Despite campaign spending topping $2 million, Measure J initiated by the Coalition to End Factory Farming, a collection of animal rights groups that have been active for years in Sonoma County, Calif., appears to be headed for defeat with 85% of voters rejecting it as of the latest updated results on Nov. 6.
Measure J would have placed strict limits on the size of individual animal farms, banning any farm that meets the federal definition of a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), KQED NPR reports. Advocates campaigned on the argument that larger animal farms pollute the environment and are more likely to mistreat animals.
The measure, a first of its kind in the U.S., raised questions about financial costs, regulations and Sonoma County’s appetite for meat. Measure J would have impacted an estimated 21 farms that the campaign has identified as “factory farms.”
“Measure J poses significant risks to local, multi-generational farms of all sizes in Sonoma County, particularly in how it could exacerbate the already fragile economic landscape,” the Sonoma County Farm Bureau said on its website.
Local farmers, politicians and business groups overwhelmingly opposed the measure, arguing that it would put long-standing family-owned farms out of business, some of which have operated in the county for over 100 years, KQED NPR reports. Opponents argued it would have caused exponential job losses, higher food costs and less locally sourced eggs, milk and poultry; and that trucking these into the county would have negated the measure’s environmental goals.
“Had the measure passed, farms not in compliance, including well-known farms like Clover and Strauss, would have been fined $10,000 a day. It would have authorized civilian enforcement and tasked the county agricultural commissioner with implementing and managing a job retraining and reentry program for farmworkers who would have lost their jobs,” the KQED NPR article said.
The Coalition to End Factory Farming said it is planning a protest on Saturday and a community discussion on Nov. 15, CBS News Bay Area reports.
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