Tens of Millions of Farm Animals Transported Annually: The Hidden Costs and Consequences, Including the Spread of Bird Flu and Exploitation of Migrant Workers
Biden administration criticized for not doing enough to address issue.
Employers prefer hiring illegal immigrants for lower wages and poor working conditions.
Factory farming contributes to spread of bird flu through close quarters housing large numbers of birds.
Migrant workers at higher risk due to daily exposure and vulnerable status.
Tens of millions of farm animals transported annually in US.
Transportation under cramped and stressful conditions facilitates spread of diseases like bird flu.
In recent years, tens of millions of farm animals have been transported across state lines in the United States every year. This transportation, often under cramped and stressful conditions, has facilitated the spread of diseases such as the bird flu virus. The virus is believed to have originated from a single spillover event in the Texas panhandle last year and has since spread to farms in Idaho, North Carolina, and Michigan. Livestock transport is essential for industrial animal agriculture which relies on specialized facilities for different stages of production. However, it also contributes to the long-distance transport of pathogens and makes outbreak management challenging. Migrant workers are particularly at risk as they often work through illnesses until they are exhausted, due to fear of losing their jobs. The Biden administration has been criticized for not doing enough to address the issue.
In addition to live animal transport, factory farming is also a significant contributor to the spread of bird flu. Factory farms often house large numbers of birds in close quarters which increases the likelihood of disease transmission. Animal advocates and concerned citizens who challenge these farming practices have faced retaliation. The Biden administration has been criticized for not doing enough to address this issue as well.
Farm workers, who are often Spanish-speaking illegal migrants, are at a higher risk of infection due to their daily exposure to infected animals and their vulnerable status. Employers prefer hiring illegal immigrants because they can pay them lower wages and provide poor working conditions without facing competition from employers who hire legal workers. This exploitation of low-wage workers has been denounced by civil rights groups such as the United Farm Workers, founded by Cesar Chavez, who opposed illegal immigration as a form of double exploitation for farm workers.
The Biden administration's response to the H5N1 crisis has been criticized by various organizations including the American GI Forum and NumbersUSA. The administration has been urged to address the issue of exploitation of low-wage workers in the farming sector, improve sick leave policies, and provide better protection for workers through Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Approximately 100,000 farm workers in the US are at high risk for infection due to their daily exposure to infected animals and their status as Spanish-speaking illegal migrants.
Ranchers and farmers hire illegal migrant workers for this reason: they prefer an exploitable workforce with no bargaining power.
Cesar Chavez, founder of the UFW, opposed illegal immigration and denounced it as a form of double exploitation for farm workers.
Employers prefer to hire illegal immigrants because they can pay them lower wages and provide poor working conditions without facing competition from employers who hire legal workers.
Accuracy
The availability of foreign workers in low-wage, low-skill occupations creates disincentives for employers to improve pay and working conditions for American workers.
Deception
(0%)
The author makes several deceptive statements in this article. First, he uses emotional manipulation by describing the situation as an 'epidemic of exploitation' and 'gross exploitation' without providing any concrete evidence to support these claims. He also uses sensational language such as 'potential viral epidemic' and 'serf-like conditions'. Second, the author selectively reports information by focusing on the vulnerability of illegal migrant workers while ignoring the fact that a majority of American farm workers are native-born or legal immigrants. He also fails to disclose that Cesar Chavez, who is quoted in the article, was an advocate for labor rights and opposed illegal immigration due to concerns about exploitation and lack of bargaining power for these workers. Third, the author makes a false claim by stating that 'it's just that some employers prefer to lord over latter-day serfs' when he provides no evidence to support this assertion. Lastly, the author uses editorializing language such as 'the usual excuse proffered by the farm lobby is that...nonsense.' and 'America’s worst epidemic is an addiction to cheap and vulnerable labor.' which are not facts but rather his opinions.
An epidemic of exploitation
It’s just that some employers prefer to lord over latter-day serfs.
This sector of workers is at the very, very highest level of risk in terms of having no social safety net.
Fallacies
(80%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting The New York Times and an organizer from the United Farm Workers. He also uses inflammatory rhetoric by describing the workers as 'latter-day serfs' and 'serf-like conditions'. However, he does not provide any formal or informal fallacies that directly affect the author's assertions.
]America's dairy farms are contending with a new and little understood outbreak of the bird flu. There is a group of people who are at high risk for infection: the 100,000 men and women who work on those farms.[
Put another way: A potential viral epidemic is being made worse by the gross exploitation of low-wage workers imported into the US homeland.
Illegal migrants don’t get sick leave, often face termination if they take any time off, and are unlikely to report unsafe working conditions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or other public authorities.
Bias
(10%)
The author demonstrates a clear bias against illegal immigrants and the employers who hire them, implying that they are 'serfs' or 'slaves' and suggesting that they are being exploited. The author also implies that these workers are a threat to public health due to their status as illegal immigrants.
America’s worst epidemic is an addiction to cheap and vulnerable labor.
A potential viral epidemic is being made worse by the gross exploitation of low-wage workers imported into the US homeland.
Farmers and ranchers who hire legal workers will struggle to compete against those who rely on illegal serfs. The more the latter get away with it, the more serf- or slave-like labor becomes the norm across a whole sector.
Illegal migrants don’t get sick leave, often face termination if they take any time off, and are unlikely to report unsafe working conditions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or other public authorities.
The usual excuse proffered by the farm lobby is that—but for hyper-exploitable workers compelled to forgo the most basic protections, even amid a bird-flu epidemic—agricultural employers couldn’t fill job vacancies. Nonsense.
Over 100 million farmed birds have been killed or died due to bird flu outbreaks in North America since February 2022.
Factory farming is a significant contributor to the spread of bird flu.
Animal advocates and concerned citizens have faced retaliation for challenging irresponsible farming practices.
Accuracy
Overcrowding animals in filthy conditions increases the risk of disease outbreaks.
Deception
(35%)
The author makes editorializing statements and uses emotional manipulation by blaming 'factory farming' for the spread of bird flu instead of focusing on specific actions or practices that may contribute to the issue. The article also contains selective reporting as it only mentions the negative aspects of factory farming without providing any context or balance. Additionally, there is a lack of disclosure regarding sources used in the article.
Animal advocates and concerned citizens who have challenged irresponsible farming practices have faced retaliation.
Meanwhile, migrating wild birds have been blamed for spreading bird flu to poultry flocks, with little evidence presented.
Blaming those without power – those with no control over the conditions that allow this deadly pathogen to proliferate – is an effort to distract consumers from the real problem: factory farming.
Fallacies
(80%)
The author commits an appeal to emotion when stating 'Bullies scapegoat others instead of taking responsibility for their misdeeds, and there is no bigger bully than the factory farming industry.' This is not a logical argument but rather an emotional one. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by labeling the factory farming industry as a 'bully' and 'bigger bully'. Additionally, the author commits an ad hominem fallacy when stating 'Animal advocates oppose violence, so this ill-advised law is largely irrelevant, but it allows animal exploiting industries to label and demonize their opponents unfairly.' The author is not the one being accused of violence or demonizing anyone, yet she assumes that those who support the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act do so with the intent to label and demonize opponents.
]Bullies scapegoat others instead of taking responsibility for their misdeeds, and there is no bigger bully than the factory farming industry.[
Animal advocates oppose violence, so this ill-advised law is largely irrelevant, but it allows animal exploiting industries to label and demonize their opponents unfairly.
Bias
(0%)
The author, Gene Baur, demonstrates a clear bias against factory farming and the corporations involved in it. He accuses these corporations of allowing conditions that allow avian influenza to proliferate and blames them for the spread of the disease. He also criticizes their use of cruel methods to cull poultry flocks and their efforts to demonize animal activists who challenge irresponsible farming practices.
Agribusiness enlists the Utah attorney general, law enforcement and even the FBI to pursue felony charges against animal rescuers.
Animal advocates oppose violence, so this ill-advised law is largely irrelevant, but it allows animal exploiting industries to label and demonize their opponents unfairly.
Blaming those without power – those with no control over the conditions that allow this deadly pathogen to proliferate – is an effort to distract consumers from the real problem: factory farming.
Meanwhile, migrating wild birds have been blamed for spreading bird flu to poultry flocks, with little evidence presented.
This industrial-scale killing is a stark contrast to chickens being reported as a popular pet.
