Have an opinion

Last night I had a one of those unique opportunities that don't come often. Wayne Pacelle President of the Humane Society of the United States was in Lincoln, Nebraska, and spoke at a town hall style meeting. What he had to say was interesting.

To prevent widespread panic among agriculture groups let me quote him, "We are not launching a ballot initiative in Nebraska!" That doesn't mean they never will, but it means that Nebraska's safe for now.

He talked about the organizations care for animals, and how the enemy isn't animal agriculture, but rather cruelty to animals. I don't know how much of his smooth talk I believe. "Our goal is to curb the worst forms of abuse and cruelty towards animals." After all in his mind, we may reach a point when raising animals for food is the worst form of "cruelty." There was a brief question and answer session, but the last speaker was a lady who spoke as a consumer. She said that agriculture needs to stop fighting organizations like HSUS and reach out to consumers to understand their values and concerns.

That resonated with me, and I thanked her as a beef producer for her words at the town hall meeting. She had an educated opinion, not one that I necessarily agreed with, but an opinion just the same. What gets to me is that so many of my non-agriculture friends don't have an opinion. They simply don't care about animal welfare organizations, or the impact that current fads have on agriculture. I even start a conversation about HSUS or more extreme activist groups, and I get an eye roll or a joke. Sure, I understand that it's not something that is their passion, but having an opinion is important.

Know the difference between PETA and HSUS (or the similarities). Think about how important a safe healthy humane food supply system is. Because it will certainly matter when the system has become so over run with rules, regulations, and mandates that farmers and ranchers can't do their jobs, and the food isn't on the shelf anymore. Enjoy the thanksgiving dinner with your family, but take a moment to stop and think how it got to your plate.

'till the cows come home,

Ellie