A Dirty Dozen: Agvocacy in Action

Posts Tagged ‘Animal Rights’

A Dirty Dozen: Agvocacy in Action

Monday, August 1st, 2011

We started our 10 year anniversary with a challenge: pick an agvocacy idea to multiply your voice tenfold. Leveraging voices between the farm gate and consumer plate is the goal of 10x Connect, so we’re providing a “dirty dozen” of our most popular blog posts to provide you food for thought.

The Tears I’ve Shed…Animal Abuse
An emotional response to another animal rights activist video. A must read for anyone concerned about dairy farmers abusing calves. Michele offers a personal glimpse of how food producers feel watching these videos and illustrates the misrepresentation by comparing prostitutes to farmers.

Farm and Ranch Blogs
Our collection of farm & ranch blogs from across the United States, Canada and several countries around the world continues to be a popular destination for people searching for food, farm and ag information. Click on the region links to see blogs from specific states.

What Shape is Your Food Plate?
Have you considered ways for all sides of our food system to connect equally, whether it’s the farmer, scientist, nutrition expert or consumer? The circular food plate gives people the opportunity to reach across, shake hands, and find common interests. MPK points to science, accuracy and credibility as hot buttons with food producers, dietitians and scientists that can help them work together to educate people about food. Research shows that the less people know, the more afraid they’re likely to be.

: Grab an idea from this dozen & cook it up to your own tastes.

I eat. You farm. So what?
A farmer walks into a suburban grocery store and talks with a food consumer. Read here for a conversation on hormones, pesticides, animal abuse, subsidies, biotechnology where there’s a connection made between two humans.

10 Rules of Online Engagement for the Kicking and Screaming
Guest blogger Dan Toland of Ohio Farm Bureau provides 10 tips for farmers and agvocates online – even those who are fighting the internet and social media. He points to a 52% increase in consumer trust on websites as a credible source on food system issues as reason enough to join the discussion. It’s time to step outside your comfort zone and be engaged in real, live and honest-to-goodness online conversations about what you do.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream…
MPK hosted a party celebrating all the flavors of advocacy during National Ice Cream Month. Lots of fun flavors from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Advancing Social Media for Agriculture
We’re bombarded by 13,000 marketing messages each day, now largely due to new media. Watch the Evolution of Online Agvocacy if you want to see more. All of this social media mania is also building a fear that humans may just stop having real conversations -after all, we can just text, direct message, instant message, Facebook or email (how old school!). Nothing could be further from the truth, based upon the energy level of a group of farmers, ranchers and agricultural folks this week at the inaugural AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 Conference.

Why Farmers Should NOT Speak Up
A highly sarcastic look at 15 reasons why farmers and ranchers should not tell their story. Why start the year on a resolution when you can kick it off with satire? Great quotes from ag people added to MPK’s sarcasm. Post your reason – let’s get all the excuses out of the way so we can laugh a little – and then have a productive year as agvocates!

The Integrity of Humane Care
How would you feel if your family was video taped in secrecy in your own home? MPK shares the feelings of farmers in this situation with animal rights videos. She questions the integrity of an agenda-driven group producing videos while disregarding private property, biosecurity, food safety and employee protocol.

Cow’s need nutritionists? Don’t they just eat grass?
There are many similarities and a few key differences between the nutritional demands of a cow and a human. Robin Rastani, a nutritionist for dairy cattle, explains her common goal with human dietitians – providing a healthy, balanced diet within a budget for our clients. A guest post that provides a great example of connecting science of agriculture to food interests.

The Sin of Animal Agriculture
Generations removed from the farm means we no longer have conversation that animals die for us to eat. Somehow, we need to get back to understanding that farmers raise animals for food – animals that are very different than Fido or Fluffy. Those farm animals take things we can’t eat or drink and convert them to life sustenance.Those of us in agriculture need to learn to better communicate that we are grateful for the sacrifice that farm animals pay so that we can eat. Not just to feed people in cities, but our families, too.

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Good or Bad?
Will HFCS harm baby Blue? Guest blogger MRS talks about reading the stance of other mommy bloggers and how compelling their passion is – until she read a a registered dietitian’s blog about the body treats high fructose corn syrup the same as table sugar. Is HFCS really one of the foods that pose a health risk or simply something to be consumed in moderation?

So…how can you apply these ideas to your world? Take 15 minutes today to adapt one of them to your world, in the interest of connecting farm gate to food plate.

Tags: abuse, Agriculture, Animal Rights, farm, Food, HFCS, MPK, Nutrition, Social Media
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Consumer Trust, Farmer, Farming, Social Media | 3 Comments »

The Tears I’ve Shed… Animal Abuse

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Today marks the release of yet another nasty video. One more portrayal of animal abuse. Another one that makes me cry. You might be surprised that I’m not numb after a decade of monitoring the animal rights videos. Simply put, they make me sick.

I shed tears because this is B.S. that is so unfair to the great people who work their rears off to bring you milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. No dairy farmer that I know is looking for your pity, but I want to be sure food consumers understand that making milk is a 365 day/year commitment. A person is a part of the dairy business because they love it. It creeps into your soul as though you have no choice. And that love is the singular guiding factor when equipment breaks down at 3 a.m., a cow needs your help regardless of the family event you planned six months ago and your business operates in the red for six months because milk prices stink (again).

Still feeding heifers, including the one I respected enough to put down.

I shed tears when I see dairy calves so terribly abused. It’s deeply personal; calves are part of my earliest memories. At 6 years old, I swept our calf barn – and was thrilled to do so because the calves were my friends that I could sing and dance for. As a teenager, I gave my FFA speeches to our cows (they always gave me a standing ovation). I knew they were there to produce food and would eventually die, but I’ve always considered it a privilege to spend time with the great dairy cow. True cow people consider it an honor to work with animals. That alone would make me think about grabbing the person who was in front of the camera on these “undercover farm videos” and toss them farther than they tossed that poor calf. I’ll never condone physical violence, but I would likely consider the same action for the videographer because there’s no way any true animal lover could watch “calf cruelty” like that. Did I mention that I kickbox?

My lifetime includes thousands of tears about animals that we worked so hard to save and couldn’t. Just this winter, I had to make the decision to put my favorite heifer down. After enlisting the help of a vet and our dairy farm neighbor who diligently cared for her, her condition degraded. This wasn’t just any heifer; it was one of the best descendants from a cow family I’ve developed since I was 12. And the daughter of a cow that our little peep helped show at age 1 1/2. Big emotional investment. But out of respect for the animal, I knew she had to be euthanized. And yes, I cried.

Some try to argue that there’s no way farmers can love animals since livestock are put to death for food. It’s called perspective on the life cycle. Our family gives thanks at every meal for the food, animals who make it possible and farmers who raise the food. Grace around the farm tables across the country echo this. Animals are entrusted to farmers to be cared for with respect. If you’ve come upon this post as a food consumer, please find a farmer who raises animals for food production and have a conversation. If you need that connection, let me know and I’ll help you. It’s not that farmers and ranchers don’t want to talk – they’re just a bit occupied with caring for their land and animals.

Do prostitutes represent all women? Animal abuse videos also aren't representative of dairy farm families.

All I have to do is look at the pictures in Mercy for Animals (MFA) propaganda and I shed a tear for images that can be likened to prostitutes representing all females. Some would describe it as gross, others are sickened, while some of the population tries to ban it. But in both cases, the images are not a fair representation of the population. My girlfriend who milks my cows is no more of a prostitute than she is an animal abuser. Nor am I. And it breaks my heart to know that some think that’s all there is to farmers. Isn’t it time we change that with a conversation? Take responsibility today!

Tags: abuse, Animal Rights, calves, Dairy, family, Farmer, Food
Posted in Agriculture, Animal Rights, Consumer Trust, Dairy, Farm Life, Farmer, Food | 42 Comments »

The Integrity of Humane Care

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010

Imagine this; you hire a babysitter to come into your home and care for your children. Two weeks after the seemingly qualified babysitter was in your home, you find videos posted on YouTube, your family’s name smeared across newspaper headlines and people glaring at you as you walk down the street. The video’s content? You – spanking your child in an act of discipline. Would you feel as though your privacy had been intruded upon just because the babysitter didn’t agree with your method of punishment (and had never discussed this with you)? Would secretly video taping be seen as an act of integrity? Likely not.

Hidden video taping on a farm is no different. A farmer’s feelings about being portrayed as “abusing” animals are the same as what you’d feel if a babysitter videotaped you “abusing” a child with a hidden camera in a pen in the spanking scenario. Both are an invasion of privacy, neither are an appropriate response and both reek of sensationalism.

Should a farm operate as a business with the expectation that all people caring for animals conduct themselves with integrity? Yes! Do animals deserve to be treated with respect for the sacrifice they make to provide us with food? Absolutely.

As a pork chop producing mom in Missouri says “On our farm, animal care is our top priority. For generations, our family has raised hogs with integrity while always seeking ways to improve the quality of care to our hogs. Thanks to modern technology, we can protect our hogs from diseases, injury, predator attacks and the harsh elements of the weather. We have a zero tolerance for neglect or abuse on our farm. We do not condone the behavior of bad actors. Overwhelmingly, the majority of farmers care for their livestock with the same integrity as our family farm does. We know healthy animals produce healthy food and we eat the same food as you do.” Hear more from Chris Chinn – and see a legitimately-produced video of a swine farm.

I've learned incredible lessons from cows, celebrated life's greatest wins with them, cried many tears when they suffered - and am grateful for the food they provide.

Just like vigorously and repeatedly smacking a small child on the back when he is choking might look like abuse if you aren’t aware of the situation, some things that may look like abuse on a farm are actually done in the animal’s best interest. For example, one of my cows went “down” this summer – on a lovely green pasture. It’s a bad situation when there’s 1500 pounds of cow that can’t stand on her own and the temperature was over 90. As I waited for help, I kept her heart going by beating on her chest (and it takes a pretty good thump to make an impact on that size of animal) and kept her alert with slaps to her face. In the back of my mind I worried, what if someone was driving by and saw me? Would they think I was abusing her? Probably. No matter how compassionately you treat a farm animal in distress – it’s not pretty. However, I knew I had to do what was right to care for my animal and I’m happy to say she survived.

Farmers are deeply committed to the animals in our care. If our animal is in distress, we will spring into action to help. Please keep this in mind next time someone shows a new “shocking video” about the treatment of animals on farms. Remember that videos are produced by groups whose integrity is questionable, at best. Case in point, the Humane Society of the United States, with 50% of their costs going to fundraising, paying lobbyists and overhead costs according to Animal People News (an animal rights newspaper). HSUS campaigns on puppies and kittens, yet they spend more money on executive salaries and their $11 million corporate pension plan than local shelters. My guess is that they’re likely using a great deal of that money in producing the next farm animal video, in the hopes that it will help them with their membership woes.

I have loved animals for a lifetime – I understand how tough it is to see the nasty videos of animals in terrible situations, but hope you might consider the integrity at stake here. I’m not claiming every farm is perfect; I’m simply pointing out that that an agenda-driven group who violates private property, biosecurity, food safety and employee protocol (by not immediately reporting abuse) deserves to be questioned. After all, how would you feel if a secret video was shot of your family by a group with questionable track record that disagreed with your activity and it ended up on the news? Isn’t it time we stop overlooking the lack of integrity?

Consider the true integrity of farm animal care - talk to a farmer!

Additional background on hypocrisy of animal rights groups:
Cute Kittens, Playful Puppies & HSUS Lies
NAIA fact sheet on HSUS
SPCA Official’s Dog Left in Car Dies
HSUS’s Wasteful Spending Puts Them on Charity Watchdog List
A Note to HSUS: Genuinely Grassroots

Tags: Agriculture, Animal Rights, animal welfare, HSUS, integrity
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Animal Rights, Farming | 8 Comments »

The Sin of Animal Agriculture

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Our family raises animals. Our family eats animals. Our family believes our faith is an important part of our life. Can those three go hand-in-hand?

Not according to recent accusations by animal rights activists. After all, how can you possibly eat an animal if you love animals? Wouldn’t that make you a hypocrite, according to messaging by groups such as the Humane Society of the United States?

These messages would have fallen on deaf ears when the majority of our country was involved in food production. However, today 98.5% of the population is not on a farm or ranch – which means people are not exposed to the birth, care and death of animals that provide their food. They don’t see how modern day technology helps animals, such as keeping hogs cool in the intense heat – nor do people see the families involved with caring for those animals.

That doesn’t make it right or wrong – it’s just reality. Generations removed from the farm means we no longer have conversation that animals die for us to eat. Somehow, we need to get back to understanding that farmers raise animals for food – animals that are very different than Fido or Fluffy. Those farm animals take things we can’t eat or drink and convert them to life sustenance.Those of us in agriculture need to learn to better communicate that we are grateful for the sacrifice that farm animals pay so that we can eat. Not just to feed people in cities, but our families, too.

Frankly, most people probably don’t think about it until they’re given a guilt trip or shown shocking videos about farms and ranches. Most probably don’t consider the national security provided by our food supply. And, they probably just want to eat and enjoy their food – the same as our family, who, by the way, is mourning the loss of one our cats “Cutie” – mostly likely due to a coyote. I’m not happy about it, but I accept it as reality. And I don’t believe that makes me any less of a Christian.

It’s called the circle of life. I’m O.K. with drawing a line between our cat and the pork barbecue we had for dinner last night; different species serve different purposes. Farmers and ranchers have deep respect for the animals they care for. And – even more importantly – we take the sacred trust consumers have in us to deliver a safe food supply very seriously.

Last week, Dr. Wes Jamison of West Palm Beach University helped me remember the importance of empowering consumers to feel good about food choices. Eating as you choose – not as food bigots direct you to – is not a sin. As Jamison says “Your dog is not a cow.” He encourages people to say-“I love meat.” If you do, please help people understand that it’s just fine to enjoy meat and have a dog curled up at your feet.

Tags: Agriculture, animal, Animal Rights, faith, farm, Food, religion, sin
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Animal Rights, Consumer Trust, Farm Life, Food | 7 Comments »

Dark Secrets of Farms

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Dairy People Care!

A common theme of the animal rights movement is to promote that today’s farms are full of dirty dark secrets. I grew up on a dairy farm, live on a farm and have had the privilege of being on hundreds of dairy farms around the world – including some around Plain City, Ohio. The crap you see on the heinous videos from animal rights activists, like the one being released by Mercy For Animals about a Ohio dairy farm, is not what’s happening on every farm. Based upon personal experience on the dairy side of agriculture, I’d like to offer a bit of a perspective check on the “dark secrets of farms.” Read More »

Tags: Agriculture, Animal Rights, calves, Conklin, cows, cruelty, Dairy, farm, Farmer, HSUS, Mercy for Animals, Ohio
Posted in Advocacy, Agriculture, Consumer Trust, Dairy, Farmer, Farming | 87 Comments »