Peter Fricker: Media missing the big stories on animals

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      Alan Rusbridger, outgoing editor of Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, recently wrote about the mainstream media’s difficulty covering the threat of climate change.

      “Journalism tends to be a rear-view mirror," Rusbridger wrote. "We prefer to deal with what has happened, not what lies ahead. We favour what is exceptional and in full view over what is ordinary and hidden….There may be other extraordinary and significant things happening – but they may be occurring too slowly or invisibly for the impatient tick-tock of the newsroom or to snatch the attention of a harassed reader on the way to work.”

      He might have been talking about any important issue involving social change that’s “occurring slowly or invisibly”, including change in the status of animals in our culture—and the impacts that may have on everything from animal cruelty laws to our diets to our environment.

      For example, in 2012 a group of prominent scientists signed something called the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, in which they expressed their support for the view that animals are conscious in the same way humans are. This may not sound like much (perhaps explaining the declaration’s lack of media coverage) but it is nevertheless historically important because it supports the recognition of animal sentience—the capacity to have positive and negative experiences, such as feeling pleasure and pain.

      Human attitudes toward animals have been heavily influenced by Descartes' view that animals are merely “machines” with no consciousness or feelings whatsoever. A public statement by the distinguished neuroscientists gathering at Cambridge may appear to be just an affirmation of what many of us already believe to be self-evident, but it represents a profound departure from centuries of misguided thinking about animals.

      Meanwhile, scientific evidence of animal intelligence and sentience continues to pile up. That evidence has huge implications for animal welfare and animal rights, as it poses a difficult question: How can we ethically disregard the interests of sentient beings who think and feel in ways similar to us?

      Yet despite this sea change in thinking about the status of animals, much of the media has failed to notice it. How often do we see nightly news broadcasts end with footage of baby animals born in zoos, without the slightest hint that such captivity is controversial. The CBC and other major media outlets still cover rodeo as a “sport” despite the fact that virtually all animal welfare organizations deem it inhumane.

      Another major (and related) societal change largely missed by mainstream media has been the rise and spread of factory farming. Sure, there have been media exposés of animal cruelty cases on farms (usually with animal activists doing the undercover investigating, not journalists) but these rarely address the institutionalized cruelty inherent in modern livestock farming. Moreover, most people are still not aware of the dire environmental impacts of industrialized animal agriculture. The United Nations says: “The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” But you won’t see many editorials on the subject.

      Recently, the Washington Post ran a piece on the disturbing increase in the rate of growth of chickens that are selectively bred for rapid and unnatural weight gain. The story made little reference to the welfare of the chickens or the fact that they suffer from painful broken bones, lameness, and heart disease as a result of this growth. Moreover, this type of breeding has been going on since the 1950s. Now you bring it to our attention?

      Meanwhile, the factory farm model has been adopted around the world, from China to Eastern Europe to South America, with billions of animals confined and denied the most basic natural behaviours and massive environmental impacts.

      Mainstream media has also been slow to comprehend the growing response to factory farming by those concerned about its effects on animal welfare, the environment, or human health. For example, the Meatless Monday movement was described by one Vancouver newspaper columnist in 2013 as “the newest cockamamie scheme” despite the fact it was originated by the John Hopkins School of Public Health in 2003 and is active in 36 countries.

      Fortunately, some leading media outlets, most notably the New York Times, are starting to pay serious attention to issues surrounding food, animal welfare, and factory farming. The Economist magazine recently ran a comprehensive analysis of businesses producing plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products.

      But is this attention too little and too late? Maybe, but changes in journalistic practice could still make a difference. The Guardian has committed to putting climate change “front and centre” by devoting part of its home page to the issue even if “nothing exceptional” happened on this day. Perhaps that’s an approach all media should consider when important things are happening “slowly and invisibly”.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      A.B.S.

      Mar 18, 2015 at 6:58am

      I'm curious what kind of research the author did to make such claims about farmers - that they believe their livestock are "machines." As someone that works with farmers everyday, and have for many years, I have seen how a flock's health and well-being affects a farmer. I know farmers that sleep in their barns with baby chicks, so they can watch them and make sure they're acclimatizing to their environment. I know a farmer that plays music for his birds, because he sees that it calms them down. I would encourage the author of this article to speak to farmers in the Fraser Valley, a mere 45 minutes from the big city, and gain a first-hand understanding of livestock production before making flippant claims without any evidence.

      Anonymous

      Mar 18, 2015 at 9:46am

      Thank you, Mr. Fricker--nice job. You might have also thrown into the mix the long-time-coming Ringling Bros. Circus decision to drop elephants from their performances, and the escalating public concerns about captive orcas (aka "killer whales") at places like SeaWorld, and the many states now taking a more critical and ethical look at various "wildlife killing contests" (ugly phrase, that). Earlier this year, Mexico banned ALL wild animal acts in traveling circuses & carnivals. Can the U.S. be far behind?

      As for "A.B.S." (previous commenter), I believe Mr. Fricker was referring not to individual farmers but to what is commonly referred to as "factory farming." Here in the U.S., we annually consume some 10 BILLION animals (not counting fish), most of whom never see the light of day or set foot to earth: a true "crime against nature." Renowned novelist/poet/essayist WENDELL BERRY (himself a fifth-generation Kentucky farmer) had this to say about modern-day farming practices:

      "The principle of confinement in so-called animal science is derived from the industrial version of efficiency. The designers of animal factories appear to have had in mind the example of concentration camps or prisons, the aim of which is to house and feed the greatest numbers in the smallest space at the least expense of money, labor, and attention. To subject innocent creatures to such treatment has long been recognized as heartless." (in the book "CAFO, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation: The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories," 2010, Earth Aware, San Rafael, CA) - 400pp of photos & essays. Recommended reading.

      x
      Eric Mills, coordinator
      ACTION FOR ANIMALS
      Oakland, CA

      Karen Dawn

      Mar 18, 2015 at 11:29am

      I write from San Francisco where I saw in a store, yesterday, a sign apologizing to customers for the lack of locally produced organic butter, which we were informed was not available because of the drought in California. Such an irony to read a sign that linked dairy products to the drought, but backwards, missing the real connection. No industry uses water in California the way the livestock industry does. Yet the media tells us to take shorter showers and rarely suggests that we change our eating habits.

      angela rae

      Mar 19, 2015 at 9:46am

      Thank you for shedding light on the "black out" by mainstream media on this important subject. I was shocked at the number you cite that, "here in the U.S., we annually consume some 10 BILLION animals (not counting fish)..." Current U.S. population is about 319 million. If you randomly assume that 3% do not consume animal flesh (Vegans, Vegetarians, infants) that leaves 309.43 million people consuming 10 billion animals annually, or, 32 animals each. So disgusting (to us Vegans).

      BunnyG123

      Mar 19, 2015 at 1:46pm

      We need more articles like this and if only more people would read them and then really ponder over factory farming before they eat that next piece of recently abused meat on their plate.

      MJR

      Mar 31, 2015 at 12:21pm

      You can't love animals and eat the bodies of animals. That is not love, and it is worth a few minutes (or hours or days) reflecting upon. Thank you.

      Vanda

      May 8, 2015 at 3:07pm

      I have been frustrated with mainstream media's willingness to shine a light on the atrocities so many animals face every day - poaching (and its connection to terrorism), factory farming and Ag-gag laws, dog-fighting, canned hunting, puppy mills, performing animals (circuses and marine parks), lab animals and so many others. Whatever happened to investigative reporting? We shouldn't have to rely on films like Blackfish and animal rights groups to do it all. There are so many stories waiting to be written. We know more about the bloody Kardashians than we do about the horrors so many animals face every day. Where is the journalistic integrity? Most people are blissfully unaware of what's going on and if they did know I suspect many of them would be outraged.