Affected Ignorance And Animal Suffering: Why Our Failure To Debate Factory Farming Puts Us At Moral Risk

It is widely recognized that our social and moral environments influence our actions and belief formations. We are never fully immune to the effects of cultural membership. What is not clear, however, is whether these influences excuse average moral agents who fail to scrutinize conventional norms. In this paper, I argue that the lack of extensive public debate about factory farming and, its corollary, extreme animal suffering, is probably due, in part, to affected ignorance. Although a complex phenomenon because of its many manifestations, affected ignorance is morally culpable because it involves a choice not to investigate whether some practice in which one participates in might be immoral. I contend further that James Montmarquet’s set of intellectual virtues can provide a positive account of what it means to act as a responsible moral agent while immersed in a meat eating culture; they also represent the moral and epistemic framework for the kind of public discourse that should be taking place.     

Metal release from bottom sediments of Ocoee Lake No. 3, a primary catchment area for the Ducktown Mining District

Ocoee Lake No. 3 is the first reservoir receiving suspended sediments contaminated with trace metals discharged by acid mine effluents from the Ducktown Mining District, Tennessee. Bottom sediments (0-5 cm) from the lake were sampled to assess the potential for future adverse environmental effects if no remediation controls or activities are implemented. The sediments were found to include a major component (173 +/- 19 g kg(-1)) that dissolved in 6 mol L(-1) HCl within 24 h. This acid-soluble and relatively labile fraction contained high concentrations of Fe (460 +/- 40 g kg(-1)), Al (99 +/- 11 g kg(-1)), Mn (10 +/- 8 g kg(-1)), Cu (2000 +/- 700 mg kg(-1)), Zn (1300 +/- 200 mg kg(-1)), and Pb (300 +/- 200 mg kg(-1)). When the pH of water in contact with the sediment was decreased experimentally from 6.4 to 2.6, the concentrations of dissolved trace metals increased by factors of 2200 for Pb, 160 for Cu, 21 for Zn, 9 for Cd, 8 for Ni, and 5 for Co. The order in which metals were released with decreasing pH was the reverse of that reported for pH-dependent sorption of these metals in upstream systems. Substantial release of trace metals from the sediment was observed even by a modest decrease of pH from 6.4 to 5.9. Therefore, the metal-rich sediment of the lake should be considered as potentially hazardous to bottom-dwelling aquatic species and other organisms in the local food chain. In addition, if the reservoir is dredged or if the dam is removed, the accumulated sediment may have to be treated for recovery of sorbed metals.     

Measurement of transferable chemical residue from nylon carpet using the California roller and a new mega-California roller

Human chemical exposures resulting from transfer of surface deposition on indoor nylon carpets may be estimated by measuring transferable residues (mu g chemical/cm2 carpet). A weighted roller developed at California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has been extensively used to sample transferable residue for estimates of human exposure in risk characterization. A modified roller has been developed to evaluate the influence of pressure on transferable chemical residue since weight and force (or pressure, kg/m2) may vary person-to-person and activity-to-activity. A 30.5 cm diameter roller was used to apply 60 to 2100 kg/m2 to bracket pressures exerted by humans on a flat nylon-carpeted surface. Measurements of transferable cyfluthrin residues were made after 1, 7, and 21 days. Total Soxhlet extractable cyfluthrin residues were relatively constant during the test period. Residue transferability decreased during the study period. Modest increases in the transferability of surface residues were observed over the broad range of pressures applied by the modified roller.     

The Effects of Learner's Permit Requirements in Tennessee

Sixteen and 17 year-olds were surveyed at motor-vehicle offices in Tennessee after qualifying for their first driver's license. When the survey was conducted during October and November 1995, neither a learner's permit nor completion of a driver education course was required to obtain a license at age 16 or 17. The survey was repeated during December and January 1996–97, approximately one year after a requirement to hold a learner's permit for 90 days or complete a driver education course was implemented. Results from the 1991 drivers (ages 16 and 17) surveyed indicated Tennessee's licensing law change was associated with approximately 100 additional miles and 8 additional hours of practice driving prior to licensure for the typical 16 or 17 year-old, most often while supervised by a parent or guardian. Results are discussed in relation to the prelicense practice driving requirements of graduated licensing systems.     

Delineating protected wildlife corridors with multi‐objective programming

Protected wildlife corridors can help counteract habitat fragmentation and link isolated reserve “islands” into connected reserve systems. The need for wildlife corridors will grow as expanding human populations place increasing pressure on remaining undeveloped land. A two‐objective zero–one programming model is formulated for the problem of selecting land for a system of wildlife corridors that must connect a known set of existing reserves or critical habitat areas. This problem is modeled as a network Steiner tree problem, under the objectives of minimizing corridor land costs and minimizing the amount of unsuitable land within the corridor system. Linear programming is used to find exact solutions with little or no branching and bounding, and the multi‐objective weighting method is used to generate non‐inferior alternatives. Two hypothetical examples demonstrate the model and solution procedure. Results can help inform planning and decision making for protected area land acquisition and habitat restoration.     

Bystander injury evaluation of children from midwestern agricultural operations

Background

With more than a million youth living on agricultural operations, it is important for parents to understand the consequences of bystander injuries that children experience in these environments. We identified the childhood injuries for bystander status and compared the severity of these injuries to the working children in the Regional Rural Injury Study-II (RRIS-II).

Methods

RRIS-II followed 16,546 children (∼ 85% of eligible) from rural communities in the Midwest for two six-month recall periods in 1999 and 2001. Demographic, injury, and exposure data were collected through comprehensive computer-assisted telephone interviews. Child injuries were cataloged using narrative scenarios into four categories: (a) directly work-related; (b) indirectly work-related; (c) non-working accomplice; and (d) non-working attendant; the latter three all being bystander categories. Poisson regression modeling was used to calculate rates of bystander injuries. Frequencies were used for comparison of severity measures.

Results

Among the 463 child injuries (aged < 20 yrs), 102 were bystander injuries. Of the bystander-related injuries, 14 were identified as indirectly work-related (working bystanders), 27 as non-working accomplice (passengers/tag-alongs), and 60 as non-working attendant (playing on the operation). The overall rate of bystander injuries was 6.4 per 1,000 people, 95% CI (5.0, 8.1). Males, compared with females, had more than twice the injury rate (8.7; 95% CI 6.4-11.8, and 3.9; 95% CI 2.7-5.7, per 1,000 people, respectively). Bystanders in this population had more severe injuries with 4% having life-threatening circumstances; of these, 4% of the accomplices and 2% of the attendants subsequently died.

Conclusions

Children who live or work on agricultural operations are vulnerable to many hazards. Therefore, this study examined child injuries and found a clear difference in the consequences of these injuries between working-related and bystanding-related injuries.

Impact on Industry

Unlike occupations such as construction and mining, where laws and organizations have been created for the protection of bystanders, agricultural bystanders have remained unprotected and have had to face the consequent injury and death outcomes. As public health professionals considering these risks, it is necessary that we work to develop more intervention studies and continue to propose suggestive guidelines for child safety in these environments so as to challenge family traditions and possibly spark public policies that will give further protection to this population.     

Graduated Driver Licensing Research, 2007-Present: A Review and Commentary

The evolution of graduated licensing systems in the past 25 years has resulted in dramatic growth in research on this topic. The most recent summary reports have covered the period up to 2007. In the present article more recent and ongoing research is categorized, summarized, and discussed.     

An Event-Based Approach for Examining the Effects of Wildland Fire Decisions on Communities

Public concern over the consequences of forest fire to wildland interface communities has led to increased resources devoted to fire suppression, fuel treatment, and management of fire events. The social consequences of the decisions involved in these and other fire-related actions are largely unknown, except in an anecdotal sense, but do occur at a variety of temporal and social organizational scales. These consequences are not limited to the fire event itself. Preparation for the possibility of a fire, actions that suppression agencies take during a fire, and postfire decisions all have consequences, if unknown currently. This article presents an "event-based" approach that can be useful for constructing and systematic discussion about the consequences of wildland fire to human communities. For each of the three major periods within this approach, agencies, communities, and individuals make decisions and take actions that have consequences. The article presents an integrated, temporally based process for examining these consequences, which is similar to others developed in the natural hazards and disaster management literature.