Chickens of the west: Spread your wings!

I blogged recently about being careful what you put in your head. One way to do that wrong is to only read what reinforces your beliefs. Which is why I follow a blog called Advocates for Ag, in which the blogger, Troy Hadrick, defends the embattled industrial agriculture system from accusations of injustice to animals and environmental degradation.

I have some sympathy for him too. All farmers work hard to provide food for eaters. Some farmers have had to go down an unpleasant road in order to stay competitive. But arbitrarily defending every criticism put against you is counterproductive and erodes your credibility. I'll admit, it would require more land base to feed the worlds population organically, we can't deny that, but we're getting better at it.  On the conventional side of agriculture, farmers should be willing to admit that a lot of their practices have been very damaging and there is room for improvement.

Prop 2 was recently passed in California, mandating that "By 2015, every whole egg sold in the state must come

from a hen that is able to stretch her wings, standing or lying, without touching another bird or the edges of her cage"[1]. Can you really argue against that? Legislation like this actually set the level of the playing field at place where producers can treat animals better, but remain competitive.

So Troy, I think it's honorable that you're defending your industry. But consider occasionally admitting where there is room for improvement. It would give you more credibility. 

Maybe don't spread your wings too wide, Jonathan Livingston Chicken.