COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio farmers and animal welfare activists are lining up on opposite sides of Issue 2, which would create a 13-member government board overseeing how farmers care for their animals.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is pushing Issue 2, worried that groups such as the Humane Society of the United States will seek to restrict how Ohio farmers use cages and crates for chickens, pigs and veal.
"That will take into account not only what is best for the animal, but it's going to account for what is best for the workers that handle the livestock, the economic ramification from decisions that are made to eliminate certain practices," said Mike Bumgarner, vice president of the Center for Food and Animal Issues within the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
Family farmer Les Imboden Jr. said that Issue 2 does more than establish a livestock care standards board, it keeps farmers in control of their industry.
"We need to police ourselves and we need to police our other peers in the industry, and believe me, we will do that," Imboden said.
Not all farmers agree. Joe Logan is a farmer and past president of the Ohio Farmers Union. He now serves as the Director of Agricultural Programs for the Ohio Environmental Council and questions the need for a politically-appointed board to address what farmers say is not a problem. Logan argues the state constitution is not the place for it.
"I don't think it's necessary. I don't think it will be effective," Logan said. "They can have discussions and they can craft legislation. That's, by far, a better way of approaching this than changing our
constitution for the sake of a narrow interest."
Bumgarner contends that state board of education is part of the constitution, making it appropriate to include a livestock care standards board in the constitution.
The Humane Society has vowed to push a statewide ballot initiative next year to further define humane treatment of farm animals if Issue 2 passes next month.
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