agreed to implement a broad range of important animal welfare reforms in the state.
Thanks to the hard work of the signature gatherers in Ohio, the following terms were agreed upon in exchange for Ohioans for Humane Farms not going to the ballot this November. (The signatures gathered do not expire and can be used in a subsequent election cycle if these reforms are not enacted.)
Needless to say, this is a very sweeping array of reforms, especially in a state that has long been regarded as having some of the most anemic animal welfare laws in the nation.
The agreement was applauded by the major groups leading the signature drive: The Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, and Mercy For Animals. The reaction from agribusiness groups has been more mixed, with some groups lamenting the agreement (such as the Animal Agriculture Alliance and Feedstuffs) and others taking a more nuanced view, such as the editor of Poultry magazine.
In the end, I think it’s clear that this agreement represents important progress, and those involved in the signature drive should be proud of what they helped accomplish.
September 21, 2023
Black Americans lack access to food and land—and city leaders often actively disrupt efforts to build food sovereignty. These policies could address the systemic injustices behind food apartheid and help urban ag scale up nationwide.
September 20, 2023
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September 14, 2023
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