In the latest—but hardly final—chapter of the New Jersey gestation crate saga, Gov. Chris Christie prostrated himself before Iowa’s pork kings and vetoed the gestation crate ban that was on his desk. This led to another round of national media attention on the pork industry’s cruelty. While Iowa’s ag-gag-supporting governor applauded the veto, Jon Stewart savaged the governor on The Daily Show *again* for it, and Cher condemned Christie’s callousness, too.
It was a big week in the NY Times, with Nicholas Kristof penning a column about the chicken industry’s rampant abuses. He correctly noted: “Torture a single chicken and you risk arrest. Abuse hundreds of thousands of chickens for their entire lives? That’s agribusiness.” And here’s the accompanying video from our friends at Compassion in World Farming.
Finally, want to fight Big Tobacco? Eat more hummus! (And on that topic, yet more evidence underscores the value of encouraging incremental steps toward more meat-free eating.)
P.S. Video of the week: You knew chickens were cute, but did you know they give dogs back rubs?
P.P.S. Live near DC? I hope to party with you tomorrow!