Shared Lives: Why an Urban Commission Helps Farm Animals

Long Dream Farm, photo by Nina Irani

During the pandemic, I’ve realized one of my greatest joys is just being outside in the fresh air, feeling the sun (when it’s out) and wind, or simply sitting in our city’s mystical fog.  When I observe other animals, I see this is a pleasure we share.  Even my cat Henry, a rescued Maine Coon who shies away from wide-open spaces, relishes his time in the open-air courtyard, his nose sniffing the breeze.  It’s not hard to imagine other animals enjoying this, too.

As an urban organization, much of our attention at the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare is focused on the animals within our city limits.  We’ve talked about how to best care for our community cats and kittens, coexist with our coyotes, and keep our dogs safe as they accompany us on errands around the city. 

But we’ve also spent many months discussing animals that are often overlooked by city dwellers: farm animals. Like me, most San Franciscans don’t get to spend much time in proximity to farm animals.  But many of us consume them or their milk and eggs.  Our actions directly impact their lives, which are often lived unseen on massive commercial farms. 

Over the past few years, the commission has taken a variety of actions to improve the circumstances of farm animals.  Some are the result of outreach by dedicated members of the public, such as the resolution we recommended to support activists exposing conditions on factory farms , which our Board of Supervisors passed unanimously last year.

Other changes have been initiated by the board, with the commission lending its support, like our city’s new food purchasing standards. Adopted last year, these standards call for city departments to reduce their purchases of animal protein and increase their plant-based purchases. 

While such initiatives represent progress, the commission is still working to rally support for other important efforts on behalf of farm animals. These include: 

• A resolution supporting California’s Proposition 12, passed in 2018, which prohibits the sale of pork, veal, and eggs produced from caged animals, and will become fully effective at the end of this year.  Our neighbors in Berkeley and Oakland recently passed similar resolutions supporting Prop 12, and our own commission has been working since last summer to get ours adopted.

• Persuading our city’s State Legislation Committee - the group that decides if San Francisco will officially endorse, oppose, or remain neutral on proposed state legislation - to endorse two state bills:  Assembly Bill 1289 to help farmers wishing to transition from animal agriculture to plant agriculture and Assembly Bill 558 to reimburse schools for serving more plant-based meals. 

If you’re interested in supporting these recommendations, please get in touch with your supervisor.  Our city representatives want to hear from their constituents, and the more input they get on these issues, the more likely it is they’ll take action.  Getting a recommendation adopted requires patience, commitment, and repeated followup, but it will be worth it.

Henry, photo by Suzanne Davidson

Whenever I start to feel frustrated about the pace of progress, I revisit my original inspiration: animals. With travel restrictions recently loosened, I decided to visit the local farm that produces the dairy products I buy. I was originally attracted by their ethics; they have a no-kill policy, meaning that all animals born on the farm spend their entire lives there, along with many rescued animals, which isn’t typically true at other dairies. On my visit, I learned the farm was the result of one family’s dream: to create a humane coexistence between people and farm animals and to eventually transition to a world where people meet most of their dietary needs through plants. This vision, which they hope will last beyond their own lives, is stated in the name they chose for their operation: Long Dream Farm.

As I worked on this article, I was lucky to be able to sit outside at the farm, feeling the warmth of the sun and the fresh air, and even luckier to be in the presence of other animals.  I watched a horse rolling around on his back in the dust.  I saw a pair of donkeys grazing, their heads lowered into the green grass.  I heard roosters singing (I didn’t know they did that all day long) and watched them dig beds in the dirt.  And I got to see a rare sight: mother cows grazing with their calves in the pasture, with calves nursing freely at their teats. 

It seemed to me the animals were enjoying the open air as much as I was.  I wanted the same for the rest of their kind.  We were all there, together, just being. 

Please join the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare at our next meeting on Thursday, June 10, 5:30pm, to learn about the work of Veterinary Street Outreach Services (VetSOS), which serves San Franciscans experiencing homelessness and their companion animals.  Visit the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare for more information.