[Editorial] Time for Korea to change battery farming methods

Posted on : 2017-08-17 17:46 KST Modified on : 2017-08-17 17:46 KST
A poultry battery farm in Gyeonggi Province (Hankyoreh Archive)
A poultry battery farm in Gyeonggi Province (Hankyoreh Archive)

The South Korean government‘s lax response to pesticide contamination of eggs is becoming increasingly apparent. By ignoring early warnings, it allowed the disaster to escalate.

During a debate on response plans for pesticides in eggs back in April, the Consumers Union of Korea (CUK) reported that fipronil and bifenthrin - the two substances implicated in the contamination - had been detected above permissible levels in two out of 51 commercially marketed eggs it had examined. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety were reportedly in attendance at the debate.

Yet the government ignored these findings. Even after an incident with pesticide-contaminated eggs occurred in Europe, the government did nothing. It continued sitting on its hands for around one month. Indeed, Minister of Food and Drug Safety Ryu Young-jin declared at an Aug. 10 talk with reporters that [the incident in Europe] had “nothing to do with us” and that eggs were “fine to eat.”

This is a clear-cut case of safety negligence. While the primary responsibility may lie with the livestock farms that used banned pesticides, the government also bears a hefty share of the blame.

The incident has led to growing calls for improvements to factory-style battery farming conditions. The packed environments where animals are raised have become an issue every time there has been an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza - but then and only then. Most of the poultry farms in South Korea keep the birds cooped in metal cages with an area smaller than a sheet of A4 paper, where they can’t even move. It‘s dense enough that people who have visited the farms agree it would be strange if the chickens didn’t get sick. First, they create an environment where chickens can‘t live healthy lives; then they spray pesticides to prevent disease.

There’s a lot to be learned from how Finland has managed to avert pesticide contamination in its eggs, in contrast with other European countries like the Netherlands and Belgium that practice battery farming methods. Finland has implemented animal welfare policies since legally banning factory-style battery farming 20 years ago. As a result, it has been able to develop a high-value livestock industry with no threat of disease. Some South Korean farms began introducing free-range farming after the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2011, but they still represent just a fraction of the total.

A further reason for changing battery farming practices is animal welfare: livestock and poultry should not be raised in such inhumane ways. This isn‘t something we should just leave up to farms - there needs to be active support from the government. Consumers will also need to shoulder some increases in cost. It’s time for farms, the government, and consumers to start looking at food safety and animal welfare in a different way.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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