Ag-Gag Bill to Protect Employers from Whistleblowers
Big Ag is up to no good again – what’s new? This time they are introducing a bill in North Carolina through Governor McCrory’s office in order to stifle those who might speak out against immoral and illegal practices of the industrial agricultural model.
The bill is being dubbed another “Ag-Gag” bill because employers would be able to sue employees who try to expose practices like animal abuse on factory farms.
Though almost three-fourths of North Carolina residents are in favor of spot checks on farms to make sure the animals are being treated fairly, HB 405/SB 433 strives to protect the illegal practices of Big Ag setups.
This has become a big issue for consumers. To the dismay of the entire agricultural industry, Chipotle recently ran an entire ad campaign about getting their meat from only sustainable farms that treated their animals well. Just the satire in a commercial raised eyebrows. You can imagine what would happen if employees of factory farms actually started to speak out concerning the atrocities they witness first hand.
Some have called it misleading. But if Chipotle’s portrayal of factory farming really is so misleading, then why do Big Ag farmers want to hide what they are doing, and persecute employees who might speak out against unsavory practices? Family and small farms are subject to all kinds of inspections. Some small farms even welcome the public to tour their facilities. They are even proud of how they conduct their business.
Conversely, lobbyists such as the Pork Council and Poultry Federation are pushing hard to get SB 433 and HB 405 passed.
These bills can be vetoed by Governor McCrory. In fact, just a year ago a similar bill was introduced in Tennessee and Governor Haslam vetoed it. That bill was pronounced “constitutionally suspect” by his state attorney general.
It is time for you to contact Governor McCrory and urge him to put the brakes on this bill that would protect Big Ag’s horrid treatment of factory farm animals. Don’t’ let Big Ag take away your freedom of speech.
Click here to contact Gov. McCrory and urge him to veto these bills today!
You can also watch this undercover video from Compassion Over Killing exposing exactly the type of Big Ag practices that whistleblowers need protection for. Just know before you click play that is isn’t pretty.
Featured image credit: ThinkProgress.
