Looks like Ohio is getting taking the right approach towards H$U$. The best way to defeat H$U$ propaganda is to have folks that are actually raising animals & the vets who administer medical care to tackle H$U$ lies up front before they take root.


Ohio Farmer (Blog)
Facing the Issue
October 20, 2009
http://ohiofarmer.com/blogs.aspx?fcb=14&fcbp=898&fcbpc=27&s=2009-09-20&e=2009-11-20

At a carefully orchestrated rally at the Ohio 4-H center, the
proponents of Issue 2 gathered to introduce their plan last week.
Consensus and bipartisanship ruled the day. Gov. Ted Strickland led
things off saying "Issue 2 is an issue we can all agree on. Urban and
rural, Republican and Democrat, labor and business, we are all
standing in support of Ohio 's family farm industry."

Republican Sen. George Voinovich followed up the governor's comments
with his own video-taped words of support. "I applaud this bi-partisan
initiative," Voinovich said. "A Livestock Care Standards board will
ensure that the most knowledgeable local experts will set the
standards for Ohio . Passage will ensure Ohio 's national position as
a leader in animal care."

House Speaker Armand Budish, D-Beechwood, noted that he was "a city
boy without a single farmer in his district, but I am the perfect
advocate for this issue." He urged support for the measure from anyone
who likes to eat wholesome locally grown-food and people who care
about Ohio 's job economy as well as farmers and those who raise
livestock.

Then Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, came to the podium and addressed the
bi-partisan effort in the Ohio legislature to pass the resolution
creating Issue 2. It says something when we can all come together to
support this proposal because at the end of the day it is important to
have good locally grown food and at the end of day it is about science
and not speculation."

Then the stars of the show were introduced. The three faces of the
campaign whose wholesome, youthful and televisible faces are being
counted on to carry the message. Jessica Sigodi is a mother of two
from Rocky River . She appears in an advertisement as a grocery store
shopper supports the measure because she who wants safe affordable
food local for her family. Mark Thomas the well-known dairy farmer who
chose ethanol to power his funny car dragster will be seen later this
month speaking from the heart about the value of local production.
Brenda Hastings. The mother of three who works side by side with her
husband to operate a 600-cow dairy near Burton , made the biggest
impact. Brenda is already appearing on televised ads. And media
pundits I know tell me her message and appearance are right on target.

Alan Melamed, the communication specialist from Cleveland who is
spearheading the strategy behind the campaign spoke confidently. "One
thing we have accomplished already," he said "is to scare HSUS out in
2009. It is hard for them to oppose a board to do exactly what they
claim to do."

That said, he predicts HSUS will be ready to fight in 2010. "It's
their first defeat. They will be back next summer for real kicking.
But we have set it up; the issue is about keeping the decision here in
Ohio . I think we will be ready for them. This is step one in what is
not just a battle but a war."

Zanesville Times Recorder (OH)
Board would establish guidelines that are best for Ohio
Dale Vandenbark
October 21, 2009
http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20091021/OPINION03/910210312

Ohio families need the safe, nutritious, affordable, locally grown
food that Ohio farmers provide each day. As a grain and former dairy
farmer, I understand the importance of healthy, well-cared-for animals
and safe, high-quality food. In order for families like mine to be
able to continue producing locally grown food, we need to support the
creation of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.

Ohio's farmers, legislative leaders from political parties, Gov. Ted
Strickland and agriculture organizations support the creation of this
board because it will be made up of Ohioans who are experts in animal
care. This board will consist of family farmers, veterinarians, food
safety experts, a humane officer and a few others.

Issue 2 and the creation of the Livestock Care Board is a pro-active
approach to thwart off the efforts of the Humane Society of the United
States (which has no connection to our local animal shelters). An
out-of-state activist group, the HSUS, has signaled they would like to
bring an initiative to Ohio in the future that would set rigid,
inflexible and impractical rules for how livestock and poultry are
housed. This would lead to higher costs for consumers, put food safety
at risk, increase the amount of food imported to Ohio, cause thousands
of farmers to go out of business and endanger the overall health and
well-being of Ohio's flocks and herds.

In order for us to keep agriculture as Ohio's No. 1 industry, it only
makes sense that the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board should
establish guidelines that are best for Ohio farmers and Ohio
consumers. Join me in voting "yes" for Issue 2 on Nov. 3.

Springfield News Sun (OH)
Local farmers favor issue 2, defend livestock practices
By Bridgette Outten, Staff Writer
October 21, 2009
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/s...ces-359342.html

SPRINGFIELD — Those in favor of a statewide initiative to create the
Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board see the measure as an opportunity
to apply uniform quality practices for the food Ohioans consume.

Those who are opposed say the move is just a power grab by
agribusiness lobbyists to protect current abusive practices of animals
through a constitutional amendment.

The voters will choose sides on Nov. 3, when state issue 2 appears on
the ballot.

For some local farmers, the heart of the matter is simple: Ohio’s
13-member board would establish guidelines across the board for the
care of livestock raised for consumption.

This is a better idea than a national group setting the rules, said
Scott Rittenhouse.

That group is the Humane Society of the United States, which is not
related to county agencies that sponsor animal shelters.

Rittenhouse, 33, is vice president of the Clark County Farm Bureau and
raises livestock on his own farm.

“My biggest concern is that I want to have a board of my own peers of
judge how to care for livestock versus an organization” with a goal of
reducing meat consumption in the U.S., he said.

Chuck Wildman is another farmer concerned that HSUS will impose some
of the same standards the group has lobbied for in California that
could put Ohio farmers out of business if they have to fund such
changes.

“There are very practical reasons why we do what we do,” said Wildman,
a pork producer whose farm breeds between 16,000 and 17,000 pigs a
year.

According to the HSUS Web site, issue 2 is “really intended to thwart
meaningful improvements in how the millions of farm animals in Ohio
are treated on large factory farms.”

Wildman doesn’t agree that creation of the board would be a “power
grab” by agribusiness because the board could decide to change current
practices.

“It just means that we can take the reasonable approach and have a
board of local people decide,” Wildman said.

Clark County commissioners recently approved a resolution in favor of the issue.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0374 or boutten@coxohio.com.