Since 2011, legislatures in Minnesota have been trying to pass ‘ag-gag’ laws which discourage and criminalize the act of uncovering the inner workings of slaughterhouses and factory farms. Such laws have been passed in Iowa, Kansas, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Utah.

Those in favor of ag-gag laws seek to protect the rights of the privately owned farms, while those opposing seek to protect the First Amendment.

Upton Sinclair -- author, journalist and activist -- opened the eyes of millions of Americans to the harsh realities of the source and quality of their food with his 1906 book The Jungle in which he exposes the meatpacking industry of animal abuse and poor sanitation regulations. Ag-gag laws would prevent such a breakthrough from happening again when Americans may need it most.

Following in the footsteps of Sinclair, animal liberation group, Mercy for Animals, organized a group of insiders to take jobs at various factory farms for the sole purpose of exposing them with hidden cameras and audio tapes.

Some of their findings include unnecessary abuse toward pigs being raised for pork at Colorado-based Seaboard Foods. Reporters describe that the workers “viciously beat and strike pigs on their faces and backs with heavy cans and boards. Other pigs are shown suffering from injuries and illness, packed into filthy, overcrowded pens.”

Consumers have the right to know everything about their food. In recent years, the meat industry has taken a liking to certifying their product as “humane,” insinuating to the consumer that they take special care of the animals on their farms and slaughter them in a considerate way.

Foster Farms in Livingston, California labels their product as “humane.” In 2015, Mercy for Animals went undercover at their headquarters to reveal a sickening pattern of animal abuse throughout their facility. They reported paralyzing chickens in electric water, yet not to the point of unconsciousness. They then were carried through a line in which their necks would be slit. If the workers missed, that chicken would remain alive for the boiling water bath. It is difficult to find any aspect of such treatment “humane.”

Minnesota State Representative Rod Hamilton supported a failed attempt to pass ag-gag laws in our state back in 2011. It has since been discovered that Rep. Hamilton previously worked for Christensen Farms in Luverne, Minnesota.

Earlier last year, Christensen Farms was under fire after a video was released showing seven workers abusing pigs. Perhaps Rep. Hamilton supports such suppressing laws because he knows that the meat industry would greatly suffer without them.