Union of Concerned Scientists . . . Doug Gurian-Sherman, “CAFOs Uncovered: The Untold Costs of Confined Animal Feeding Operations,” Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008, http://www.ucsusa.org /food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_industrial _agriculture/cafos-uncovered.html; Margaret Mellon, “Hogging It: Estimates of Antimicrobial Abuse in Livestock,” Union of Concerned Scientists, January 2001, http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/#Food_ and_Environment.
Worldwatch Institute . . . Sara J. Scherr and Sajal Sthapit, “Mitigating Climate Change Through Food and Land Use,” Worldwatch Institute, 2009, https://www.worldwatch.org/node/6128.; Christopher Flavin et al., “State of the World 2008,” Worldwatch Institute, 2008, https://www.worldwatch.org/node/5561#toc.
61 “access to the outdoors” . . . “Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms,” United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, August 24, 2006, http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Meat_&_Poul try_Labeling_Terms/index.asp (accessed July 3, 2009).
The USDA doesn’t even have a definition . . . Federal Register 73, no. 198 (October 10, 2008): 60228–60230, Federal Register Online via GPO Access (wais.access.gpo.gov), http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2008-0026.htm (accessed July 6, 2009).
laying hens are debeaked . . . For a lucid review of what particular USDA labels mean, see HSUS, “A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare,” March 2009, http://www.hsus .org/farm/resources/pubs/animal_welfare_claims_on_egg_cartons .html (accessed August 11, 2009).
According to the USDA . . . “For consumers, ‘fresh’ means whole poultry and cuts have never been below 26°F.” United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, “The Poultry Label Says Fresh,” www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Poultry_Label_Says_Fresh.pdf (accessed June 25, 2009).
64 Pigeons follow highways . . . The study of pigeons was conducted at Oxford University and is discussed in Jonathan Balcombe’s Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good (New York: Macmillan, 2007), 53.
Gilbert White . . . Lyall Watson, The Whole Hog (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books, 2004), 177.
Scientists have documented . . . Pigs communicate using jaw chomping, teeth clacking, grunts, roars, squeals, snarls, and snorts. According to the highly regarded ethologist Marc Bekoff, pigs indicate their intention to play with one another by using body language, “such play markers as bouncy running and head twisting.” Marc Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2008), 97; Humane Society of the United States, “About Pigs,” http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/animals/pigs/pigs.html?print=t (accessed June 23, 2009).
pigs will come when called . . . We also know that mother pigs will grunt to piglets when it’s time to suckle and that the piglets themselves have a special call to summon their mothers when separated. Peter-Christian Schön and others, “Common Features and Individual Differences in Nurse Grunting of Domestic Pigs (Sus scrofa): A Multi-Parametric Analysis,” Behaviour 136, no. 1 (January 1999): 49–66, http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/animals/pigs/pigs.html?print=t (accessed August 12, 2009).
64 play with toys . . . Temple Grandin has demonstrated not only that pigs enjoy toys, but that they have “definite toy preferences.” Temple Grandin, “Environmental Enrichment for Confinement Pigs,” Livestock Conservation Institute, 1988, http://www.grandin.com/references/LCIhand.html (accessed June 26, 2009). For more discussion of play in pigs and other animals, see Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals, 97.
coming to the aid . . . Wild pigs also have been documented rushing to the aid of unrelated adult pigs crying in distress. Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals, 28.
65 They not only . . . Lisa Duchene, “Are Pigs Smarter Than Dogs?” Research Penn State, May 8, 2006, http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/pigs.html (accessed June 23, 2009).
undo the latches . . . Ibid.
only 70 peer-reviewed . . . K. N. Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes: From three-second memory to culture,” Fish and Fisheries 4, no. 3 (2003): 199–202.
today it tops 640 . . . This is a rough estimate based on a quick search of the ISI Web of Knowledge and review of more than 350 abstracts.
Fish build complex nests . . . “Many fish build nests for rearing young just as birds do; others have permanent burrows or preferred hiding spots. But how do you cope if you are constantly on the move, looking for food? Rock-moving wrasse build new homes every night by collecting bits of rubble off the seafloor. Once construction is complete the wrasse settles down to sleep and abandons the dwelling the next morning.” Culum Brown, “Not Just a Pretty Face,” New Scientist, no. 2451 (2004): 42.
form monogamous relationships . . . For example, “most goby species form monogamous breeding pairs.” M. Wall and J. Herler, “Postsettlement movement patterns and homing in a coral-associated fish,” Behavioral Ecology, 2009, http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/arn118/DC1 (accessed June 25, 2009).
hunt cooperatively with other species . . . Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes,” 199–202. Laland and others cite M. Milinski and others, “Tit for Tat: Sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, ‘trusting’ a cooperative partner,” Behavioural Ecology 1 (1990): 7–11 ; M. Milinski and others, “Do sticklebacks cooperate repeatedly in reciprocal pairs?” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 27 (1990): 17–21; L. A. Dugatkin, Cooperation Among Animals (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
65 use tools . . . “The use of an anvil to crush shellfish as described above is clearly a case of substrate use. It does not hold up, however, to the restrictive definition of tool use — that an animal must directly handle an agent to achieve a goal (Beck 1980). An example that more closely fits the strict definition is the use of leaves as tablets for carrying eggs to safety when disturbed, as has been documented in South American cichlids (Timms and Keenleyside 1975; Keenleyside and Prince 1976). The catfish Hoplosternum thoracatum also has its eggs glued to leaves and with this ‘baby carriage’ may bring them into its foam nest if the leaves get detached (Armbrust 1958).” R. Bshary and others, “Fish Cognition: A primate eye’s view,” Animal Cognition 5, no. 1 (2001): 1–13.
They recognize one another . . . P. K. McGregor, “Signaling in territorial systems — a context for individual identification, ranging and eavesdropping,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B — Biological Sciences 340 (1993): 237–244; Bshary and others, “Fish cognition,” 1–13; S. W. Griffiths, “Learned recognition of conspecifics by fishes,” Fish and Fisheries 4 (2003): 256–268, as cited in Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes,” 199–202.
make decisions individually . . . “Fish are just as intelligent as rats. . . . Dr Mike Webster of St Andrews University has discovered fish show a high level of intelligence when they are in danger. . . . Dr Webster carried out a series of experiments to show how minnows escape being eaten by predators by using techniques of shared learning. He discovered that a solitary fish separated from the shoal by a clear plastic divider, will make its own decisions when there is no threat. But when a predator was placed in the shared pool, the single fish took its cue on how to act by watching the other fish. The biologist said: ‘These experiments provide clear evidence that minnows increasingly rely on social learning as the basis for their foraging decisions as the perceived threat of a predator increases.’ ” Sarah Knapton, “Scientist finds fish are as clever as mammals,” telegraph.co.uk, August 29, 2008, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/08/29/scifish129.xml (accessed June 23, 2009).
65 monitor social prestige . . . Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes,” 199–202. Laland and others cite McGregor, “Signaling in territorial systems,” 237–244 ; Bshary and others, “Fish Cognition,” 1–13; Griffiths, “Learned recognition of conspecifics by fishes,” 256–268.
“Machiavellian strategies . . .” Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes,” 199–202. Laland and others cite Bshary and others, “F
ish Cognition,” 1–13; R. Bshary and M. Wurth, “Cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus manipulate client reef fish by providing tactile stimulation,” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B — Biological Sciences 268 (2001): 1495–1501.
significant long-term memories . . . “In 2001, I published an article in Animal Cognition (vol. 4, p. 109) discussing long-term memory in the Australian freshwater rainbow fish. The fish were trained to locate a hole in a net as it approached down the length of a fish tank. After five attempts, they could reliably find the hole in the net. About 11 months later they were re-tested and their ability to escape was undiminished, even though they had not seen the apparatus during the intervening period. Not bad for a fish that only lives two to three years in the wild.” Brown, “Not Just a Pretty Face,” 42.
are skilled in passing knowledge . . . Laland and others, “Learning in Fishes,” 199–202.
They even have . . . Ibid.
lateralization of avian brains . . . Lesley J. Rogers, Minds of Their Own (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997), 124–129; Balcombe, Pleasurable Kingdom, 31, 33–34.
66 Scientists now agree . . . Rogers, Minds of Their Own, 124–129.
Rogers argues that our present knowledge . . . Lesley J. Rogers, The Development of Brain and Behavior in the Chicken (Oxford: CABI, 1996), 217. A recent review of the scientific literature supports her. The distinguished ethologist Peter Marler recently reviewed the existing research on social cognition in nonhuman primates and birds; his review confirmed Rogers’s observations and led him to argue that the scientific literature reveals more similarities than differences between the minds of birds and primates. Balcombe, Pleasurable Kingdom, 52.
66 She argues they have sophisticated . . . Rogers, Minds of Their Own, 74.
Like fish, chickens can . . . In some studies, injured birds learned to identify select feed with painkillers (and preferred it). In other studies, chickens learned to avoid blue-colored feed that contained chemicals that would make them sick. Even after the chemical had been removed, mother hens still taught their chicks to avoid blue feed. Since neither pain relief nor sickness would beset the birds instantly, determining that the feed was the key variable required the birds to do some impressive analysis. Bekoff, The Emotional Lives of Animals, 46.
They also deceive one another . . . Often roosters will find food and shout out a food call to a hen they are courting. In most cases, the hen comes running. Some roosters, however, some of the time, issue a food call without food and the hen will still come running (if the hen is far enough away not to see). Rogers, Minds of Their Own, 38; Balcombe, Pleasurable Kingdom, 51.
can delay satisfaction . . . For example, when chickens got a small food reward from pecking on a lever but received a larger reward if they waited twenty-two seconds, they learned to wait 90 percent of the time. (The other 10 percent, it seems, were on the impatient side or maybe they just preferred the small, instant reward.) Balcombe, Pleasurable Kingdom, 223.
bird brains process information . . . Ibid., 52.
67 KFC buys nearly a billion . . . “KFC buys a reported 850 million chickens per year (a number the company will not confirm).” Quoted in Daniel Zwerdling, “A View to a Kill,” Gourmet, June 2007, http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2007/06/aviewtoakill (accessed June 26, 2009).
KFC insists . . . “KFC’s executives aren’t budging. They insist they’re already ‘committed to the well-being and humane treatment of chickens.’ ” Quoted ibid.
workers were documented tearing . . . “KFC responds to chicken supplier scandal,” foodproductiondaily.com, July 23, 2004, http://www .foodproductiondaily.com/Supply-Chain/KFC-responds-to-chicken-supplier-scandal (accessed June 29, 2009); “Undercover Investigations,” Kentucky Fried Cruelty, http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/u-pil grimspride.asp (accessed July 5, 2009).
On KFC’s website . . . “Animal Welfare Program,” Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), http://www.kfc.com/about/animalwelfare.asp (accessed July 2, 2009).
68 Adele Douglass, told the Chicago Tribune . . . Andrew Martin, “PETA Ruffles Feathers: Graphic protests aimed at customers haven’t pushed KFC to change suppliers’ slaughterhouse rules,” Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2005.
Ian Duncan, the Emeritus Chair in Animal Welfare . . . Heather Moore, “Unhealthy and Inhumane: KFC Doesn’t Do Anyone Right,” American Chronicle, July 19, 2006, http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/11651 (accessed June 29, 2009).
KFC’s Animal Welfare Council . . . “Advisory Council,” Kentucky Fried Chicken, http://www.kfc.com/about/animalwelfare_council.asp (accessed July 2, 2009).
in one, employees also urinated . . . This was documented by PETA investigators. PETA reports, “On nine separate days, PETA’s investigator saw workers urinating in the live-hang area, including on the conveyor belt that moves birds to slaughter.” See: “Tyson Workers Torturing Birds, Urinating on Slaughter Line,” PETA, http://getactive .peta.org/campaign/tortured_by_tyson (accessed July 27, 2009).
69 KOSHER? . . . The entire, complex saga of Agriprocessors has been extensively documented by the Orthodox blog FailedMessiah.com.
The president of the Rabbinical . . . Rabbi Perry Paphael Rank (President, the Rabbinical Assembly), Letter to Conservative Rabbis, December 8, 2008.
The Orthodox chair . . . Aaron Gross, “When Kosher Isn’t Kosher,” Tikkun 20, no. 2 (2005): 55.
in a joint statement . . . Ibid.
70 ORGANIC . . . “The Issues: Organic,” Sustainable Table, http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/organic/ (accessed August 6, 2009); “Fact Sheet: Organic Labeling and Marketing Information,” USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004446&acct=nopgeninfo (accessed August 6, 2009).
71 she saw more improvement . . . “I saw more changes in 1999 than I had seen previously in my whole 30-year career.” Amy Garber and James Peters, “Latest Pet Project: Industry agencies try to create protocol for improving living, slaughtering conditions,” Nation’s Restaurant News, September 22, 2003, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_38_37/ai_108279089/?tag=content;col1 (accessed August 12, 2009).
71 “There’s enough understanding . . .” Steve Kopperud, January 12, 2009, from a phone interview with Harvard student Lewis Ballard, who wrote his thesis on HSUS and PETA farmed animal welfare campaigns.
73 96 percent of Americans . . . David W. Moore, “Public Lukewarm on Animal Rights: Supports strict laws governing treatment of farm animals, but opposes ban on product testing and medical research,” Gallup News Service, May 21, 2003, http://www.gallup.com/poll/8461/public -lukewarm-animal-rights.aspx (accessed June 26, 2009).
76 percent say that animal welfare . . . Jayson L. Lusk et al., “Consumer Preferences for Farm Animal Welfare: Results of a Nationwide Telephone Survey,” Oklahoma State University, Department of Agricultural Economics, August 17, 2007, ii, 23, 24, available at asp.okstate.edu/ baileynorwood/AW2/InitialReporttoAFB.pdf (accessed July 7, 2009).
nearly two-thirds advocate . . . Moore, “Public Lukewarm on Animal Rights.”
farmed animals represent more than 99 percent . . . Wolfson and Sullivan, “Foxes in the Henhouse,” 206. This includes not only pets but hunted animals, watched birds, animals dissected for educational purposes, and animals in zoos, laboratories, racetracks, fighting rings, and circuses. The authors give data for how they come to 98 percent but indicate that their calculations do not include farmed fish. Given the large number of farmed fish, it is safe to bump the 98 percent to 99 percent.
Hiding / Seeking
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The identifying characteristics of a character, and the timing and location of and participants in some of the events, in this chapter have been changed.
79 In the typical cage . . . See page 47.
85 seven sheds, each about 50 feet wide . . . These numbers are representative of a typical turkey factory farm in California (or most anywhere). John C. Voris, “Poultry Fact Sheet No. 16c: Californi
a Turkey Production,” Cooperative Extension, University of California, September 1997, http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfsl6C.htm (accessed August 16, 2009).
94 I AM A FACTORY FARMER . . . This monologue is derived from the statements of more than one factory farmer interviewed for this book.
95 4 percent right off the bat . . . Mortality rates in chicken production are typically around 1 percent a week, which would yield a 5 percent mortality rate over the life of most broiler chickens. This is seven times the mortality rate seen in laying hens of the same age, and this large number of deaths is attributed largely to their rapid rate of growth. “The Welfare of Broiler Chickens in the EU,” Compassion in World Farming Trust, 2005, http://www.ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2008/w/welfare_of_broilers_in_the_eu_2005 .pdf (accessed August 16, 2009).
97 Mr. McDonald . . . This is slang for a particular breed of chicken “designed” with fast-food corporations in mind, specifically McDonald’s. Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005), 140.
98 you begin communicating with your chicks . . . Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, The Pig Who Sang to the Moon (New York: Vintage, 2005), 65.
the second verse of Genesis . . . “I have longed to gather your children together as a hen,” Matthew 23:27 (NIV).
you view the animals you hunt . . . James Serpell, In the Company of Animals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 5.
You draw them . . . It has long been observed by scholars that ancient cave paintings are dominated by images of animals. For example, “Cave art is essentially animal art; whether expressed in paintings, engravings, or sculptures, in huge friezes or the most delicate tracings, it is always — or nearly always — inspired by the animal world.” Annette Laming-Emperaire, Lascaux: Paintings and Engravings (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1959), 208.
99 Domestication is an evolutionary . . . Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (New York: Penguin, 2007), 320.