Aug 27 2010
PRESS RELEASE: Science Contradicts HSUS on Salmonella and “Cage-Free” Eggs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SCIENCE CONTRADICTS THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES ON SALMONELLA AND “CAGE-FREE” EGGS
Animal Rights Group Makes Reckless Claims and Ignores Inconvenient Research
Despite recent claims to the contrary from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), recent poultry science does not support the conclusion that expensive “cage-free” egg production lowers the public-health risk from Salmonella, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) said today. HSUS recently published a list of what it claimed were “the nine studies published in the last five years comparing Salmonella rates in cage and cage-free egg operations,” and concluded that cage-free eggs were safer to eat. But the animal rights group intentionally mischaracterized the results of some of those studies, and ignored several others that don't suit its agenda.
A 2005 study cited by HSUS disagrees with the group’s claims from the very beginning, concluding that “the system with the lowest chance of infection was the cage system with wet manure.” And a 2008 study—again, cited by HSUS—concluded “no significant differences could be found in prevalence of Salmonella between laying hens reared in conventional and enriched cages and [free-range] aviary.”
Many of the other studies cited by HSUS caution that differences between cage and cage-free chickens may be due to factors other than the housing system, such as flock size or vaccination rates. By ignoring the scientific conclusions that it doesn't like, HSUS is recklessly misleading consumers and the media.
Other studies, ignored by HSUS entirely, tell a story that HSUS is not eager to promote. One 2004 study, for example, conducted by the British government, sampled nearly 5,000 eggs and found “no statistically significant difference … between the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in samples from different egg production types.”
“It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to spot the sleight-of-hand coming from the nation's slickest animal rights group,” said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. “HSUS has a clear agenda, and it's pushing it full-bore even though science doesn't agree.
For more information, visit www.HumaneWatch.org.To arrange an interview with David Martosko, call Allison Miller at 202-463-7112.
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The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit watchdog organization that informs the public about the activities of tax-exempt activist groups. It is supported by American consumers, business organizations, and foundations.
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Posted on 08/27/2010 at 08:00 AM by the HumaneWatch Team
Press Releases • Animal Agriculture • Eggs • (16) CommentsComments
Why am I not surprised? It’s standard operating procedure for HSUS, and, sadly, lots of media just go with their press releases and have sensationalized this.
Contrary to what the Media (HSUS) has said, the latest Salmonella case in Iowa has not turned up an affected egg yet. They have found it in the manure and feed, but not the egg. Why such a ruckus? It is a large target. Today’s egg producers already have SE (Salmonella) programs in place. They make sure the producers are so clean in the final egg product, even if the end user (bakery/restaurant/homeowner) screws up, the public is safe. So the story working backwards was possibly; someone got sick, the bakery got their eggs from producer #1 and #2. The producer is at fault. What about the consumer and bakery in the loop too. They are too small of targets.
There will always be some disaster in the nation, and to have HSUS like a scum Lawyer waiting in the shadows to make a swoop, is just unethical.
Salmonella was found in manure. Would you rather have an egg from caged chickens free of manure exposure or eggs lying in manure and the birds eating the manure? To drop research data just because it does not favor your views is just as unethical.
So what is the common theme here? HSUS is unethical. They skew data, they false advertise on TV, they claim heroic efforts when someone else is doing the work, they sanction setup criminal activities from Mercy for Animals (Conklin Dairy), pay to get ballot signatures, and cheat/lie the real reason why they want to end animals on earth.
Like Gomer Pyle said “Shame Shame Shame”.
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Remember when they tied “swine flu” to hog containment systems used on most farms? FAIL. That was a bunch of baloney and so are their recent attempts to link salmonella and hen cages. How many of these non-existent links will it take for people to realize that HSUS has no credibility? At all.
Just like a junkie will doctor shop til they find one that will agree they are sick & give them what they want. That’s what HSUS does when looking for things to publicize. Just yesterday in my e-mail was an HSUS notice proclaiming how dangerous caged eggs are & how studies support that statement. Today browsing the web I see an article stating that the majority of the hens at the farms the recalled eggs came from have been vaccinated against salmonella. Also that salmonella has been found in the feed given the chickens. HSUS must like the taste of foot because it seems they always have theirs in their mouths.
Don’t you just love how the H$U$ changes it’s “findings” to suit their purpose? It just baffles me how people can NOT see through their lies!
Why did the HSUS cross the road?
To get to the BS on the other side…
they will use this issue with the eggs to raise some more money then they will move on to the next thing being featured in the media…. to HSUS this is not an opportunity to teach people the facts it is about using the scare factor and junk science to bring in $$$$s….
Is it any shock that the HSUS was wrong again? If they are so worried about eggs and salmonella, why don’t they look into promoting egg pasteurization? Or promoting vaccinating hens against salmonella?
I eat raw eggs every once in a while (brownie mix, yum!) and I’ve never had a problem. Not in my farm raised eggs, or store bought. It’s not surprising they found it in manure, and as far as feed goes, if the farms make their own feed it’s their own problem. By the time an egg hits a store shelf it’s at least a week old, so if anything I’d worry more about that and that they are clean than anything else.
Having been in market research all my life, I’ve seen my share of Fortune 500 clients try to change statistics, massage the numbers, and fail at having enough of a sample to pass it through a statistical test. Always ask: Who commissioned the research? Who did the research? How many were in the sample? How was the study conducted? Who verified the results? If you don’t have time to ask these questions and get these answers, or if they aren’t given to you, don’t believe the results. I can’t refer to HSUS anymore as anything but a scam.
Hey, the Humane Society of the United States has so many lawyers, so many unconfirmed “members,” and such a big bankroll thanks to their donations, they don’t NEED science! They can make their own science whenever and wherever they want. And you know what? Millions will believe it like lemmings.
Great revelation:
If Salmonella was found in the feed, and the feed is mainly corn and soybean meal, and the Vegans eat the same corn and soybeans, and they are all vegetable based ... then HSUS should be warning against the vegan diet causing illness.
My personal vote for best comment of the month is the Great Revelation” by Dr Joe
It’s obvious that no one at HSUS has a degree in science. Or they just have their own science drones that they pay an exuberant amount of money to say untrue things so they can complete their vegetarian agenda by way of causing fear. But they are called out on their lies. Example, when they tried to have porbeagle shark put onto the endangered species list. The day they say “OK, we are wrong about everything.” will be the day i go to mars.
Maybe HSUS should start using the scientific method in making decisions. It is quite easy to have someone with a Ph. D.degree in philosophy to write an article about egg production, and who is an animal rights activist. The animal rights movement stirs the emotion for all those “tortured” animals that are forced to act “unnaturally”. Just remember the goal is no more animals owned, cared for or interacting with humans. One could say, definitely, that the animal rights movement is extremely anti capitalist, when it comes to food or ownership of any animals. Think about how much money that HSUS has cost the USA in all animal enterprises and lawsuits, and defending ballot initiatives, since the 90’s. Animal Liberation Front’s damages to farms and the medical research community (estimated to be over 120 million in the USA) may pale in comparison if those figures for HSUS if they were available. We know in the cattle industry alone, it is estimated that HSUS has cost billions, and I would imagine the same for the poultry and egg industry. It is not about welfare but putting animal enterprise out of business.
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One question. Has there ever been a point in time when HSUS didn’t mislead the public and were honest in their intentions? Seriously. Do they believe in any scientific findings? It doesn’t seem personal enough…can’t really draw emotion from science.