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August 4, 2008 Dear Fellow Veterinarian, I’m writing to you on behalf of the Association of California Veterinarians (ACV), an organization of veterinarians and veterinary students supporting food animal and poultry medicine, urging you to vote no on Proposition 2. Our organization, comprised of current, former, and non-members of the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), was formed after CVMA made a politically-motivated and irresponsible decision to support Proposition 2. After the CVMA’s Agriculture Committee voted unanimously to oppose Proposition 2, and the House of Delegates voted twice to stay neutral, the Board of Governors caved in to political pressure from the initiative’s proponents and narrowly voted to support it. The decision was not based on science or on the recommendations from the people within CVMA who specialize in food animal and poultry medicine. The experts who specialize in the veterinary care of egg-laying hens -- avian scientists, poultry veterinarians and other food animal veterinarians -- overwhelmingly oppose Proposition 2. In addition, the state’s top food safety and public health experts oppose Proposition 2. This measure is harmful for hen and human health alike. Proposition 2, dubbed the UN-SAFE Food Initiative, is NOT about the treatment of animals – it’s about imposing new housing standards for egg-laying hens. In existing housing, hens are able to stand, lie-down, turn around and stretch their wings. The initiative would require that a hen must be able to perform those behaviors without touching another hen and without touching the sides of its enclosure. This would effectively ban the modern housing systems used today. Modern housing systems – off the floor – were first designed in the 1930’s to make egg production more sanitary and to fight disease. Today, they are used by 95 percent of California’s egg producers and ensure proper and good care of egg-laying hens. Proposition 2 would ban modern housing systems, which would threaten food safety and public health. The measure, if passed, would increase the risk of Salmonella contamination in our eggs by putting hens and their eggs in direct contact with feces and other fluids. Banning these systems would also expose hens to migratory birds, known to be carriers of Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Exotic Newcastle Disease. Most egg farms in the state already adhere to the toughest, most stringent food safety standards in the U.S. under the California Egg Quality Assurance Plan (CEQAP). In fact, egg producers and government partners who developed these standards were awarded the 1999 Vice Presidential Hammer Award by Vice President Al Gore. CEQAP is largely credited with controlling Salmonella in California eggs. Proposition 2 undermines the effective standards and regulations already in place. The impacts of the measure go beyond food safety and public health impacts. Proposition 2 would decimate California’s egg industry, taking away thousands of jobs and more than $600 million in economic activity. It would also leave California consumers with virtually no options to purchase or consume locally-produced, fresh eggs. Californians will be forced to rely on imported eggs from other states and foreign countries, like Mexico, where food safety standards aren’t as high. For these reasons, I urge you and your organization to join the Association of California Veterinarians, the American College of Poultry Veterinarians, the American Association of Avian Pathologists, the Association of Veterinarians in Egg Production, the California Food Animal Veterinary Medical Association and leading avian specialists in opposing Proposition 2. This issue is too important for the veterinary community to get wrong. For further information, or to join the coalition opposing Proposition 2, please visit www.safecaliforniafood.org or call (818) 760-2121. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Mike Karle, DVM
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