The decision on how Ohio farmers and ranchers can “treat” their livestock is about to be decided by Buckeye state voters. According to an article by Dave Elias in the State Journal online, while the vote is not until November, the debate on the issue is boiling over.The basic situation is this: Ohio farmers do care about their livestock and they do want to protect this food supply as it is how they make their living. However, when it comes down to the laws and regulations they have to follow to protect their animals, they would prefer those laws be set at the state level and not in Washington, DC.
Additionally, after witnessing what has happened with ballot initiatives in states like California, they also fear a stream of activists pushing for changes in raising standards at the state level and doing so like they did in California—through a ballot initiative. To circumvent such action, advocates for the farmers and ranchers took proactive steps, came up with their own ballot initiative (called Issue 2), and got Issue 2 on the ballot.
According to Elias’s article, “Issue two calls for bringing together a group of animal care experts to set standards when it comes to caring for farm animals and local farmers tell me they support the idea.” While such a standard setting board could still require changes in how farm animals are cared for, farmers tend to think their voice will carry a little more weight this way in affecting what changes are ultimately made. Or as beef farmer Bob Morrison states in the article, ‘"There is an out of state entity that is trying to force regulations upon us by their wishes and this will help protect local producers to produce food in a safe effective way for consumers under local control."’
While it is certainly a big manufacturing state, Ohio is also a large agrarian state. Actually, agriculture is “Ohio’s number one industry, contributing more than $98 billion to the state’s economy.” It remains to be seen how Issue 2 will do when voters head to the polls on November 3, 2009.
To read the Elias article click here.
Posted: 09/18/09
