Jorge Castro

May 15, 2018

Policy Scavenger Hunt

A few things to keep in mind as you work on choosing your policy (or policies) for the Advocacy
Project:

 Your chosen policy should be relatively recent (proposed in 2012 or later) and should not
have been implemented yet. If a policy solution has been tried and the problem still
exists, then the solution didn’t work and has now become part of the problem.

 Your chosen policy should have identifiable and credible supporters and opponents and
you should be able to find their competing opinions and analyses of that policy.
Remember that you’re relying on other people’s research as evidence in support of your
case.

 You may choose to advocate a single policy solution, or a set of policies. Advocating a
single policy is relatively straightforward, but it may not offer the best plausible outcome.
Advocating a set of policies may allow you to create the best outcome, but you should take
care that each policy complements the others—in other words, that it makes logical sense
to advocate all of them together.

 You should be able to use all the analytical frameworks (described in AGWR p. 274-276)
to advocate for your chosen policy: causation, comprehensiveness, cost/benefit, and
feasibility. Look for relevant information that will support each of these types of analysis.

This scavenger hunt is designed to help you find a wide variety of possible policy solutions that
you may choose to advocate in your Advocacy Project. Each question below asks you to find a
particular kind of policy, and to provide the appropriate identifying information that you can use
to find it again later or find out more about it elsewhere.

1. Keep a list of the key search terms that you use here:
 Industrial farms
 Cattle farms
 Factory farms
 Humane Slaughter
 Method Act
 Sustainable Farms
 Humane Farms
 Industrial Production Reform
 Cruelty-free industries
 Animal Protection
 Livestock welfare
 Humane Sustainable Farming
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2. One way to find a policy is to look for a federal bill. Go to congress.gov, the website
containing Congressional legislation information, and conduct a search using one of your
best (that is to say, reliable and important) key terms.
a. Do you see any other relatively recent bills that might work for your Advocacy Project? If
so, record their information here.

 https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-
bill/3225?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22humane+sustainable+agriculture%22%5D
%7D&r=19
 https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-

bill/3941?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22U.S.+Department+of+Agriculture%22%5

D%7D&r=12

 What is the number of the most recent bill having to do with your search term? *Note:
titles that include the letters “RES” are not bills, but resolutions.
a. The number of the most recent bill is H.R. 3225 (at least of the one I am evaluating) from
between 2011-2012. In terms of the search term result, it was around 114 (plus/minus
giving that some are resolutions and laws).

 What is the official title of that bill? What is the short title of that bill?
a. The official title of the bill is called the “Community Agriculture Development and Job
Act” (no acronym or shorten version of this bill).

 Is this bill from the Senate or House of Representatives?

a. This bill was introduced by the House of Representatives. Was specifically referred to the
House Committee on Agriculture.

 Who sponsored this bill and what state is she or he from?

a. Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio sponsored and introduced this bill to the House of
Representatives.

 Which party does the main sponsor belong to?

a. Capture belongs to the Democrat party.

 How many co-sponsors does the bill have? What are their names?- In total there are about
12 sponsors for this bill.
a. Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-17]-10/14/2011
b. Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]-10/14/2011
c. Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]-10/14/2011
d. Rep. Richardson, Laura [D-CA-37]-10/14/2011
e. Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]-10/14/2011
f. Rep. Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [D-IL-2]-10/14/2011
g. Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7]-10/26/2011
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h. Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1]-10/26/2011

i. Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-5]-11/03/2011
j. Rep. Baca, Joe [D-CA-43]-12/07/2011
k. Rep. Watt, Melvin L. [D-NC-12]-02/16/2012
l. Rep. Fudge, Marcia L. [D-OH-11]-03/28/2012

 What does this bill do to solve the problem?

a. Central to the proposed solutions, this bill attempts to amend two previous laws: Agriculture
Act of 1994 and the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997. This bill goal is to authorize grants
and loan distribution for the purpose of dampening the following prospects: “ (1) strengthen
local food production, processing, and distribution; (2) create sustainable food systems; (3)
encourage food assistance recipients to purchase locally grown or produced foods; (4) convert
vacant land to agricultural production; and (5) support education and training.”.

b. Maybe you want or need to solve your problem at the state level. Go to the California
Legislation Information page (or find the equivalent website for another state legislature).
Click on “Bill Information” in the upper left corner and enter your search term(s).
 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_0001-

0050/ab_49_bill_20141201_introduced.pdf

 What is the number of the most recent bill that comes up?
a. The most recent bill number is AB-2166 (with the search term sustainable farms). The one
I am going to be dissecting will be AB-49 (214-2015). This bill main focus is pertaining to
the livestock drugs used on farm animals.

 Who authored it? What’s the sponsor(s) party affiliation?

a. Kevin Mullin, democratic speaker and assembly member, sponsored and introduced this
bill.

 What does this bill do to solve the problem?

 “This bill would make various legislative findings and declarations relating to the
nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock and would declare the intent of the
Legislature to enact legislation that would address the overuse of antibiotics in livestock
production” is stated from the legislative language and thus this account is proposing is
take direct mean of changing and investigating the use of antibiotics in the industries.

 Do you see any other relevant bills in the search results? Enter their information here.

 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/asm/ab_1351-

1400/ab_1363_bill_20151002_chaptered.pdf
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Maybe your problem is best solved at the local level. In your essay, you might decide to argue
that a local solution be applied or adopted in other areas in addition to the particular place where it
is currently being practiced or proposed. Find the home page for the mayor’s office and/or city
council of a major metropolitan city where your problem is occurring.

 What’s the name of a program or initiative either currently in place or being proposed to
combat that problem?

 What specific government organizations (would) sponsor, fund, and/or administer this
program?
 What does this program do to solve the problem? Any political affiliations we should be
aware of?

3. Getting back to the national level, the opinion pages of major metropolitan newspapers like the New
York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal can be great sources for policy. Pick
one of the newspapers listed above and find their Opinion page. Either search or browse for an opinion
piece related to the problem you’re researching.

 https://foodtank.com/news/2016/05/eighteen-organizations-working-to-improve-livestock-
management-practices/

 What newspaper did you choose?

a. The newspaper site that I decided to use in order to find my particular problem being fixed or at the
very least be presented as a recurring solution to remedy a problem is the Food Tank journalism
where their main subject matter pertains the matter of “food” and the association issues it comes
with in relation to agriculture handling and production.
 What’s the date and title of the most recent opinion piece on your topic?
a. This date refers to the title of the article I am going to be using as reference and evaluation towards
my topic: May 4, 2016.

 Who wrote this opinion piece (a regular opinion columnist, the newspaper’s editorial board, or a
contributing op-ed writer)? If written by anyone besides the editorial board, what are the author’s
professional affiliations and credentials?
a. The author of this particular piece and description of the slow changes in livestock treatment is
Sarah Small, a Chief of Staff member at Food Tank and was a former server of the Global Events
Director and Special Assistant at the Food Tank website.

 What solution does the writer propose to fix this problem? What obstacles to a solution does the
author discuss?
a. These aren’t necessarily solutions per say in the conventional sense and presentation. Instead, it’s a
list of organization of the food industry either of a restaurant it local farm that decided and
implemented improving livestock management practices that would be more environmentally
beneficial and publicly acceptable in standards.
 Do you see any other opinion pieces relevant to your topic? Record them here.
a. http://www.thepigsite.com/swinenews/44890/cpf-announces-global-policy-on-animal-welfare/
b. https://www.grandforksherald.com/business/agriculture/4432136-sustainability-their-own-words-
farm-groups-explain-what-it-means-them
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4. Non-profit advocacy groups are also great sources of solutions. You might know of an advocacy group
already. Maybe it’s something you read about in one of your sources for the Historical Conversations
Project or something you heard about in the news.
 http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2018/04/farmers-join-to-form-hsus.html

 If you have already discovered an advocacy group, identify the name of the organization.
a. The name of this organization is The Humane Society of the United States, which generally
advocates for the improvement of animal rights and target and challenge for changes in facets and
aspects of our society from a local to a national level that aren’t adhering to that notion of animal
rights.

 What is this organization’s primary focus and how does this focus relate to the problem you’re
researching?
a. Specifically, in the article presented in the link is the building awareness of farms and farmer
collaborating under the idea of creating safer, sustainable and humane farms that would encore
positive relationship between the animal and humans and creating a system that would support
these types of changes in the farm through the alliances and change of advisement with the HSDA.

 What specific actions is the organization taking in order to achieve its goals and/or solve the
problem?
a. The action of the HSDA is took to continue to spread and expose these types of attempts to other
states in order to include a change of rate in participation with livestock welfare reform and
actively engage with farms and organizations that want to formulate new reformation or start them
through outreach corporations with one another.

To find other advocacy groups relevant to your topic, use Google to search for your key term(s) +
“advocacy.” (Of if you already know of an advocacy group, see if they link to other like-minded
organizations).

 Name a non-profit advocacy organization that appears in the results.

a. While this isn’t exactly a “local” level program or initiative of any one state, the American
Humane Certified Program main mission to increase the gold and acceptable standards
and treatment of animal welfare in these industrialized farms. The possibility of this being
applied to the local level is that it allows for interaction of these polices into their business
if they seek them out and apply for it. In addition, this American Humane Association is
laddering as a national institution and faculty that is spreading awareness for preventing
abuse and cruelty that these animal experience (in my case specifically, bovine/cattle are
the primary target I am looking for in terms of species).

 What is this organization’s primary focus and how does this focus relate to the problem you’re
researching?
a. This organization themselves are a nonprofit and thus use the means of donation and
fundraises as their fiscal forms of accumulating income and money to continue their
programs and efforts. How ere, in terms of funding and sponsorship, a prominent character
is the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) as they oversee and administer
their functionality and federal influence in our society.

 What specific actions is the organization taking in order to achieve its goals and/or solve the
problem?
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 The Humane Association is continuously pushing forward news outlets, projects and media streams
to make them more appealing and prominent in these areas of focus through recruiting farms and
industries to participate and present with changes of livestock treatment and humane sustainability.

5. Think tanks are specifically designed to produce public policy—they can be incredibly influential, and
you don’t want to miss checking them out for possible solutions.

The RAND Corporation is a non-partisan think tank. Visit their website and find a report relevant to your
topic.

 What is the name of the report and when was it published? If applicable, who’s the author?

 What policy recommendations does the report make?

While there are many nonpartisan think tanks like RAND, which may be devoted to specific issues or to
serving specific people, many think tanks are driven by particular political and economic principles. In the
course of your research, you can find relevant think tanks in directories like the one offered by C-Span, the
one offered by Harvard, or the one offered by UPenn.

Find two relevant think tanks using one or more of the directories above. For each:

 What is the name of the think tank? What issues does it focus on? What political/economic
principles does it espouse?

 What is the name of a recent relevant report and when was it published? If applicable, who’s the
author?

 What policy recommendations does the report make?

6. Which resources from your HCP can you revisit to help you find a policy? Identify the source and
describe the policy (or policies) you found on/in it.