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Show World&Nation Page 4 Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 Video shows chicks ground up alive at egg hatchery DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An animal rights group publicized a video Tuesday showing unwanted chicks being tossed alive into a grinder at an Iowa plant and accused egg hatcheries of being “perhaps the cruelest industry” in the world. The undercover video was shot by Chicago-based Mercy for Animals at a hatchery in Spencer, Iowa, over a two-week period in May and June. The video was first obtained Monday by The Associated Press. “We have to ask ourselves if these were puppies and kittens being dropped into grinders, would we find that acceptable?” asked Nathan Runkle, the group’s executive director, at a news conference in Des Moines. “I don’t think that most people would.” The group said that tossing male chicks, which have little value because they can’t lay eggs or be raised quickly enough to be raised profitably for meat, into grinders is common industry practice. United Egg Producers, a trade group for U.S. egg farmers, confirmed that. The hatchery is owned by West Des Moines-based Hy-Line North America and is one of many operations in Iowa, the nation’s leading egg producer. grinder – is a standard practice supThe video, shot with a hidden camported by the animal veterinary and era and microphone by a Mercy for scientific community. Animals employee who got a job at the Company spokesman Tom Jorgensen plant, shows a Hy-Line worker sorting said Tuesday an investigation was conthrough a conveyor belt of chirping tinuing, and once it’s completed the chicks, flipping some of them into a company would release more informachute like a poker dealer flips cards. tion. These chicks, which a narrator Runkle acknowledged that his says are males, are group’s ultimate “The egg industhen shown being goal was to get dropped alive into a people to stop eattry is perhaps the grinding machine. ing eggs. He said he cruelest industry In other parts of believe many would on the face of the the video, a chick refuse to eat eggs planet.” is shown dying on if they knew what the factory floor – Nathan Runkle, happened to male amid a heap of egg chicks. Mercy for Animals shells after falling “The egg through a sorting executive director industry is perhaps machine. Another the cruelest industry chick, also still alive, is seen lying on on the face of the planet,” Runkle said. the floor after getting scalded by a wash Mercy for Animals also sent letters cycle, according to the video narrator. to the nation’s 50 largest grocery store Hy-Line said the video “appears to chains, including Walmart, Whole show an inappropriate action and viola- Foods, Safeway, Harris Teeter and tion of our animal welfare policies,” Trader Joe’s, asking them to include referring to chicks on the factory floor. a label on egg cartons that says, But the company also noted that “Warning: Male chicks are ground-up “instantaneous euthanasia” – a referalive by the egg industry.” ence to killing of male chicks by the A spokesman for United Egg FREE WI-FI Twitter opens a door to Iowa operating room The President invites nominations for the 16th Annual USU DIVERSITY AWARDS Award recipients will be announced and will receive recognition by President Albrecht at an appropriate forum during the school year THE $4.00 COMBO MEAL Includes any two super value sandwiches plus small french fries and a small soft drink. Present this coupon at any of the above northern Utah Wendy’s® Restaurants and receive our $4.00 COMBO MEAL (Limit 1 order per coupon) AVAILABLE AT THESE NORTHERN UTAH LOCATIONS: 1305 N. Main Logan, UT 84321 891 So. State HWY 89-91 Logan, UT 84321 810 S. Main Smithfield, UT 84331 2280 W. Main Tremonton, UT 84337 ©2009 Oldemark, LLC. The Wendy’s name, design and logo and It’s waaaay better at Wendy’s are trademarks of Oldemark, LLC and are licensed to Wendy’s International Inc. Expires 10/30/09 Producers called the proposal “almost a joke.” Spokesman Mitch Head said Mercy for Animals had no credible authority, as well as questionable motives. “This is a group which espouses no egg consumption by anyone – so that is clearly their motive.” Mercy for Animals estimated 200 million male chicks are killed a year, which the United Egg Producers also confirmed. “There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens,” Head said. “If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we’re happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need.” Using a grinder, Head said, “is the most instantaneous way to euthanize chicks.” There is no federal law that ensures the humane euthanasia of animals on farms or hatcheries, according to Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel of the Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society also says that virtually all egg farms, even those that sell cage-free eggs, get their hens from hatcheries that kill their male chicks. Award Categories: Award Criteria: One individual or organization from each of the following categories will be recognized for furthering the principles and values of affirmative action, equal opportunity, and diversity: 1. Models behavior that promotes diversity. 2. Nourishes acceptance of individual differences. 3. Strives to enhance academic, employment, or community relations among people who are different. 4. Integrates diversity concepts and values into academic curriculum, management functions, or community service. 5. Develops methods for increasing and valuing diversity among students, faculty, staff, or local businesses/associations. 6. Maximizes opportunities to achieve diversity. • • • • • Student Faculty Administrator Staff Community Member Nomination Guidelines: • • Write a nomination letter (recommended not more than 2 pages) addressing the six criteria stated above. Nomination letter must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, by letter, fax, e-mail or in person. Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Office Utah State University 9535 Old Main Hill Military Science Building, Room 118 Logan, UT 84322-9535 Telephone: Fax: Email: (435) 797-1266 (435) 797-0291 [carolyn.whelan@usu.edu] This call for nominations is available in large print, audio, and braille format upon request. Please contact the AA/EO Office at 797-1266 for further information. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – From anesthesia to the recovery room, 70-year-old Monna Cleary’s children followed her surgery – 140 characters or less at a time. Twitter is opening doors to the sterile confines of operating rooms, paving the way for families – and anyone else for that matter – to follow a patient’s progress as they go under the knife. Most of the Cleary family chose to track the developments from a laptop computer in the hospital’s waiting room. But one daughter-in-law kept tabs from work. “It’s real time information instead of sitting and not knowing in the waiting room,” said Cleary’s son Joe, hours after his mother’s surgery Monday at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. “It made the time go by,” said Cleary, who was joined by a brother, two sisters and a sister-in-law at the hospital. “We all feel it was a positive experience.” His mother, who underwent a hysterectomy and uterine prolapse surgery, had given her OK for hospital spokeswoman Sarah Corizzo to post a play-by-play of the operation on Twitter, a social-networking site that lets users send out snippets of information up to 140 characters long using cell phones or computers. Corizzo sent more than 300 tweets over more than three hours from a computer just outside the operating room’s sterile field. Nearly 700 people followed them. Eight tweeted questions to Corizzo about the procedure and a Cleary family member commented on how fascinating it was to follow the surgery. The primary goal of the Twitter posts was education, Corizzo said, but it had the added benefit of keeping the family informed during surgery. It also helps to raise the profile of the hospital. The idea to follow the surgery on Twitter at St. Luke’s evolved after a similar surgery was Webcast several months ago. “A lot of people would like to go into the operating room and see what happens but don’t want all the visuals and stuff,” said Laura Rainey, another hospital spokeswoman. “This is a more gentle way to help inform patients and consumers.” The Iowa hospital isn’t the first to describe a surgery on Twitter. Others include Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, which tweeted in May when a father donated a kidney to his son, and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where officials have tweeted about several surgeries since January. Dian Luffman, a spokeswoman with Change:healthcare, a business that helps clients save money on procedures, said hospitals using Twitter during surgery is a sign that it’s entering the mainstream, especially among the 20-and-30 somethings. “I think hospitals are trying to build relationships,” she said. Amanda Gillbret, whose husband and son were involved in the Dallas kidney transplant, said she appreciated being able to monitor her husband’s surgery at another hospital while she was at Children’s Medical Center with her son. “I felt like I was part of my husband’s surgery and connected to what he was going through but was there with my son, too,” Gillbret said. “It gave me a huge peace and it was just comforting knowing what was happening.” She noted that typically a person can sit for hours in a waiting room and maybe get two phone calls from the operating room. “I received updates every two to three minutes,” Gillbret said. “It not only helped the family stay in the loop but friends who weren’t able to be there.” While the Detroit hospital has tweeted during several surgeries, neither the Cedar Rapids hospital nor the one in Dallas have immediate plans to do it again. Officials at both hospitals said they would be open to the possibility if both the surgeon and patient are willing. Cleary said she agreed to have her procedure posted on Twitter – but only after being educated to what tweeting was. “I’m not much of a computer bug so I didn’t know that much about it,” Cleary said. “I didn’t know they did that sort of thing.” During her surgery, Corizzo relayed tweets ever few minutes. “Putting numbing medication where the incisions will be. Making first incision right now,” Corizzo tweeted at the beginning of the procedure. Later, Corizzo sent a message that read: “Right now doctor is cutting across some vessels & ligaments that connect the ovaries to the uterus.” Then: “Opening up the peritoneum right now,” which led to a tweet questioning what the peritoneum is. Corizzo explained it is the sac that lines the abdomen. The surgeon, Dr. Jerry Rozeboom, said he asked Cleary to participate because she is “very open, conversant and willing to be part of the education process. “It was mostly a patient who I thought was open to helping other people learn about new technology and maybe helping other women in her situation,” Rozeboom said. |