Made by defenders of the rights of the animal as agricultural workers, these videos have prompted meat recalls, closures of slaughterhouse, criminal convictions of employees and the apology of business leaders ensure that the offending images are an aberration.
In Iowa, where agriculture is a dominant force economically and politically, these secret investigations could soon be illegal.
Legislation until the legislature of Iowa would make it a crime to produce, distribute or possess photos and video taken without authorization in a farm installation. It would also criminalize lying on an application to work in an installation of agriculture "with" the intent to commit an act not authorized by the owner.
Similar legislation is being considered in Florida and Minnesota, part of a broader effort by big agricultural companies poised to block the kind who left their evil operations - investigative and unpredictably - open to review.
Their opponents, including the national groups that oppose industrial agricultural practices, say that these secret investigations have been valuable to reveal problems and are a form of denunciation which should be protected. They argue that the Act, if passed, would essentially hide abuse of animals and food safety violations.
Wayne Pacelle, Executive Director of the Humane Society of the United States, noted that recorded videos secretly emerged last year revealed unsanitary conditions within the egg plant in Iowa. Months later, a different Iowa egg producer was responsible for the recall of eggs more important in the history of the United States due to contamination by salmonella.
"It is because they do not want allows you to see what is happening that we had recourse to investigations of employee", said Mr. Pacelle.
Kevin Vinchattle, Executive Director of the Association of poultry of Iowa, who helped write the Bill, suggested that these loans to lie about an application could go further and video false step, destroy equipment or carriers of disease on farms. He could not provide examples of these things ever occurring.
"If they misrepresent themselves to come on your operation to do something which is not in your best interest, they should be held responsible for that,", said Mr. Vinchattle.
The Iowa Bill was approved by a wide margin by the House and was adopted by the Senate Agriculture Committee. It stalled after the Office of the Attorney General raised concerns that prohibiting the possession and distribution of images - a measure to prevent groups from animal-rights of use for the collection of funds - infringed freedom of expression. Supporters are working on the language of compromise.
The use of investigation secret to expose abuses in agriculture dates back more than a century. Journalist Upton Sinclair spent weeks of work in meat packing plants, while research for his book "The Jungle", and its graphic descriptions of the unhealthy conditions have prompted federal regulation of the industry.
In recent years, these investigations have increased, with the concerns of consumers about certain industrial farming methods. In Iowa, which is the largest producer of the nation of eggs and pork, several major producers have been the target.
After a 2008 on an Iowa pig farm survey showed workers beating sows and piglets as well as bragging against assaults, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals presents its video unedited in the application of the Actleading to criminal convictions against workers for animal abuse, said Jeff Kerr, General Counsel of the organization.
Rose Acre Farms, a producer of eggs in Indiana, has not realized that he had infiltrated until the Humane Society called a press conference a year ago.
The spy has been identified as a young man who had worked 15 days of care for the hens egg producing facilities in Madison County, Iowa). He was quiet and diligent and then ceased to manifest.
Subsequently, the company went into account than application mixed with the truth and falsehood. He gave his real name and social security number. But it listed false references, the company had not called. And it has surrounded "No" when asked if he was "a member, associated, or connected in any way with any organization that could be considered as a group of animal rights."
The man, who agreed to be interviewed on condition that his name is not used, was an employee of the humane society of the animals. Although he found troubling work - he keeps a mostly vegan diet - said, he did what he asked during the recording of videos for two hours a day with a hidden camera.
"My goal there is no change or do anything, my goal there is to work and save," he said. "My goal is to be the eyes and ears of the public."
This video showed rows of crowded wire cages, some containing wounded and disfigured chickens, as well as birds rotting, dead. Employees were seen throwing birds in garbage cans and talk about how their wings or legs sometimes fell into the process.
But the company said that the video was misleading. He cut many hours of images in just a few minutes and cut the back and forth between farms operated by two companies. Among the hundreds of thousands of laying hens, sick or dead birds are unavoidable, they said. No one has alleged that a crime has been committed.
Rose Acre Farms made firearms not one employee, but he did Institute more extensive checks the history of new workers, said Joe Miller, General Counsel for the company. "It was a fake film", he added.
The association representing egg producers contributed to a Bill to ban these videos, winning the support of other powerful farm groups in Iowa.
"People have fear of death that it is possible that in compromising position," said Craig Lang, a dairy farmer, who is the President of the Iowa Farm Bureau, which supports the Bill.
The legislation was strongly supported by Republicans, but also won some Democrats. John P. Kibbie, Democrat of Emmetsburg and the President of the Senate of the State, who has worked on an amended Bill should be published this week, say that he supports legislation to "make producers more comfortable."
"Agriculture is Iowa is", said Mr. Kibbie. "Our economy would be in the tank, big time, if not for agriculture."
Senator Matthew w. McCoy, Democrat of monks, which introduced changes to weaken or block the Bill, said he was concerned that it would open the Iowa to abuse that could compromise the quality of food and compromising agricultural interests very supporting legislation.
"If they have nothing to hide and they operate in an ethical manner, they should have no fear", said Mr. McCoy.
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