Compromise works. Really
Published 12:01 am Sunday, July 17, 2011
Opposing sides in a controversial issue spend years talking past each other, each attacking the other’s motives and making compromise appear all but impossible.
Yes, that describes the deficit and debt-limit debate in Washington, D.C. But it also fits another policy battle, one that recently took a dramatically positive turn and stands as an example of what can be achieved when adversaries drop their pursuit of perfection and settle for a mutual “good.”
The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers, longtime foes over the treatment of egg-laying hens, announced on July 7 that they had agreed to jointly seek federal legislation on new standards that will give caged hens considerably more room, as well as “habitat enrichments” such as scratching areas, nesting areas and perches. In short, a more humane existence.
The agreement came just as the Humane Society was preparing to turn in what appeared to be plenty of voter signatures to qualify a much more stringent initiative for the fall ballot in Washington. With a deal in hand, the petitions weren’t submitted.
Had that measure gone to the ballot and won, it would have superseded a reasonable bill passed in Olympia this spring that’s similar to what the Humane Society and egg producers will seek in Congress. The new state law will be phased in beginning next year, so eggs sold in Washington will have to meet new standards whether or not the federal push is successful.
Opposition has already surfaced among U.S. pork producers, who fear that new rules on hens will set a precedent for more government control over the treatment of farm animals. Such concerns are outweighed by the encouraging message Congress will send regarding the value of compromise if it supports this one. A bill should be drafted and passed as soon as reasonably possible.
The industry would phase in the changes over 18 years, at a cost of $4 billion. In return, it gets regulatory certainty throughout the country, rather than a patchwork of different state laws. The Humane Society gets much of what it wanted, and gets it implemented even in big egg-producing states like Iowa and Indiana that don’t have an initiative process. Consumers will pay a little more (no one knows exactly how much), but will know that what they’re buying was produced under clean and humane conditions.
Everyone gets something; no one gets everything. No one had to sell out their principles.
Two old adversaries have shown that compromise still works. We hope the budget negotiators in D.C. noticed.
