http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=3412

Donald Lathbury


United Farm Workers Endorses Prop 2
August 26, 2008 @ 3:20 PM


It's been said here before, and it'll be said again. The United Farm
Workers may not be one of the largest unions in California, but in
many ways, they represent a constituency that goes far beyond union
rolls. Today, the union founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta
endorsed Prop 2, a measure that would protect farm animals from
inhumane treatment.

"At a time when farm workers are making tremendous sacrifices in the
fields of California, we recognize the importance of supporting Prop
2, the type of sensible reform that improves public health and stops
the worst animal cruelty on factory farms," said UFW President Arturo
Rodriguez. "The founding principles of Prop 2 are the same as that of
the Farm Worker Movement, built on the vision of Cesar Chavez. During
his lifetime, he championed ‘kindness and compassion toward all living
things.' He said: 'We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to
help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures, that we
must protect them and love them as we love ourselves.'"

The UFW's stance in defense of the most basic needs of battery hens,
veal calves, and impregnated pigs is touching, but it's worth
remembering the real human toll imposed by factory farms too.

The American Public Health Association has called for a moratorium on
factory farms because of their detrimental contribution to water and
air quality. Moreover, by closely confining six to eight hens in
crates so small that they cannot turn around or extend their wings in
large warehouses stacked to the brim with as many as 125,000 hens, the
conglomerates that own the 30 egg-producing factory farms in
California -- and control almost all production in California -- have
created a perfect environment for the spread of avian flu and other
diseases transmitted from birds to humans. Clearly, the laborers who
work in such retched conditions, on top of developing psychological
issues due to the witnessing of daily systematic abuse, are also at a
higher risk of exposure to potentially deadly diseases. In this way,
it should come as no surprise that the union most closely identified
with farm laborers would embrace a measure that helps improve some of
the worst farm labor conditions in the state.