The most emotional campaign of the November election will almost assuredly be the fight over banning gay marriage (Proposition 8). The measure to require pregnant teens to notify a parent or guardian before obtaining an abortion (Proposition 4) will likely come in close behind - even if it is on the ballot for the third time in four years.
But Proposition 2, which would be a de facto elimination of cages for egg-laying hens in California, could be a close third.
The measure, sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, has largely flown under the political radar so far.
But it received some coverage on the op-ed pages of the New York Times this week, where columnist Nicholas Kristof called the initiative "the most important election this November that you've never heard of."
In short, the measure says the cages for veal calves, pigs and egg-laying hens would have to allow those animals to extend their limbs and turn around.
In California, where egg hens are the only of the three being farmed, it has drawn the heated opposition of the egg industry.
The industry says the measure would drive up food prices and make eggs less safe - by forcing the hens in the open where they could be susceptible to disease. Sponsors of the campaign note that many hens are already raised "cage-free", with their eggs sold in supermarkets across the state.
In any case, Kristof's column is some of the first national coverage for the issue. A former farmer, he is a backer of the plan.
So, yes, I eat meat...But I draw the line at animals being raised in cruel conditions. The law punishes teenage boys who tie up and abuse a stray cat. So why allow industrialists to run factory farms that keep pigs almost all their lives in tiny pens that are barely bigger than they are?
Defining what is cruel is, of course, extraordinarily difficult. But penning pigs or veal calves so tightly that they cannot turn around seems to cross that line.
@Nyx.CommentBody@