Urge the USDA To Adopt Rule Mandating Better Conditions for Organic Livestock

  • by: Susan Bird / Care2 Causes
  • recipient: Paul Lewis, Ph.D., the USDA's Director of Standards Division, and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just proposed a new rule that will require better standards of living, transport and slaughter for organically raised farm animals.

Among the proposed new requirements are better living conditions, more unencumbered access to the outdoors; minimization of pain and suffering during surgical procedures; the ability to freely exercise natural behavior; prohibitions on horrendous practices like de-beaking, toe trimming, and mulesing; prohibitions on euthanasia by suffocation or blows to the head; living spaces that allow animals to lie down, stand up, and fully stretch their libs without touching other animals or the sides of their shelter, and more.

All of these are badly needed to ensure organically farmed animals have an improved quality of life. Right now, the "organic" label does not ensure such measures. You can help change that by commenting in favor of implementing this rule.

A 60-day comment period is about to begin as soon as the rule is published in the Federal Register. If you want to urge the USDA to make this proposal a final rule that must be followed by organic farmers, please sign this petition. We will submit it on your behalf to the USDA during the formal public comment period.

Dear Dr. Lewis and Secretary Vilsack:

Those who have signed this petition wish to thank the USDA for proposing to amend organic livestock and poultry production requirements by adding new provisions that implement better, more protective animal welfare standards.


The health and wellbeing of farmed animals is of the utmost importance to consumers of organic products. Indeed, many of us assumed when buying food products labeled "organic" that this level of humane treatment was part of what we were paying for.


Farmed animals badly need this added level of protection and care. We are grateful the USDA has heeded many years of public input on this matter -- the vast majority of us want farmed animals to be treated humanely and with dignity.


Each commenter who has signed this submission urge you to make this a final rule and implement it as quickly as possible. Thank you for giving this issue the attention it deserves.

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