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Change: Move "Ethical Treatment of Animals" from Chapter III, Section J to Chapter II, Section M.

Reasoning: The Section on Ethical Treatment of Animals is currently under Chapter III Ecological Sustainability. While there are many ecological repercussions caused by our treatment of animals, the Planks within this Section regarding the ethical treatment of animals are predominantly social justice issues.

Chapter II, Section E Education and the Arts, Plank 1(p):

p. We support a host of innovative and critical educational efforts, such as humane education, bi-lingual education, continuing education, job retraining, mentoring and apprenticeship programs.

Chapter II, Section F Health Care, Plank 3:

3. A large percentage of illness is diet-related; therefore, improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We promote a plant-based diet which according to the American Dietetic Association is "healthful, nutritionally adequate and provides health benefits in the prevention and treatment of diseases." We advocate subsidies for organic foods, as well as removing sugar/caffeine snacks from schools. This could save our nation as much as $700 to $850 billion of the $1 trillion annual health costs.

Chapter II, Section H Criminal Justice, Plank 15:

15. Establish programs to strengthen self-help and community action through neighborhood centers that provide well-funded legal aid, alternative dispute-resolution practices, humane education, mediated restitution, community team policing, and local crisis/assault care shelters.

Chapter II, new Section M

Change: Move all of Chapter III, Section J to Chapter II, Section M as: "M. Ethical Treatment of Animals"

Chapter III, Section E Global Warming and Climate Change, new Plank 9

9. According to a UN Food and Agriculture Organization report, the livestock industry is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems at every scale." We call for the progressive elimination of federal and state-funded corporate subsidies to animal-based agricultural interests and the redirection of funds to plant-based practices that produce food for direct human consumption.

Chapter III, Section G Water, Plank 5:

New paragraph:

5. The EPA recognizes factory farms as sources of water pollution under its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program. The Green Party proposes to:

• Mandate treatment of toxic wastes from existing factory farms.
• Impose a moratorium on any new factory farms.

Chapter III, Section H Agriculture, new Plank 3

3. We support the elimination of farm subsidies to large agribusiness conglomerates and the redirection of such subsidies to small and medium-sized farms that promote sustainable agriculture practices."

Renumbered Plank 14 [currently #13]:

Animal farming must be practiced in ethically and environmentally sustainable ways. Rapidly We support a rapid phase out the use of confined animal feeding operations and factory farms.

Chapter III, Section I Biological Diversity, Plank 10:

10. Since the efforts to clone animals and eventually the humans animal has have been undertaken by profit-making corporations, the purpose behind such projects is to manufacture commodities. To classify a human or non-human animal (or any part thereof, including human DNA and body organs) as a commodity is to turn human and non-human beings into property.

Chapter III, Section J Ethical Treatment of Animals

Change: Move entire section to Chapter II, new Section M

Introduction:

Cruelty to animals is repugnant and criminal unnecessary and immoral. The mark of a humane and civilized society lies in how we treat the least protected among us. To extend rights to other sentient, living beings is our responsibility and a mark of our place among all of creation nature. We call for an intelligent, compassionate approach to the treatment of all animals."

We reject the belief that our species is the center of creation the world, and that other life forms exist only for our use and enjoyment. Our species does not have the right to exploit and inflict violence on other creatures animals simply because we have the desire and power to do so. Our ethic upholds not only the value of biological diversity and the integrity and continuity of species, but also the value of individual lives and the interests of individual animals.

The Green Party advocates humane treatment of animals with the following policies:

1. Redirect the funds that are disbursed annually by the National Institutes of Health away from animal experiments and more towards direct health care, preventive medicine, and biomedical research using non-animal procedures such as clinical, epidemiological, and cell culture research. Any federal testing programs proposing animals tests must undergo a vigorous audit to assess their relevance and identify applicable non-animal testing strategies.

4. Establish procedures to develop greater public scrutiny of all animal research. These should include the welfare of all laboratory animals, including those currently excluded by the Animal Welfare Act, and a halt to wasteful public funding of unnecessary research such as duplicative experiments.

5. End the abuse of animals, including farm animals, and strengthen our enforcement of existing laws. This should include amending the Humane Slaughter Act to cover all animals slaughtered for agricultural purposes, including religious (ritual) slaughter practices.

New Plank:

9. Ban the practice of "pound seizure" whereby shelters are permitted or required to surrender impounded animals to laboratories upon request. Prohibit Class B dealers from selling animals from random sources to research facilities.

New Plank:

10. Ban canned hunts. This should include prohibiting the importation of indigenous and non-native animals and the sale of animals from zoos and other commercial "entertainment" industries for the purpose of canned hunts.

Changed and Renumbered (was #9):

11. Ban the exploitation of animals in violent entertainment, gambling and sports.

Chapter III, Section L Ocean Protection:

New Plank 6:

6. Implement a public education policy on the detrimental economic and environmental effects of consumer demand for fish.

New Plank 10:

10. Ban the practice of shark finning and close loopholes in weight regulations of incidental shark bycatch.

Index:

Under F, add "factory farms"