Another week, another attempt to shield factory farms from public scrutiny

Check out this article by Tom Laskawy here. Published on March 14, 2011 by Grist

This photo was found on the Florida article
and the caption was "If we just don't look at what's
going on inside factory farms, everything
 will be fine. Right?"

Basically, this article is following up about a bill passed in Florida that makes "it a first-degree felony to photograph a farm without first obtaining written permission from the owner." You can check that out here. The lawmakers in Iowa are now trying to pass a bill that makes it illegal to aquire a job to research it or write about it. While a law like this does not seem as bad as the Florida one (because I mean come on, who bans you from taking pictures?) it does however take a huge toll on journalists and activists. This all started when videos of factory farms and their wrong-doing was released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society. Big Agriculture is trying to help their cause by saying these videos weren't release right away and that the activists are just trying to get attention. People have reported that the likelihood of the Iowa bill passing is not sure yet due to the Democratic control over there.

In my opinion, these laws are absurd. They wouldn't need to be made if Factory Farms didn't have anything to cover up. I find it crazy to believe that people are now being banned from photographing and videotaping the inside of Factory Farms! If something bad is happening, we should know! we should be able to understand what atrocities are going on behind the walls and the food we eat. My personal connection to all this is that my father owns a seafood restaurant down the shore, and all of the fish we buy is freshly caught and local. I'm afriad people won't be able to get this later on down the line due to GMOs and trying to make fish "better."