Help Us Pass AB-2764: A prohibition on the construction and expansion of factory farms and slaughter houses
Our bill first must pass the Agriculture committee which is heavily influenced by the powerful animal agriculture lobby. In order for it to be considered, we must present letters of support from individuals, businesses and organizations. You can help! Please create a letter of support for your organization. You can use our template.
Please add your logo to the top of the template, then sign (electronic signature or cursive signature) and type your name and location at the bottom.
Email the completed letter (in .doc, .pdf or .pages format) as an attachment to: cheath@ourhonor.org
If you are having trouble/too busy to deal with all this, you can also just email me your signature (a photo of it on white paper is fine) and I will add it to a support letter for you. Email me at cheath@ourhonor.org.
Options for downloading the template letter:
Want an easier option? Have us make the letter for you. Simply fill out this form below:
Or, you can copy and paste the letter below:
[Insert your logo here]
March __, 2022
The Honorable Robert Rivas
Assembly Agriculture Committee
1020 N Street, Room 362
Sacramento, California 95814
Re: Statement in Support of AB 2764 (Nazarian) Animals: commercial animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses: prohibition on new operations
Dear Assemblymember Rivas and members of the Assembly Agriculture Committee,
We are writing to express our support for AB 2764. AB 2764 would prohibit the construction of new commercial Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) and slaughterhouses in the state, as well as the expansion of existing AFOs and slaughterhouses. If passed, AB 2764 would make California the first state in the nation with a moratorium on AFOs and slaughterhouses.
Simply put, the expansion of industrial animal agriculture in California is inconsistent with its position as a world leader on animal welfare and environmental issues, as well as its role in fostering innovative technological advancements.
Regarding animal welfare, it is well-established that animal cruelty is routine in confined animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in the factory farming industry include castrating piglets and clipping their teeth down to their gum line without anesthetic. Pigs can live up to 20 years but are killed for meat around 6 months of age. SOPs in the dairy industry include forcibly impregnating cows through recto-vaginal insemination and removing newborn calves from their mothers shortly after birth. Cows can live up to 20 years but only live 4-6 on dairy farms, and even less when raised for meat. In the egg industry chickens are sorted by sex upon hatching. Male chicks are seen as a waste product since they don’t lay eggs and are killed immediately upon birth, often by being placed in an industrial sized blender called a macerator. Investigations at multiple slaughterhouses in California have exposed violations of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
California voters have repeatedly shown deep concern about the well-being of animals, and the state has some of the strictest laws and regulations concerning animal welfare. In 1998, California voters banned, by ballot initiative, the use of steel-jawed leghold traps, body-gripping traps and conibear traps for fur production. In 2008, Californians overwhelmingly supported welfare reforms for farmed animals with Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, and in 2018, California voters added further requirements to the Act through Proposition 12. By passing AB 2764 California will continue to lead the charge against animal cruelty and shift towards a more sustainable and humane food system.
AFOs and slaughterhouses also pose serious environmental threats. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), AFOs produce more than 500 million tons of waste per year. Likewise, a 2018 report from the Environmental Integrity Project found that on average, slaughterhouses discharged over 330 lbs of nitrogen a day in 2017. A 2021 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) found that air pollution due to animal agriculture is responsible for 12,720 US deaths per year. An analysis of satellite data conducted by NASA found a large methane “hot spot” over the Central Valley in California, likely to be the second largest “hot spot” over the entire United States. According to the UN, two of the largest threats facing human civilization are climate change and new and emerging infectious diseases. AFOs and slaughterhouses exacerbate both of these threats.
Finally, animal slaughtering and processing jobs have some of the highest rates of occupational injury and illness in the United States. This industry’s disregard for worker safety was exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic when infections skyrocketed among workers and the communities they live in. According to the US Congress’ Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus, the top 5 largest meat packing conglomerates accounted for 269,000 COVID cases and 270 deaths within the first year of the pandemic. UFCW Local 770 called for the immediate closure of the Smithfield-owned Farmer John meatpacking plant in Vernon, CA, saying there was no evidence that measures taken to control the coronavirus were working.
By passing AB 2764, and prohibiting the construction and expansion of AFOs and slaughterhouses in California, we have the opportunity to increase community awareness of animal welfare, mitigate the environmental harm caused by animal agriculture, bolster the demand for sustainable and innovative alternatives, and, in turn, foster a more humane environment in California.
California has passed moratoriums on evictions, debt repayments, offshore drilling, and even on the death penalty. Now is the right time for a moratorium on factory farms.
For the foregoing reasons, we support the passage of AB 2764.
Sincerely,
[Digital signature, or Handwritten Signature]
[Printed name]
[Title]
[City, State]
