DAIRY INDUSTRY DRAWS ANIMAL WELFARE TARGET ON ITS OWN BACK

Chad Dechow
Associate Professor, Dairy Cattle Genetics
Department of Dairy and Animal Science
The Pennsylvania State University

Several high profile undercover videos of animal abuse on dairy farms have increased the pressure to implement welfare guidelines, much like the United Egg Producers’ certification program. We’re all appalled with what we have seen in some videos, and it makes it easy to assume that such a system is a terrific idea. Count me unconvinced for a host of reasons, not the least of which is that it will make dairy farms MORE likely to be targeted by animal rights groups. Let’s review how the United Egg Producer program worked for Quality Eggs of New England:

During the time of the undercover investigation, QENE was certified by the United Egg Producers’ (UEP) voluntary animal care program. This factory farm’s admission to 10 counts of cruelty to animals is further evidence that the UEP program fails to prevent cruelty and abuse.”

Participating in such a certification program did not appease the animal rights groups, did not cause their employees to treat their chickens appropriately, and ultimately did nothing to instill consumer confidence. Very likely, QENE was targeted BECAUSE they were participants in the United Egg producers program, not in spite of it. HSUS has made it clear that the United Egg Producers’ program does not meet their standards. We cannot hope, in the long run, to appease those who believe animal products should be eliminated from our diets.

Trying such a program is fine even if success is not guaranteed, unless you’re proposing to implement such a program with other people’s money. That, of course, is precisely what is coming. It will not be the retailers or processors that pay for the FARM program even though they are at the heart of drive toward implementation. As if the prices they have been paid for the past 18 months haven’t put them in enough financial peril, it will be the dairy farmer that foots the bill.

The National Dairy Farm Program also is problematic from a rhetorical standpoint. One would not expect those trying to dispel “factory farm” perceptions to use industrial lingo, but “standard operating procedure” and SOP are incorporated throughout the National Dairy FARM Animal Care Manual. It’s not that SOPs can’t be helpful or improve cow welfare, but it’s unlikely to give consumers that “family farm feel”. It also would be more meaningful to focus on the outcomes of the SOP. For example, if your herd has a somatic cell count (SCC) of <100,000, who in the world cares if you’ve got a milking routine SOP? That would be a clear indication that udder welfare on your farm is exceptional.

Any one of these reasons is enough to question the value of a welfare certification program, but I’m most concerned about the potential of such a program to limit opportunities for some dairy farms. If a farm produces their milk in a manner that consumers associate with higher welfare, they should be encouraged to market their product by highlighting how they produce milk differently. The intent of this program is to do the opposite.

I understand the pressure many in the dairy industry feel to try and demonstrate that dairy farms have high animal welfare practices. However, this program is as likely to draw additional unwanted scrutiny from the animal rights movement as it is to allay consumer welfare concerns. In other words, it has a good chance of backfiring. We should be encouraging a diversified dairy industry that allows some to be the low cost producers and others to deliver products consumers feel great about purchasing. Pennsylvania, in particular, stands to gain from animal welfare awareness. We have a large proportion of cows on pasture, we have one of the lowest cow mortality rates in the country and, more than any other state, our farms are owned by a family that also does the majority of the farm labor. Why throw that competitive advantage away by just covering up our differences with some monolithic animal welfare document intended to convince consumers all farms are created equal?

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