Dear Editor,

Proposition 2 will be on the ballot this November, and it will affect 20 million farm animals in California that live all of their lives in cages barely larger than their bodies. I gathered 1,300 hundred signatures for this initiative.

It simply asks that these animals have enough room to sit down, stand up, turn around and stretch their limbs. Pregnant pigs live in two-by-seven foot cages in which they can’t even turn around. Egg-laying hens are confined to areas smaller than the size of a regular sheet of paper. Calves raised for veal are tethered by the neck and are unable to lie down in a natural position.

The initiative will also improve food safety and safeguard the environment. Increased use of antibiotics in stressed and unhealthy farm animals contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. These antibiotics end up in our food and waterways, which is why the American Public Health Association has called for a moratorium on these operations. The European Union has already banned such practices. Arizona and Florida have passed similar measures.

Endorsers of the initiative include the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Center for Food Safety, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Humane Society, the Consumer Federation of America, the United Farm Workers, the Sierra Club and hundreds of other organizations, veterinarians and concerned leaders. Proposition 2 is a modest initiative that will improve our health, environment and the lives of millions of animals.

— Brian Chavez
John Muir College senior