Compassion no crime
Contra Costa Times, CA
June 7, 2006
It's a sad commentary on our society's values when animal rescuer Adam Durand is thrown in jail for his "crime" of compassion, while those responsible for the abuse at Wegman's Egg Farm get off scot-free. ("Activist who filmed egg farm gets jail," May 16).
Durand is to be commended, not punished, for risking his freedom to protest institutionalized abuses. In doing so, he has joined a long list of social activists (think Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King) who have used civil disobedience to affect social change.
The unfortunate fact is that the cruel battery-cage conditions Durand documented at Wegman's egg farm -- hens packed so tightly into wire cages that they are unable to even lift a wing, much less walk -- are standard on most U.S. egg farms. Although the factory farming industry has sought for years to shield consumers from the reality of factory egg farming, the public has a right to make informed decisions about their supermarket purchases.
Compassion is not a crime, and profits should not precede basic, humane principles. Instead of pushing to punish Durand, Wegman's should be gearing its energies toward instituting humane, cage-free conditions for their millions of miserable egg-laying hens.
Ariana Huemer
Oakland
Contra Costa Times, CA
June 7, 2006
It's a sad commentary on our society's values when animal rescuer Adam Durand is thrown in jail for his "crime" of compassion, while those responsible for the abuse at Wegman's Egg Farm get off scot-free. ("Activist who filmed egg farm gets jail," May 16).
Durand is to be commended, not punished, for risking his freedom to protest institutionalized abuses. In doing so, he has joined a long list of social activists (think Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King) who have used civil disobedience to affect social change.
The unfortunate fact is that the cruel battery-cage conditions Durand documented at Wegman's egg farm -- hens packed so tightly into wire cages that they are unable to even lift a wing, much less walk -- are standard on most U.S. egg farms. Although the factory farming industry has sought for years to shield consumers from the reality of factory egg farming, the public has a right to make informed decisions about their supermarket purchases.
Compassion is not a crime, and profits should not precede basic, humane principles. Instead of pushing to punish Durand, Wegman's should be gearing its energies toward instituting humane, cage-free conditions for their millions of miserable egg-laying hens.
Ariana Huemer
Oakland
posted by a compassionate consumer @ 3:40 PM
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