OFTA and the
Expansion of Factory Farming
Animal agriculture in Oman
primarily relies on traditional agricultural methods. By contrast, animal
agriculture in the United
States has largely shifted to intensive
industrial production methods on large scale corporate “factory farms,”
particularly in production of poultry, eggs, veal, and pork. Economy of scale
coupled with the economic efficiency of housing large numbers of animals in
intensive-confinement facilities and battery cages makes corporate factory farmed
products dramatically cheaper than those produced by traditional agriculture[i] – and far
more inhumane and ecologically destructive.
Major US producers are also aided by a range of federal subsidies that
give them an advantage over farmers in Oman These subsidies, combined with OFTA’s
guarantee of no future tariffs on animal products have led to the prediction
that exports of dairy, meat and some poultry products will grow under the
agreement,[ii] boosting the cruel and environmentally-destructive
practice of factory farming.
Cruel Efficiency: US Industrial Animal Agriculture
The US dairy industry currently
receives billions of dollars in subsidies a year, much of which are directed to
large corporations that run giant factory farms. While U.S. dairy production does not involve the
intense confinement of poultry or pork production, the use of Recombinant
Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), common to U.S. dairy production, represents a
threat to consumer health[iii] and animal welfare. Use of rBGH is linked to an
increase in the painful udder infection mastitis, cystic ovaries, uterine
disorders, severe hoof problems that create nonambulatory cows, digestive
disorders, enlarges hocks and lesions, and foot disorders in offspring.[iv]
Worse, the notoriously cruel
factory farm veal industry is a direct by-product of the dairy industry. In order to keep cows continually producing
milk, the animals are kept constantly pregnant through artificial insemination.
Many of the male calves produced as a result are taken from their mothers at
one to two days of age and raised for veal, spending their entire lives
confined in two foot wide crates, where they are fed a deliberately deficient
diet to produce borderline anemia to create “white” veal.[v]
Broiler chickens raised for meat
also suffer intense confinement in massive warehouse sheds. Each bird is afforded less than half a square
foot of space. In order to prevent the birds from pecking each other, an
aberrant behavior caused by the stress of intensive confinement, the ends of
the birds’ sensitive beaks are cut off without anesthetic. These chickens “have
been genetically altered to grow twice as fast and twice as large as their
ancestors. Pushed beyond their biological limits, hundreds of millions of
chickens die every year before reaching slaughter weight at 6 weeks of age. An industry
journal explains that ‘broiler [chickens] now grow so rapidly that the heart
and lungs are not developed well enough to support the remainder of the body,
resulting in congestive heart failure and tremendous death losses.’ Modern
broiler chickens also experience crippling leg disorders, as their legs are not
capable of supporting their abnormally heavy bodies. Confined in unsanitary,
disease-ridden factory farms, the birds also frequently succumb to heat
prostration, infectious diseases, and cancer.”[vi]
Egg production is widely regarded
as the cruelest form of animal agriculture. Egg laying hens spend their lives
confined four to a cage, packed so tightly that they cannot spread their wings
or legs. As male chicks born in hatcheries for laying hens are not considered
useful to industry, these birds are commonly ground alive.[vii] OFTA would likely benefit the industries that
utilize these and other inhumane practices.
The destructive impact of factory
farms extends beyond the welfare of the animals confined inside, however, as
animal and industrial waste laden with hormones, pesticides and other chemicals
contaminates soil and water resources,[viii] disrupting delicate ecosystems and destroying
habitats. Further, creating pastures and cropland for animal feed leads to
massive deforestation and species extinction. Finally, the U.S. meat and dairy industries lead
to the mass slaughter of wildlife – an estimated 100,000 animals a year – by
USDA Wildlife Services in order to protect farm animals. Animals killed include
coyotes, bobcats, feral hogs, bison, and mountain lions.[ix]
OFTA Threatens Traditional Farms
As cheaply-produced, heavily-subsidized
U.S.-originating goods enter Omani markets, Omani producers will be unable to
compete. The United States
provides hefty government subsidies to large agribusinesses, stacking the deck
against smaller scale Omani producers. Article 2.11 of the agreement states
that both countries “share the objective” of eliminating export subsidies on
agricultural products and “shall work together” to eliminate them, but mandates
no prohibition or phase-out of such subsidies.
Like previous free trade
agreements, OFTA calls for tariff elimination and for foreign-produced goods to
receive equally favorable treatment as those that are produced domestically.[x] Neither country may increase any already-existing
customs duties or adopt new ones on imports originating in the other country.[xi] While many products are already exempted from
duties by Oman’s
customs officials, down the line, the agreement could negatively impact Omani
farmers.[xii] Increasingly, U.S.
fast-food chains are expanding in Oman, promoting a shift to a U.S.-style
junk food diet. For their meat-centered menus, many of these restaurants import
animal products from the United States.[xiii], [xiv] As this trend increases, OFTA will prevent Oman
from enacting protective measures to ensure that the import market does not erode
the market share of local producers.
Given the limited nature of the
arable land base in Oman,
due to arid conditions, the country remains highly dependent on imports for
food,[xv] importing 80 percent of food used domestically. The
agreement will give U.S.
factory farm producers an additional advantage over exporters from other
countries – many of whom use more humane traditional agricultural methods than
the United States. In the future, Oman
will have the option of enacting custom duties on imports from these nations – but
not on factory farm-raised food from the United States.
The increased westernization of
the Omani diet reflects a global trend – with disastrous implications for
public health and food availability[xvi], [xvii] in developing countries which have traditionally
had dramatically lower rates of animal product consumption.[xviii] At the
same time, increasing awareness about the negative health implications of a
meat-based diet will lead to decreased rates of meat consumption in the United States
in the years to come.[xix] As US
agribusiness producers aggressively seek new markets to compensate for lost
domestic revenues, efforts by animal welfare, environmental protection,
anti-hunger, and public health advocates to abolish factory farms and promote
healthy, plant-based, resource-efficient diets are undermined. Expanding market access to Oman for US animal agriculture will
only exacerbate this trend. While Oman,
itself, represents a relatively small market, this agreement, as a stepping
stone to MEFTA, sets a troubling precedent.