Legal and Ethical Decision Making
"Raising Pigs Right" Research Paper
Current Issues in Animal Science
I wrote this research paper for my Current Issues in Animal Science class that I took at SDSU in the Summer 2022 semester. This piece highlighted the general and ethical principles that pig farmers use every day to care for their pigs and produce safe and healthy pork. For this piece I used sources from the Journal of Animal Science and trusted web sources to prove that the practices farmers use are done in a safe manner for the pigs' and consumers' benefit. I utilized knowledge I had gained from working on my family farm and from speaking with other producers during my internship at Minnesota Pork. I also utilized past knowledge I had from farm tours and articles from agricultural publications I have read.
This paper shows how and why farmers make decisions in an ethical manner to ensure that they are "Raising Pigs Right." I highlighted various regulations that farmers must follow to ensure that they are being ethical, and it ensures that they maintain proper animal care. This paper also described some important practices that have been determined in the industry and individual farmers to protect their herd, employees, and consumers.
By writing this paper and doing the research that went along with it, I learned that it’s important to follow these welfare regulations to gain the trust of consumers and to produce safe and healthy pork. Many consumers are concerned about how their food is produced. This paper can be used as a tool to show consumers that there are laws in place to ensure that the pigs are treated fairly and that many farms follow ethical principles. They also use decision-making tools to make it easier for them to determine if what they are doing is in the best interest of the pig. These rules and regulations are important for consumers to know because it will help build trust which will then translate to the continued purchase and consumption of pork.
"Securing Human Capital" Op-Ed Paper
Current Issues in Animal Science
This was another piece I had written for my Current Issues in Animal Science class that I took during the summer 2022 semester. This paper was about the H2-A visa program which is a temporary or seasonal visa for agricultural workers, specifically about a reform that is currently being presented to government officials. Right now the visa only allows for foreign workers to stay in the U.S. for up to 10 months and since animal agriculture is 365 days a year job, this is not ideal for American farmers who employee foreign workers. There is also a large labor shortage going on in American agriculture, so this makes the problem with the program even more prevalent. The reform, that has been passed through the U.S. House of Representatives, would allow foreign workers to stay and work in the U.S. for up to 3 years. However, there are some people and organizations who oppose the reform because of other doors that it would open up, like the fact that it would allow foreign workers to sue their employers in U.S. federal courts for violating labor laws, which could cost farmers a lot of money.
This paper describes laws and regulations that are involved with American farmers obtaining a foreign workforce. Although many people are aware of the labor shortage in the U.S. and the foreign workforce that has been supporting American agriculture for decades, not many people know that these laws are in place. I felt like it was important for people to know about the reform so that it can continue gaining support to pass.
Something I learned while writing this paper was how important it is to inform the public about labor issues like this since they could be solutions to a much larger problem. Labor and human capital are the most important assets to any industry and currently they are one of the scarcest resources in agriculture. It’s important to share this information with others to help gain support for these reforms to get them passed.