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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNational Geographic, Enemy of the State by Bill Maher
Last edited Mon Jul 29, 2013, 06:40 PM - Edit history (1)
This National Geographic photographer thought he'd discovered a novel way around the law -- hire a hang glider to take him up above the facility, thereby not "entering" it. But the high-density feedlot had the last laugh, except for the part where they work on a high-density feedlot. Since they weren't sure the new law covered aerial photographs, they had him arrested for criminal trespassing.
Arkansas, Iowa, Utah, and Missouri have similar "ag-gag" laws protecting these types of feedlots from, well, journalism. And before you say, "I've got an idea! Journalists should apply for a job at one of these feedlots, get hired, and then tape what they see!" Well, the new laws make that an illegal act, too.
So congrats, America. We'll allow you to see the cartoon of the happy cow sniffing a flower on the milk cartoon, and the "Meat: It's What's For Dinner!" television ads. But if you want to see how your meat is actually being processed, or how the animals on these feedlots are being treated, you're going to have to ask the illegal aliens who work there.
http://www.real-time-with-bill-maher-blog.com/real-time-with-bill-maher-blog/2013/7/26/national-geographic-enemy-of-the-state.html
As overheated as likening that incident to a terrorist attack may seem, such thinking has become woven into the massive lobbying effort that agribusiness has launched to enact a series of measures known (in a term coined by the New York Times' Mark Bittman) as ag gag. Though different in scope and details, the laws (enacted in 8 states and introduced in 15 more) are viewed by many as undercuttingand even criminalizingthe exercise of First Amendment rights by investigative reporters and activists, whom the industry accuses of "animal and ecological terrorism."
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/06/ag-gag-laws-mowmar-farms
phantom power
(25,966 posts)and what information is being collected on us. And how it's being used.
Move along, citizen.
Chaco Dundee
(334 posts)You don,t really want to know how your food is raised or processed.it would give you nightmares.
zeemike
(18,998 posts)Let them see how our food is raised...then we are in big trouble...everythig must be keep secret cause those terrorist are under every bed.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)The two situations are remarkable similar. It has nothing to do with protecting us from terrorists. It has nothing to do with giving us healthy nutrition. It is all about the money, period.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)Response to octoberlib (Original post)
Dustlawyer This message was self-deleted by its author.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)....use a good scope to look down and film all you want.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)How can flying over a property be criminal trespassing? Ridiculous.
WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)octoberlib
(14,971 posts)The plaintiffs in the suit include PETA, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), environmental journalist Will Potter, and animal rights activist Amy Meyer. Meyer was charged with violating Utah's law in February after she filmed a tractor carrying away a downed cow outside a meatpacking facility. She was the first person to face prosecution under an ag gag law in the US. The charges against her were later dropped because she was standing on public property while filming, but Meyer wants to prevent future charges against her and other activists.
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/07/utah-ag-gag-lawsuit-animal-rights
Blue Owl
(50,423 posts)n/t
felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)is being disguised as something delicious, when in reality if we were hunters we would never choose a diseased animal to feed ourselves.
So much illusion.