Commentary
If I write something positive about conventional agriculture (I’ll never make the mistake of calling it “traditional” again!) some of you write to say you are offended that I support or represent “big” or “corporate” agriculture. If I write something positive about growing local food or organic production, some others accuse me of siding against modern agriculture.
I don’t believe it has to be one way or the other. I believe there is opportunity in growing food, fiber and fuel. The demand for locally-grown food has created a new market for some farmers. I do not, however, believe the farmer who grows organic vegetables on 5 acres has ethical or moral superiority over the farmer who chooses to grow 10,000 acres of stacked trait corn. Conventional agriculture has provided a safe, abundant and low-cost food supply for quite some time and I do not see a future for this world without such production.
We live in a unique time when many people are truly interested in the origin of their food. This presents such a great opportunity for all in the agriculture industry to tell their stories before someone else tells it for them. It would be a shame to allow those with no practical experience or scientific backing to be recognized as experts on production agriculture. To keep that from happening, we’re going to have to set aside our differences and work together.
Julie Harker, a member of the Brownfield Ag News team, recently interviewed Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. During the interview, Julie told Pacelle that what she hears from producers is that they would not defend a bad actor and that the vast majority of those who raise animals are taking good care of them. Julie told the head of HSUS that the farmers she has talked to say they are “doing it right” and they don’t need to be told how to do it “more right” in someone else’s view.
Pacelle’s response was, well, classic Pacelle:
“I would say that almost all of the folks that we have spoken with in every animal industry, whether it is dog breeding industry or animal fighting – everyone thinks they are doing a good job. And I think that’s why you have legislators and regulators and you have the initiative process where people are held accountable. We at HSUS have done a number of undercover investigations at slaughter plants and auctions and stockyards, and in almost every case we have found gross abuses, like at the Hallmark Westland Plant. We had been talking about stopping the abuse of downer cows for two decades before the Hallmark case came to light in January 2008. The agriculture community fought us every step of the way and we thought that was penny wise and pound foolish. . . Each time the HSUS has taken an undercover look at facilities, we have found terrible problems. So, it doesn’t seem like self regulation is solving the problems. We wish self regulation was working better. We have plenty of other things to do with our time and resources than examine these facilities.”
Julie mentioned to Pacelle that the pork industry has several programs, such as the “We care” initiative and that the beef industry as well, has quality assurance programs. Wayne’s response to that:
“Good. It’s about time.”
I think it’s about time we take our industry back. Wayne Pacelle has no practical experience in raising farm animals. He has no formal education in animal science and is certainly not a veterinarian. He’s an attorney. He’s a lobbyist. He does not eat meat. Even if you grow that beef on grass with no antibiotics or growth implants, Wayne Pacelle is not going to eat the meat.
Why in the world would you let that man and his group’s money tell your story?
Latest: 
It is time to take back all animal industry from raising mink to our dogs and cats. It is time that people realize that HSUS has nothing to do with animal welfare but animal rights. Animals are bred to be eaten, a source of protein. The latest results hitting the news is that the vegan menu is not what it is cracked up to be but that is what Wayne wants us to believe. Less meat is a way to show compassion to animals. I would venture to say it is on the way to causing a lot of illness when some people just can not become vegetarian. Wayne would have been better off fighting child abuse and really make a difference in the world, instead he chose to be the head of an animal rights social movement, somewhat like ALF but of course they continue to get donations by staying on the right side of the law – or do they? With the pending RICO suit pending we will see how lawful they really are.
I so agree with you. There is too much finger pointing within the industry. If we don’t respond with a single message we will as an industry destroy itself. I really get frustrated by organizations pitting one form of ag management against another because it is too big, too small, organic, conventional and on and on. With apologies to Ben Franklin –if we don’t hang together we will hang separately.
Amen, Mz Cyndi!! I am a BIG BELIEVER in, if you have a better way…show me.
OTHERWISE Shut Up!!
As somebody who /will/ eat that meat, who prefers to eat that grass-fed, antibiotic free meat, I do think there is a need for something beyond self regulation. It goes back to respecting the land, respecting the animals, respecting what is putting money in the pocket and food on the table. So many larger farmers have lost sight of the fundamental debt of kindness we owe to animals. And I suppose I can hardly blame them; our culture is no longer tightly woven with our animals; they no longer guarantee our survival like they did back in the prairie days or even further back, when we were hunters, gatherers and nomads. It’s a different culture, and that makes me sad, because we used to be gracious to our animals, whether or not they are aware of our gratefulness for their existence. I know that I want to be one of those small, self-sustaining farmers someday. But I also know that I won’t and would not feel right doing it inhumanely. And if the industry won’t lay down laws and enforce humane care… then I applaud those who will, because it’s a hard battle to fight and agriculture will fight tooth and nail to keep things self-regulated, to keep the status quo. Because heaven forbid we remember the way things were hundreds and thousands of years ago, when we were in sync with the world and grateful to each carcass that meant we could provide a little bit more for our families.
@Snickers…I take great offense with your quote, ” It goes back to respecting the land, respecting the animals, respecting what is putting money in the pocket and food on the table. So many larger farmers have lost sight of the fundamental debt of kindness we owe to animals.” My family has been involved in raising animals for food for 4 generations. We respect the animals a great deal! We respect our land! Without respecting both the land and animals we will lose production. If that happens we no longer farm. Farmers have great financial incentives to respect the land and animals. Just as Thomas Friedman pointed out in his book “The Lexus and Olivetree” when he talked about how Costa Rica used financial incentives from tourist to protect their rainforest, farmers have the same incentive.
My family has raised pigs and is still raising cattle. I want to know where you get off saying that we don’t respect animals? Frostbite, hypothermia, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, those are all things that I have seen both my family, but our neighbors suffer from because they respected their animals enough to put the animals welfare above their own. Hogs today are housed in state of the art barns that are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. All pigs have to do is eat and be merry. Their food, water and healthcare is provided for them.
This past winter was a bad one. Temps full way below zero and the air was wet for two months. My parents brought many calved into their home to protect them from the elements until they could stand on their own and be placed back with their mothers. This was done so they would not freeze to death.
I can’t stand HSUS and detest Pacelle. He does nothing but pad his pockets and the coffers of HSUS with his “undercover” videos. If he truly cared about animals they why doesn’t he order his “undercover investigators” to assist animals in harm’s way? Nope, he said they are hired to film and not assist. The New Mexico Livestock board found the HSUS “investigator” sat around with his thumb up his ass while taping a cow in suffering. He didn’t lift a finger to help the individual that was trying to get the cow out of a jam. To me, HSUS has no credibility to speak about animal agriculture and how “We wish self regulation was working better”. HSUS is a joke and fraud that really only cares about $$$$$$ and will go through any lengths to make it.
Well, I think you can take “undercover” cameras into ANY industry, anywhere and find abuse. I think that is a very poor barometer of any industry overall. I know you can certainly find huge abuse in many of America’s municipal shelters. I’ve seen at least a couple personally. I’ve pulled dogs on the brink of death from some very medieval MUNICIPAL shelters. Does that mean that I believe the majority of shelters in this country operate at the expense of the animals? Of course not. Do I expect that some dog/cat breeders operate poorly? Absolutely. Do I believe the majority do? Duh…of course not. Nor does agriculture. ANY industry can be run poorly, and those involved in the industry treated poorly or abused.
Also remember that undercover cameras (and the people who operate them) have an agenda before they even step foot on the property which they “hope” to “expose”…and in most cases, when perceived “abuse” occurs…usually little is done to help the actual victim…and in many cases is not even reported timely…as these undercover “gems” are usually heavily edited, and presented to the public at a time that best serves the interest of the entity going undercover. Many times this covers MONTHS of video, with little understanding of the procedures and common practices of the industries which are being videoed.
We are quickly becoming a society sans ANY privacy. I read yesterday that if you keep your blinds and curtains on your windows at home drawn, and it is known you own pets…that is now considered a HUGE indication you could be a “hoarder”. Owning stainless steel food and water dishes, or prong collars, or a treadmill, are strong indicators (by law now in Texas) of dog-fighting. Try flying…for women, the elderly and children, the new procedures are so invasive that I can’t believe anyone would be subjected to them by American law. Women must cough up their pads or tampons, if currently “in use”. God forbid any person in “Depends” tries walking through. And children? Oh my…their body parts being groped for pat downs? We already have cameras on every corner to monitor all public movement in our society, our communications monitored, and the Texas legislature is again going to try to pass laws for sobriety checkpoints, yet again…we have red-light cameras…the list goes on and on. But now, assuming that by drawing our blinds and curtains on our homes ASSUMES something criminal or devious going on within our homes, is really beyond comprehension. We are not allowed to have privacy within our own homes, without being considered guilty of “something”. Really? And where did the “hoarding” bandwagon originate? Uh huh…our friends at HSUS. And we won’t even enter into the “fund-raising” of this lobbying juggernaut. They’re on the current Pepsi Challenge begging for a $250,000 “grant”…mostly for equipment and salaries needed for “seizures”. And they are in FIRST place, and will be the winners of this quarter million dollars on December 1, 2010, I’m quite sure. We have so much to be “thankful” for…
Snickers…
“And I suppose I can hardly blame them; our culture is no longer tightly woven with our animals; they no longer guarantee our survival like they did back in the prairie days or even further back, when we were hunters, gatherers and nomads. It’s a different culture, and that makes me sad, because we used to be gracious to our animals.”
I will agree that 99% of our culture is NO longer tightly woven with our animals. THAT is the problem. We were tied to the land and our animals, because that’s ALL WE DID. And we had to support every facet of our lives, by ourselves. Do you know how large a garden must be to support just ONE family through the winter? And how easy it is to lose a garden? Now days, we can run a hose or irrigation system to water in dry years. Dry years are not only about no water, but usually bring pests/locusts…which will decimate everything in their sight. Even in a good year, there will be significant predatory damage, by insects and local fauna. Do you have any idea how much time and effort is involved in canning that garden “bonanza”? How hard and hot it is, and remember, no a/c back then. And no electricity? Most of this was done on wood stoves. And the dangers of home canning? If not done correctly, salmonella is a real concern, as is just having to throw away food on which the seal has been broken. Do you know how hard it is to raise livestock? EVEN pastured? Disease? And without the current benefit of antibiotics and medicines? It was not unusual to lose entire herds to disease. And disease ran rampant in those days. Then where is your utopia? Many of the practices that were in place then, are still in place now…castration, de-horning, etc. and haven’t changed in decades if not centuries.
I applaud your desire to own and run a self-sustaining farm. I grew up on farms as a child (my mother had twelve brothers and sisters, most of who farmed) and my favorite aunt didn’t even have plumbing or running water on her farm until I was about eight. And I grew up on what would now be considered very bucolic farms. Pastured beef, hogs, chickens, turkeys, even a few farm horses until tractors and modern farm equipment became available and affordable. I grew up as unpaid garden help (for just about every one of my aunts and uncles)…and there was something to be picked, pulled, dug up, shucked or shelled, EVERY day until winter. And canning season? Brutal. And then there was “planting” season in the spring as well. I hope you will have the ability to hire help, because there is a reason that farm families, even forty years ago, had large families. It was to sensibly have a lot of available help. Even with small herds…it is a great deal of work. Does that self-sustaining farm include your plant-based diet as well, or just livestock? Are you going to produce ALL your own food? I grew up on farms that did. The only supplies that would be purchased, were “staples”…flour and sugar, coffee, mostly. Sometimes fabric as well, because “most” clothes were sewn at home. But everything else came from the farm. I churned butter many a day. Cottage cheese was made at home. Eggs, well they were available daily on the farm. I remember it all as being an incredible amount of work, but families and neighbors were much closer. Farm towns are small towns, and that allows for an entirely different perspective of community. There was an acute appreciation of the delicate nature of life, and how quickly it could be lost…and an understanding within the community of how important it was to support each other, especially in difficult times. (which there were plenty of…)
I think once you have an opportunity to run your farm, you will find many of the challenges to be great…and then just try to remember how much harder it would have been with no modern conveniences, and very little, if any, medical support, and your complete exposure to the moods of mother nature, the elements, and the weather. Modern farmers have the ability to control many of those “intangibles” now. It makes for a nice “Normal Rockwell” painting, but the reality was quite different, and life was VERY VERY hard on the farm, and there was no time to do anything BUT farming, gardening, and trying to survive day-to-day. And why is it, that only roughly 1/2% of our population chose to stay on the farm to being with? BECAUSE IT WAS HARD…and life was easier in the city…jobs more plentiful…food more plentiful. I do believe you will have a greater appreciation for the challenges once you own and run your own farm, even if small…especially if you are committed to growing ALL your own food.