California Proposition 2

[Tobina+1]

Not stating my opinion on this one (I'm with the rest of you; on the fence)... but here's some info that I picked up...
Salmonella and E-coli are not a product of just factory farms; it's actually passed from animal to animal via contact (bacteria).  And then it's really a result of poor harvesting methods and sterilization techniques in the slaughter facility.  Even if an animal has e-coli in it's manure, it's not on the meat unless the manure touches the meat or the packaging... and then it can be killed if properly cooked.  A piece of meat with e-coli won't kill you or make you sick... unless you don't cook it to kill the bacteria.

Also, animals in confined feeding operations are probably less likely to have salmonella and e-coli because they are washed down frequently (hogs in confinement) and kept separate from other animals (veal in their crates). 

Now, for the health of the animals, just like humans; those who get out and exercise and eat healthy foods are probably less likely to get sick.  Those animals can gain more, and faster (which is more profitable for the farmer).  Of course, it's probably easier to get all the animals the proper feed amounts and keep them at an ideal temperature when they're in barns and within certain cages (imagine how much room the local hog farm would need to let all their hogs run "free range" and how much damage to the land they would cause [pigs root]). 

I think there is a happy medium.  I think that the Proposition is probably a good one if they keep their requirements within reason.  Unfortunately, ranchers and farmers are a dying breed and there's not enough land (or manpower) anymore to be able to feed the entire country on free-range animals.  A certain amount of confinement feeding is going to be necessary.  What's important for people to remember is that if the animals don't have access to ample clean, fresh water and food, then the animals won't perform (gain/grow) and the farmer is actually losing money.