Crate Free USA’s battle against extreme confinement of factory-farm animals | Episode 48

Thanksgiving turkeys. Christmas hams. The holiday season is inextricably linked to these staples of holiday indulgence. While we amble through the darkening days of the year, however, the animals whose lives will be sacrificed to feed us are far worse than they need to be. And that is so because of unnecessarily inhumane conditions on the factory farms where the majority of them are bred, live short, grueling lives, and are slaughtered assembly-line style.

One of the worst aspects of factory-farm life for these doomed sentient creatures is extreme confinement. Pigs are known to receive the worst of it, when pregnant sows are kept in indecently small cages known as gestation crates. The fight against their use is one key focus of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, which battle is now being waged before the Supreme Court.

Another soldier is Jessica Chipkin. She is the founder and president of Crate Free USA, an organization whose mission simply is to reduce the suffering of animals on factory farms. Founded in 2015, the group believes there’s really no difference between cruelty inflicted on a dog, cat, bird, horse, chicken, calf or pig.

They group tries to:

• Create awareness of the extreme and inhumane confinement of hogs, chickens, and cows on factory farms
• Educate consumers on how to purchase from local, sustainable farmers
• Advocate for legislation to eliminate extreme confinement practices

She joins us in this episode to talk about her work with Trader Joe's, Aldi and Costco, as well as her youth-education effort and her mobile app. Also on the show is Scott Beckstead, our director of national campaigns, and Marty Irby, who provides a legislative update. Joseph Grove is the host.

 

Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)