PETA’s Two-Point Plan for the Presidential Transition Team
President-elect Barack Obama has promised Americans a “21st century government”—one that we at PETA feel needs to address animal welfare. The growing concern for how we as a nation treat our animals is evidenced by last month’s majority support for California’s Proposition 2, which will require animals on factory farms to be provided more space in their cages.
Now, PETA’s brilliant minds are asking the Presidential Transition Team to consider the creation of two national councils—a National Food Policy Council and a National Toxicity Council—to work toward improving the government’s pitiful record on food and toxicology policy.
Point One
PETA’s recommends that the government put human health before the agriculture industry. Both the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program are currently in the hands of the USDA—an agency that appears to be more concerned with improving factory-farming profits though animal exploitation than it is with improving human health. Both of these programs offer an overwhelming amount of meat and dairy products, but little to no vegetables or fruits.
For the sake of human health, it is vital that the NSLP be transferred into the Department of Education, and the WIC program become a part of Health & Human Services—recommendations that we are sure our suggested National Food Policy Council would agree on.
Point Two
PETA wants the government to form a National Toxicity Council to improve the way our nation deals with risks from toxic chemicals. As we know from the number of drugs that are approved after they are tested on animals only to be determined later to be harmful to humans, it is clear that tests conducted on animals do not provide sufficient results.
The National Research Council Report states, “the vision takes full advantage of current and expected scientific advances to enhance our understanding of how environmental agents can affect human health. It has the potential to greatly reduce the cost and time of testing and to lead to much broader coverage of the universe of environmental agents. Moreover, the vision will lead to a marked reduction in animal use and focus on doses that are more relevant to those experienced by human populations.” Our suggested National Toxicity Council would focus on attaining the National Research Council’s vision within a reasonable amount of time.
We hope that President-elect Obama will take these issues to heart and implement our suggested interagency food and toxicity groups. By doing so, he will be able to achieve his goal to “leave our children with a better world,” and his actions will reduce waste, protect human health and the environment, reduce animal suffering, and save money. Couldn’t ask for much better, really … and you can help! Click here to find out how.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
