Post by FFA member on Oct 7, 2012 7:23:17 GMT -5
The unspoken news paper
Admin
10/7/2012
1.Agriculture
2.world wide news
3.Short story
4. Poem
What is going on with our pork?
ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Sow 44733 had broken the shoulder of one of her pen mates, rousted another who was huddled in the corner and was chewing on the ear of a third. Other sows in the pen sported abrasions, torn ears and bloody tail stumps — all souvenirs of her attentions.
It was that kind of behavior that led hog farmers like Tom Dittmer to isolate sows in individual stalls called gestation crates that are barely bigger than the pigs themselves.
“The reason the industry switched to crates wasn’t because we wanted to harm our animals,” Mr. Dittmer said. “We did it because we thought it was what was best for the animals.” The move also kept the price of pork reasonably low for consumers, he said.
This year, however, Mr. Dittmer and fellow hog farmers are under increasing pressure from corporate pork buyers and animal rights groups to return to the old way of doing things: putting sows in group housing. In the last week of September alone, three companies — Dunkin’ Donuts, ConAgra Foods and Brinker International, which operates Chili’s — announced that over the next decade, they would no longer buy pork derived from pigs housed in gestation crates.
This week, the Bruegger’s bagel chain joined them. That brought the number of fast-food companies and food retailers that have made such commitments this year to 32 — a stunning victory for the Humane Society of the United States, which has worked for years to persuade pork producers to make the change. The National Pork Producers Council said it did not know how much pork these companies bought but estimated it might be about one-fifth of the pork produced.
Farmers like Mr. Dittmer resent the tactics, saying they worry that the move will be unsustainably costly for them and result in soaring pork prices for consumers.
“What I don’t like is some big restaurant chain in Chicago that knows nothing about raising animals is telling us how to raise pigs,” said Glen Keppy, a retired pig farmer whose sons finish raising Mr. Dittmer’s pigs for market, referring to McDonald’s, which promised in February to stop buying pork from pigs born in gestation crates. “Would they tell Microsoft how to make computers?”
Research is mixed about which type of housing is best for the animals’ welfare, according to a review done by a task force convened by the American Veterinary Medical Association. But the Humane Society and other animal advocates maintain that housing sows in gestation crates is cruel.
Earlier efforts to convert the pork industry have had mixed success. Cargill, the nation’s third-largest pork processor, owns about one-quarter of the sows that produce pigs for the company and began putting them in larger group pens about a decade ago. Smithfield Foods recommitted to transitioning to pens last year, after first promising it would do so in 2007 and then changing its mind. Tyson Foods and JBS, the two other large processors, have refused to budge.
So the Humane Society — armed with graphic videos of workers abusing dead piglets and of sows in gestation crates so small they cannot turn around, suffering from shoulder lesions and nervous disorders — took its case to the big consumer brands. It accomplished in months what it had been unable to achieve in years of prodding the major processors.
But now some of the independent farmers who supply those processors are fighting back.
Pat Hord and his family have put windows in some of their barns in north central Ohio to let visitors see for themselves how their 18,000 sows fare.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about what we do and how pigs get bred in crates,” Mr. Hord said. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just that no one is on the farm anymore.”
Mr. Dittmer recently invited a reporter for a tour of Grandview Farm, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1917 and is now home to 6,000 sows that he often calls “my girls.”
“I’m nervous about this, I have to say,” Mr. Dittmer said as he began the tour. “I’m afraid of becoming a target for the animal rights people. But if I’m going to hand this on to the next generation, which is the plan, I feel like people need to understand why we do things this way.”
When Mr. Dittmer began farming with his father in the 1970s, he said, their 150 sows lived in pastures like most pigs at the time, taking shelter under individual huts in the glaring heat of summer and wintering in barns. He remembers chasing the huts around when the wind blew, refereeing fights between 500-pound sows who had laid claim to the same hut and trying to extricate them from the deep mud wallows. Back then, the Dittmer sows yielded an average of eight pigs a pregnancy. The next decade, the Dittmers moved their sows inside, and the yields increased. The herd had grown to around 400 sows, and pigs were being bred with less fat as Americans turned to plant-based oils rather than lard from hogs. Leaner pigs had a harder time weathering Iowa’s cold winters, and farmers needed to monitor their food intake more closely.
In the mid-1990s, farmers like the Dittmers and the Hords moved the sows into gestation crates, where their feed could be individually tailored. Restricting their movement controlled where they defecated and kept feces out of their food and water. Using slatted floors improved sanitation and made manure easier to remove. Medical care could be more easily and safely administered. Aggressiveness was minimized. Worker safety was enhanced.
And, yes, costs were reduced, and yields increased — to an average of 12 pigs a pregnancy for the Dittmer sows. “No one likes to hear it, but this is a business,” said Ben Dittmer, Mr. Dittmer’s son.
Using research on sow housing by Iowa State University, he estimated that Grandview Farm’s costs would rise by $1.3 million a year if the Dittmers moved their sows back into pens. The same research indicates that sows would produce one to two fewer piglets a year, similar to the experience in Europe, which is well ahead of the United States in shifting sows to pens.
So for now, the family has decided to keep most of its sows in gestation crates, despite the pressure from animal rights groups. The Dittmers say that none of the 500 piglets that are born at Grandview Farm each day are confined to crates — they roam in pens and can freely leave and enter the crate holding their mother to nurse. In fact, according to Cargill, the majority of pork Americans eat does not come from pigs raised in crates.
Mr. Hord, whose family has made investments in group housing for about 40 percent of their sows, said he sometimes wondered whether it would pay off. The new barns with pens were more expensive to build, and operational costs are higher because more manpower is needed to manage sow relations. Health care for the animals is more expensive, and no feeding system is yet ideal.
So far, the Hords are absorbing the extra costs. “At some point, we will have to charge a premium,” Mr. Hord said. “Otherwise, we and others like us will eventually go out of business.”
American farmers say what happened to pork production in Europe could be a cautionary tale for consumers in the United States. In 1991, the British government ordered pig farmers to move their sows into pens by 1999. Consumers, unwilling to pay the higher prices that resulted, bought cheaper Danish and Dutch imports, bankrupting local farmers.
Now Denmark, the Netherlands and other pig-producing countries in the European Union must have their sows in pens by next year. Latin American, Chinese and Russian pig breeders, who do not face the same requirements, stand ready to sell their cheaper pork on the European market.
Not all American farmers share the same views as Mr. Dittmer and Mr. Hord. Paul Willis oversees a network of some 500 farmers around the country who raise the pigs that ultimately become Niman Ranch pork. The sows that give birth to those pigs roam in pastures, much like the Dittmer family’s pigs did a few decades ago.
Mr. Willis said that gestation crates were inhumane. “Those sows can’t even turn around and they have no bedding, nothing to root around in,” he said. “I don’t think it’s acceptable.”
Whether the average American consumer is willing to pay more for pork from freer pigs remains to be seen. Sales of Cargill’s Good Nature line of premium crate-free pork were up 20 percent last year — but the company primarily promotes the meat’s lack of antibiotics, growth hormones and preservatives.
One pound of Good Nature center cut boneless pork chops was $4.19 on the Web site of the ShopRite in Hoboken, N.J., compared with $3.29 for a pound of the same cut of the store’s Sterling Silver chops.
Glynn Tonsor, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, said that household economics often trumped ethics.
Voters have overwhelmingly supported ballot measures to prohibit keeping chickens in cages, for example, but sales of cage-free eggs, which cost about 50 percent more than regular eggs, account for less than 5 percent of the overall market, Professor Tonsor said.
“There is no obvious economic reason for farmers to voluntarily switch from gestation crates to pens,” he said. “Now, though, it looks like that ship has sailed.”
By Admin
(Reuters) - Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians, while NATO called for an immediate end to Syria's "aggressive acts".
In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called "the last straw" when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale.
NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to "flagrant violations of international law".
The U.S.-led Western military alliance held an urgent late-night meeting in Brussels to discuss the matter and later on Wednesday in New York, Turkey asked the U.N. Security Council to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression.
In a letter to the president of the 15-nation Security Council, Turkish U.N. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called the firing of the mortar bomb "a flagrant violation of international law as well as a breach of international peace and security." [ID:nL1E8L3M0K]
U.N. diplomats said Security Council members hoped it would issue a non-binding statement on Thursday that would condemn the mortar attack "in the strongest terms" and demand an end to violations of Turkey's territorial sovereignty.
Members had hoped to issue the statement on Wednesday, but Russia - a staunch ally of Syria's, which along with China has vetoed three U.N. resolutions condemning President Bashar al-Assad's government - asked for a delay, diplomats said.
There were no immediate details of the Turkish strikes against Syria, nor was it clear who had fired the mortar into Turkish territory, but security sources said Turkey was increasing the number of troops along its border.
"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.
"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."
Syria said it was investigating the source of the mortar bomb and urged restraint. Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.
Turkey's parliament was due to vote on Thursday on extending a five-year-old authorization for its military to carry out cross-border operations, an agreement originally intended to allow strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq.
That vote would now be extended to include operations in Syria, a ruling party deputy told Turkish television.
Residents of Akcakale gathered outside the local mayor's office, afraid to return to their homes as the dull thud of distant artillery fire rumbled across the town.
"We haven't been able to sleep in our own homes for 15 days, we had to sleep in our relatives' houses further away from the border because it's not safe down there," said shopkeeper Hadi Celik, 42, a father of five who was among the crowd outside the mayor's office.
Washington sees Turkey as a pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. The White House said on Wednesday it stood by "our Turkish ally". But Ankara has found itself increasingly isolated and frustrated by a lack of international consensus on how to end the conflict.
Erdogan long cultivated good relations with Assad, but became a harsh critic after Syria's popular revolt began last year, accusing him of creating a "terrorist state". Erdogan has allowed Syrian rebels to organize on Turkish soil and pushed for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.
On Monday, Syria's foreign minister accused Turkey, the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of arming and funding rebels intent on toppling Assad, a charge Ankara has repeatedly denied.
NEXT STEPS
Syria's bloodshed has crept ever closer to Turkey's border as the uprising against Assad slides into civil war.
"Over the last 20 to 25 days there have been very heavy clashes on the Syrian side. We have felt the effects of these in Akcakale," Turkish Labour Minister Faruk Celik, an MP for the province where Akcakale is located, told parliament.
Residents, infuriated by the increasing spillover of violence from Syria, took to the streets shouting protests against the local authorities after the mortar bomb struck in a residential area, killing two women and three children.
"People here are anxious, because we got hit before," Ahmet Emin Meshurgul, local head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told Reuters. "The security forces tried to convince people to empty the neighborhood near the border, but now we've been hit right in the middle of the town."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged Turkey to keep all channels of communication open with Syria. He later issued a statement calling on "the Syria Government to respect fully the territorial integrity of its neighbors as well as to end the violence against the Syrian people."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed outrage at the mortar from Syria and said Washington would discuss with Ankara what the next steps should be, calling the spread of violence a "very, very dangerous situation".
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Clinton had assured him of Washington's full support at the United Nations and NATO.
NATO MEETING
Turkey's military response contrasted with its relative restraint when Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June. Ankara increased its military presence along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and called a meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council.
That meeting was only the second time in NATO's 63-year history that members had convened under Article 4 of its charter which provides for consultations when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.
The same article was invoked for the meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels late on Wednesday, after which they said the shelling "constitutes a cause of greatest concern for, and is strongly condemned by, all allies".
"The alliance continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally, and urges the Syrian regime to put an end to flagrant violations of international law," a statement released after the meeting added.
It said recent aggressive acts by Syria were a "clear and present danger to the security of one of (NATO's) allies".
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said after the mortar attack: "This latest incident is the last straw. Turkey is a sovereign country. Its own soil has been attacked."
"There must be a response to this under international law," he said, according to Turkey's Cihan news agency.
Some 30,000 people have been killed across Syria, activists say, in a conflict with growing sectarian overtones which threatens to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers.
Violence inside Syria intensified on Wednesday with three suicide car bombs and a mortar barrage ripping through a government-controlled district of Aleppo housing a military officers' club, killing 48 people, according to activists.
Efforts to address the conflict at the United Nations have been blocked by a standoff in the Security Council between Western powers seeking a tough stance against Assad and Russia and China, which fear a U.N. resolution against Syria would be the first step towards military intervention.
An Egyptian attempt to bring together Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia to search for a regional solution to the crisis also appeared to be going nowhere after Saudi Arabia stayed away for a second time from a meeting of the four countries.
(Additional reporting by Seda Sezer and Ece Toksabay in Istanbul, Mert Ozkan, Jonathon Burch and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Dominic Evans, Oliver Holmes and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Nick Tattersall, Robin Pomeroy and David Brunnstrom)
by leahmoney
~Prologue~
The light from the moon sprayed over the forest floor creating dark shadows. A rippled of white fur was all she was as she ran. Her long slender legs carried her over the forest floor at incredible speed. Twigs and leaves cracked under her pads but that mattered not. Even as the pray scarred away from her she didn't think twice. Her mind was only focused on one thing, the great task she had been put to. If she failed the consequences would be great.
The land started to lope up hill and soon the trees opened to a rocky mountain side. She was forced to slow her speed but continued to push her self up the stable rocks. She son found her self on a flat part of the slope and looked around. Some movement caught her attention her her head whipped to the right. Walking towards her was a large, muscular wolf. His golden eyes were emotionless and his face impossible to read. Every movement he made was smooth, yet full of power.
She turned to face him fully. She look tinny standing next to him and felt tinny as well. Still, she held her guard her head up. She let her brown eyes casually meet his as he stopped in front of her. Behind him she could see two more wolves walking towards them. One was a much darker gray them him, the other a creamy almost white color. Her attention fell back on the male in front of her as he began to speak.
"Who are you?" His voice was rough and stiff as if he had not used it in a while.
The female cleared her throat and said in a smooth calm voice. "I have an urgent message for Attilia, so if you don't mind..." She moved swiftly to the side trying to slip by the wolf but the darker gray male looked down at her.
"Listen, missy. You'r going no where," He barked taking a step to her trying to make her back up. She kept her ground her head back so she could still meet his eyes. He took another step and still she didn't move.
"Please, you are much to close do you mind taking two or tree steps back," Her voice was still calm but it had a hint of dominance in it. She was not the be pushed around.
Sadly the younger male was to stubborn to listen to her. He lowered his head so their noses were inches apart and smiled showing his long fangs. "I'm sorry, am I bothering you? Why don't you step back if I am," His voice didn't waver. Clearly he was challenging her.
She opened her mouth to respond when another voice caught her head cause her to loose eye contact and look over. The white wolf was walking towards them. She pushed back the male and looked at her. "I'm sorry for how, Taigide is treating you. Please take my apologies and go see Attilia. If you were sent it must be important,"
The white female smiled and finally she knew who she was, "Thank you Kata," she said with a dip of her head. The white wolf smiled and steeped out of her path. Walking forward she looked back at Kata. "Thank you again, the Alpha and Alphess will hear about your kindness,"
She caught a confused expression from the two males. One opened their mouth to speak but that would have to wait. She dashed off um the slope a few more feet and into a large cave. The pass was dark and damp. The air by the entrance was fresh but as she continued deeper into the mountain it became stuffier and stuffier. Still, she ran. She followed the twists and turns and soon there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
She could feel the wind and with a grateful sigh and pushed her self forward and raced out of the dark, eerie tunnel. She looked around and found her self just where she had hopped. All around her was a large cavern. Where the roof of the cave would be was nothing. It seemed all of it had collapsed long ago. A few trees sprouted hear and there and grass has started to bloom in the damp floor. The sound of water rippling against stones rang through the small, open caver.
She made her way through the grass and the scattered trees. She finally found the small waterfall that had made the noise. The water pored out from cracks in the wall and had started to form a small pond. In the middle of the water was a large rock. Sitting atop it was a beautiful snowy white wolf. Her back was to her.
She took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak, but she was was cut off by the white female. "Ivada, what are you doing hear," the white wolves voice was clam and flowing like the water around her.
Ivada dipped her scrawny brown head. He brown eyes slid shut and only opened when she rose. "Attilia, there are urgent matters that must be dealt with. On the easter border of the valley Katco and his gang are drawing closer," She said struggling to catch her breath.
Attilia nodded and turned to face Ivada. Her stunning blue eyes seemed to read Iva as she looked the female over. "Do not fear," She said, her voice echoing off the walls. "All will be well. I will banish him away once more when we meet. Our confrontation will be soon. Tell Vasilous and Venanta that they should not fear,"
"But will lives be lost?" The question tumbled out of Ivada's mouth before she could control it.
The white wolf sighed and looked away her eye closed tight. "Even with all my power, I do not know..."
to be contuined
By SkieRunner
O muse of poetry,
How can I write a poem to please thee?
It is true that poetry must come from the heart,
But I know not where to start.
Poetry must provide a peace of mind,
No matter what message one hopes to find.
Like a sailor on a journey out at sea,
A reader must be feel free to be.
A poem can be funny, happy or sad,
It can be mournful, grieving, or even glad.
It can bring tears to your eyes
Or makes you jump with surprise.
Poems are created for a special reason
There are more that one for every season.
Poets write them out of love
And to give hope like a dove.
Poems for the spring
About how joyful hearts sing.
Poems for the summer
And the woodpecker, that irritating drummer.
Poems for the fall
When the school bell begins to call.
And poems for the winter days
When the world is covered in a bright white haze.
Oh muses thank you for showing me
Just how a poem is meant to be.
I now know how to make a beautiful rhyme
I am grateful, muses, for your time.
By leahmoney
Admin
10/7/2012
intro
1.Agriculture
2.world wide news
3.Short story
4. Poem
Agriculture
What is going on with our pork?
ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Sow 44733 had broken the shoulder of one of her pen mates, rousted another who was huddled in the corner and was chewing on the ear of a third. Other sows in the pen sported abrasions, torn ears and bloody tail stumps — all souvenirs of her attentions.
It was that kind of behavior that led hog farmers like Tom Dittmer to isolate sows in individual stalls called gestation crates that are barely bigger than the pigs themselves.
“The reason the industry switched to crates wasn’t because we wanted to harm our animals,” Mr. Dittmer said. “We did it because we thought it was what was best for the animals.” The move also kept the price of pork reasonably low for consumers, he said.
This year, however, Mr. Dittmer and fellow hog farmers are under increasing pressure from corporate pork buyers and animal rights groups to return to the old way of doing things: putting sows in group housing. In the last week of September alone, three companies — Dunkin’ Donuts, ConAgra Foods and Brinker International, which operates Chili’s — announced that over the next decade, they would no longer buy pork derived from pigs housed in gestation crates.
This week, the Bruegger’s bagel chain joined them. That brought the number of fast-food companies and food retailers that have made such commitments this year to 32 — a stunning victory for the Humane Society of the United States, which has worked for years to persuade pork producers to make the change. The National Pork Producers Council said it did not know how much pork these companies bought but estimated it might be about one-fifth of the pork produced.
Farmers like Mr. Dittmer resent the tactics, saying they worry that the move will be unsustainably costly for them and result in soaring pork prices for consumers.
“What I don’t like is some big restaurant chain in Chicago that knows nothing about raising animals is telling us how to raise pigs,” said Glen Keppy, a retired pig farmer whose sons finish raising Mr. Dittmer’s pigs for market, referring to McDonald’s, which promised in February to stop buying pork from pigs born in gestation crates. “Would they tell Microsoft how to make computers?”
Research is mixed about which type of housing is best for the animals’ welfare, according to a review done by a task force convened by the American Veterinary Medical Association. But the Humane Society and other animal advocates maintain that housing sows in gestation crates is cruel.
Earlier efforts to convert the pork industry have had mixed success. Cargill, the nation’s third-largest pork processor, owns about one-quarter of the sows that produce pigs for the company and began putting them in larger group pens about a decade ago. Smithfield Foods recommitted to transitioning to pens last year, after first promising it would do so in 2007 and then changing its mind. Tyson Foods and JBS, the two other large processors, have refused to budge.
So the Humane Society — armed with graphic videos of workers abusing dead piglets and of sows in gestation crates so small they cannot turn around, suffering from shoulder lesions and nervous disorders — took its case to the big consumer brands. It accomplished in months what it had been unable to achieve in years of prodding the major processors.
But now some of the independent farmers who supply those processors are fighting back.
Pat Hord and his family have put windows in some of their barns in north central Ohio to let visitors see for themselves how their 18,000 sows fare.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about what we do and how pigs get bred in crates,” Mr. Hord said. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just that no one is on the farm anymore.”
Mr. Dittmer recently invited a reporter for a tour of Grandview Farm, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1917 and is now home to 6,000 sows that he often calls “my girls.”
“I’m nervous about this, I have to say,” Mr. Dittmer said as he began the tour. “I’m afraid of becoming a target for the animal rights people. But if I’m going to hand this on to the next generation, which is the plan, I feel like people need to understand why we do things this way.”
When Mr. Dittmer began farming with his father in the 1970s, he said, their 150 sows lived in pastures like most pigs at the time, taking shelter under individual huts in the glaring heat of summer and wintering in barns. He remembers chasing the huts around when the wind blew, refereeing fights between 500-pound sows who had laid claim to the same hut and trying to extricate them from the deep mud wallows. Back then, the Dittmer sows yielded an average of eight pigs a pregnancy. The next decade, the Dittmers moved their sows inside, and the yields increased. The herd had grown to around 400 sows, and pigs were being bred with less fat as Americans turned to plant-based oils rather than lard from hogs. Leaner pigs had a harder time weathering Iowa’s cold winters, and farmers needed to monitor their food intake more closely.
In the mid-1990s, farmers like the Dittmers and the Hords moved the sows into gestation crates, where their feed could be individually tailored. Restricting their movement controlled where they defecated and kept feces out of their food and water. Using slatted floors improved sanitation and made manure easier to remove. Medical care could be more easily and safely administered. Aggressiveness was minimized. Worker safety was enhanced.
And, yes, costs were reduced, and yields increased — to an average of 12 pigs a pregnancy for the Dittmer sows. “No one likes to hear it, but this is a business,” said Ben Dittmer, Mr. Dittmer’s son.
Using research on sow housing by Iowa State University, he estimated that Grandview Farm’s costs would rise by $1.3 million a year if the Dittmers moved their sows back into pens. The same research indicates that sows would produce one to two fewer piglets a year, similar to the experience in Europe, which is well ahead of the United States in shifting sows to pens.
So for now, the family has decided to keep most of its sows in gestation crates, despite the pressure from animal rights groups. The Dittmers say that none of the 500 piglets that are born at Grandview Farm each day are confined to crates — they roam in pens and can freely leave and enter the crate holding their mother to nurse. In fact, according to Cargill, the majority of pork Americans eat does not come from pigs raised in crates.
Mr. Hord, whose family has made investments in group housing for about 40 percent of their sows, said he sometimes wondered whether it would pay off. The new barns with pens were more expensive to build, and operational costs are higher because more manpower is needed to manage sow relations. Health care for the animals is more expensive, and no feeding system is yet ideal.
So far, the Hords are absorbing the extra costs. “At some point, we will have to charge a premium,” Mr. Hord said. “Otherwise, we and others like us will eventually go out of business.”
American farmers say what happened to pork production in Europe could be a cautionary tale for consumers in the United States. In 1991, the British government ordered pig farmers to move their sows into pens by 1999. Consumers, unwilling to pay the higher prices that resulted, bought cheaper Danish and Dutch imports, bankrupting local farmers.
Now Denmark, the Netherlands and other pig-producing countries in the European Union must have their sows in pens by next year. Latin American, Chinese and Russian pig breeders, who do not face the same requirements, stand ready to sell their cheaper pork on the European market.
Not all American farmers share the same views as Mr. Dittmer and Mr. Hord. Paul Willis oversees a network of some 500 farmers around the country who raise the pigs that ultimately become Niman Ranch pork. The sows that give birth to those pigs roam in pastures, much like the Dittmer family’s pigs did a few decades ago.
Mr. Willis said that gestation crates were inhumane. “Those sows can’t even turn around and they have no bedding, nothing to root around in,” he said. “I don’t think it’s acceptable.”
Whether the average American consumer is willing to pay more for pork from freer pigs remains to be seen. Sales of Cargill’s Good Nature line of premium crate-free pork were up 20 percent last year — but the company primarily promotes the meat’s lack of antibiotics, growth hormones and preservatives.
One pound of Good Nature center cut boneless pork chops was $4.19 on the Web site of the ShopRite in Hoboken, N.J., compared with $3.29 for a pound of the same cut of the store’s Sterling Silver chops.
Glynn Tonsor, an associate professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, said that household economics often trumped ethics.
Voters have overwhelmingly supported ballot measures to prohibit keeping chickens in cages, for example, but sales of cage-free eggs, which cost about 50 percent more than regular eggs, account for less than 5 percent of the overall market, Professor Tonsor said.
“There is no obvious economic reason for farmers to voluntarily switch from gestation crates to pens,” he said. “Now, though, it looks like that ship has sailed.”
By Admin
World wide news
(Reuters) - Turkish artillery hit targets inside Syria on Wednesday after a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians, while NATO called for an immediate end to Syria's "aggressive acts".
In the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month uprising in Syria, Turkey hit back at what it called "the last straw" when a mortar hit a residential neighborhood of the southern border town of Akcakale.
NATO said it stood by member-nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to "flagrant violations of international law".
The U.S.-led Western military alliance held an urgent late-night meeting in Brussels to discuss the matter and later on Wednesday in New York, Turkey asked the U.N. Security Council to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression.
In a letter to the president of the 15-nation Security Council, Turkish U.N. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called the firing of the mortar bomb "a flagrant violation of international law as well as a breach of international peace and security." [ID:nL1E8L3M0K]
U.N. diplomats said Security Council members hoped it would issue a non-binding statement on Thursday that would condemn the mortar attack "in the strongest terms" and demand an end to violations of Turkey's territorial sovereignty.
Members had hoped to issue the statement on Wednesday, but Russia - a staunch ally of Syria's, which along with China has vetoed three U.N. resolutions condemning President Bashar al-Assad's government - asked for a delay, diplomats said.
There were no immediate details of the Turkish strikes against Syria, nor was it clear who had fired the mortar into Turkish territory, but security sources said Turkey was increasing the number of troops along its border.
"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.
"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."
Syria said it was investigating the source of the mortar bomb and urged restraint. Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.
Turkey's parliament was due to vote on Thursday on extending a five-year-old authorization for its military to carry out cross-border operations, an agreement originally intended to allow strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq.
That vote would now be extended to include operations in Syria, a ruling party deputy told Turkish television.
Residents of Akcakale gathered outside the local mayor's office, afraid to return to their homes as the dull thud of distant artillery fire rumbled across the town.
"We haven't been able to sleep in our own homes for 15 days, we had to sleep in our relatives' houses further away from the border because it's not safe down there," said shopkeeper Hadi Celik, 42, a father of five who was among the crowd outside the mayor's office.
Washington sees Turkey as a pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. The White House said on Wednesday it stood by "our Turkish ally". But Ankara has found itself increasingly isolated and frustrated by a lack of international consensus on how to end the conflict.
Erdogan long cultivated good relations with Assad, but became a harsh critic after Syria's popular revolt began last year, accusing him of creating a "terrorist state". Erdogan has allowed Syrian rebels to organize on Turkish soil and pushed for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.
On Monday, Syria's foreign minister accused Turkey, the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of arming and funding rebels intent on toppling Assad, a charge Ankara has repeatedly denied.
NEXT STEPS
Syria's bloodshed has crept ever closer to Turkey's border as the uprising against Assad slides into civil war.
"Over the last 20 to 25 days there have been very heavy clashes on the Syrian side. We have felt the effects of these in Akcakale," Turkish Labour Minister Faruk Celik, an MP for the province where Akcakale is located, told parliament.
Residents, infuriated by the increasing spillover of violence from Syria, took to the streets shouting protests against the local authorities after the mortar bomb struck in a residential area, killing two women and three children.
"People here are anxious, because we got hit before," Ahmet Emin Meshurgul, local head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told Reuters. "The security forces tried to convince people to empty the neighborhood near the border, but now we've been hit right in the middle of the town."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged Turkey to keep all channels of communication open with Syria. He later issued a statement calling on "the Syria Government to respect fully the territorial integrity of its neighbors as well as to end the violence against the Syrian people."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed outrage at the mortar from Syria and said Washington would discuss with Ankara what the next steps should be, calling the spread of violence a "very, very dangerous situation".
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Clinton had assured him of Washington's full support at the United Nations and NATO.
NATO MEETING
Turkey's military response contrasted with its relative restraint when Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June. Ankara increased its military presence along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and called a meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council.
That meeting was only the second time in NATO's 63-year history that members had convened under Article 4 of its charter which provides for consultations when a member state feels its territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.
The same article was invoked for the meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels late on Wednesday, after which they said the shelling "constitutes a cause of greatest concern for, and is strongly condemned by, all allies".
"The alliance continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally, and urges the Syrian regime to put an end to flagrant violations of international law," a statement released after the meeting added.
It said recent aggressive acts by Syria were a "clear and present danger to the security of one of (NATO's) allies".
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said after the mortar attack: "This latest incident is the last straw. Turkey is a sovereign country. Its own soil has been attacked."
"There must be a response to this under international law," he said, according to Turkey's Cihan news agency.
Some 30,000 people have been killed across Syria, activists say, in a conflict with growing sectarian overtones which threatens to draw in regional Sunni Muslim and Shi'ite powers.
Violence inside Syria intensified on Wednesday with three suicide car bombs and a mortar barrage ripping through a government-controlled district of Aleppo housing a military officers' club, killing 48 people, according to activists.
Efforts to address the conflict at the United Nations have been blocked by a standoff in the Security Council between Western powers seeking a tough stance against Assad and Russia and China, which fear a U.N. resolution against Syria would be the first step towards military intervention.
An Egyptian attempt to bring together Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia to search for a regional solution to the crisis also appeared to be going nowhere after Saudi Arabia stayed away for a second time from a meeting of the four countries.
(Additional reporting by Seda Sezer and Ece Toksabay in Istanbul, Mert Ozkan, Jonathon Burch and Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Dominic Evans, Oliver Holmes and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Lou Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Nick Tattersall, Robin Pomeroy and David Brunnstrom)
by leahmoney
short story
~Prologue~
The light from the moon sprayed over the forest floor creating dark shadows. A rippled of white fur was all she was as she ran. Her long slender legs carried her over the forest floor at incredible speed. Twigs and leaves cracked under her pads but that mattered not. Even as the pray scarred away from her she didn't think twice. Her mind was only focused on one thing, the great task she had been put to. If she failed the consequences would be great.
The land started to lope up hill and soon the trees opened to a rocky mountain side. She was forced to slow her speed but continued to push her self up the stable rocks. She son found her self on a flat part of the slope and looked around. Some movement caught her attention her her head whipped to the right. Walking towards her was a large, muscular wolf. His golden eyes were emotionless and his face impossible to read. Every movement he made was smooth, yet full of power.
She turned to face him fully. She look tinny standing next to him and felt tinny as well. Still, she held her guard her head up. She let her brown eyes casually meet his as he stopped in front of her. Behind him she could see two more wolves walking towards them. One was a much darker gray them him, the other a creamy almost white color. Her attention fell back on the male in front of her as he began to speak.
"Who are you?" His voice was rough and stiff as if he had not used it in a while.
The female cleared her throat and said in a smooth calm voice. "I have an urgent message for Attilia, so if you don't mind..." She moved swiftly to the side trying to slip by the wolf but the darker gray male looked down at her.
"Listen, missy. You'r going no where," He barked taking a step to her trying to make her back up. She kept her ground her head back so she could still meet his eyes. He took another step and still she didn't move.
"Please, you are much to close do you mind taking two or tree steps back," Her voice was still calm but it had a hint of dominance in it. She was not the be pushed around.
Sadly the younger male was to stubborn to listen to her. He lowered his head so their noses were inches apart and smiled showing his long fangs. "I'm sorry, am I bothering you? Why don't you step back if I am," His voice didn't waver. Clearly he was challenging her.
She opened her mouth to respond when another voice caught her head cause her to loose eye contact and look over. The white wolf was walking towards them. She pushed back the male and looked at her. "I'm sorry for how, Taigide is treating you. Please take my apologies and go see Attilia. If you were sent it must be important,"
The white female smiled and finally she knew who she was, "Thank you Kata," she said with a dip of her head. The white wolf smiled and steeped out of her path. Walking forward she looked back at Kata. "Thank you again, the Alpha and Alphess will hear about your kindness,"
She caught a confused expression from the two males. One opened their mouth to speak but that would have to wait. She dashed off um the slope a few more feet and into a large cave. The pass was dark and damp. The air by the entrance was fresh but as she continued deeper into the mountain it became stuffier and stuffier. Still, she ran. She followed the twists and turns and soon there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
She could feel the wind and with a grateful sigh and pushed her self forward and raced out of the dark, eerie tunnel. She looked around and found her self just where she had hopped. All around her was a large cavern. Where the roof of the cave would be was nothing. It seemed all of it had collapsed long ago. A few trees sprouted hear and there and grass has started to bloom in the damp floor. The sound of water rippling against stones rang through the small, open caver.
She made her way through the grass and the scattered trees. She finally found the small waterfall that had made the noise. The water pored out from cracks in the wall and had started to form a small pond. In the middle of the water was a large rock. Sitting atop it was a beautiful snowy white wolf. Her back was to her.
She took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak, but she was was cut off by the white female. "Ivada, what are you doing hear," the white wolves voice was clam and flowing like the water around her.
Ivada dipped her scrawny brown head. He brown eyes slid shut and only opened when she rose. "Attilia, there are urgent matters that must be dealt with. On the easter border of the valley Katco and his gang are drawing closer," She said struggling to catch her breath.
Attilia nodded and turned to face Ivada. Her stunning blue eyes seemed to read Iva as she looked the female over. "Do not fear," She said, her voice echoing off the walls. "All will be well. I will banish him away once more when we meet. Our confrontation will be soon. Tell Vasilous and Venanta that they should not fear,"
"But will lives be lost?" The question tumbled out of Ivada's mouth before she could control it.
The white wolf sighed and looked away her eye closed tight. "Even with all my power, I do not know..."
to be contuined
By SkieRunner
poem
O muse of poetry,
How can I write a poem to please thee?
It is true that poetry must come from the heart,
But I know not where to start.
Poetry must provide a peace of mind,
No matter what message one hopes to find.
Like a sailor on a journey out at sea,
A reader must be feel free to be.
A poem can be funny, happy or sad,
It can be mournful, grieving, or even glad.
It can bring tears to your eyes
Or makes you jump with surprise.
Poems are created for a special reason
There are more that one for every season.
Poets write them out of love
And to give hope like a dove.
Poems for the spring
About how joyful hearts sing.
Poems for the summer
And the woodpecker, that irritating drummer.
Poems for the fall
When the school bell begins to call.
And poems for the winter days
When the world is covered in a bright white haze.
Oh muses thank you for showing me
Just how a poem is meant to be.
I now know how to make a beautiful rhyme
I am grateful, muses, for your time.
By leahmoney
