As alluded to in recent weeks, I've wanted to pass along more information on a crucial ballot measure which is coming up for a vote in California on Nov. 4th, Proposition 2: The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.  The Yes! on Prop 2 campaign (Californians for Humane Farms), endorsed by not one sparrow, has been leading the effort to get this measure passed, and has a wealth of information on Prop 2, its support and opposition.

The Humane Society of the U.S. is a key backer of Yes! on Prop 2 along with Farm Sanctuary and a number of other organizations.  Yesterday I posted a video in which Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president, highlights some of the common sense motivations which factor into Proposition 2, from the most basic animal welfare needs to environmental and human health concerns which stem from industrial farming.  Here he is with a bit more information on Larry King Live (5 min.):

Also see Pacelle's Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times,with more on the environmental implications.  But what exactly does the ballot measure hope to accomplish?  Well,

Prop 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, will provide more humane treatment of millions of farm animals by phasing out their confinement in small crates and cages where they can barely move for virtually their entire lives.  The law would take effect in 2015 and would require that calves raised for veal, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens are given enough space to turn around, lie down, and stretch their limbs.  Similar laws have been passed in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and throughout the European Union's 27 member countries. (Yes! on Prop 2 FAQ's)

When you think about it, it's a very modest goal.  In all honesty, it's more modest than many animal advocates would like, including many of us who emphasize God's very real concern for the wellbeing of all individual creatures, even farmed animals.  He desires for them to live with at least some ability to be themselves and exist in a more natural environment, and as stewards of God's creatures we're called to honor their existence and legitimate needs; all the more if we're planning on using them for our own purposes (see stewardship).  

Some even wonder how significant one measure can be, especially if it's on the ballot in just one state, California.  But if passed, Prop 2 stands the potential to extend far beyond its own geography, and even its own modest goals.  According to Peter Singer,

It is no exaggeration to say that this is the most important popular vote for animals in the history of the United States.  If we win it, the ramifications will be huge, not just for the 19 million hens, pigs and calves now in cages or crates in California, but for all animals in factory farms in the United States.  It will demonstrate that given a chance to vote, Americans reject factory farming, and could spell the beginning of the end for these forms of cruel confinement in the U.S. ("California's Proposition 2," ARI) 

(photo copyright 123rf.com)