Category Archives: Agriculture

HSUS Misrepresents Agriculture (Of Course)

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You may have recently heard that McDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants will soon be requiring their pork supplies to phase out the use of gestation stalls in their operations. This is a result of pressure from the HSUS‘s attempts to bully the agricultural community into submission. What the HSUS can’t accomplish through direct government intervention (by sponsoring legislation aimed at crippling agriculture) they do by deceiving consumers through the spread of lies and misinformation. This latest effort targets pork producers, in particular, by making the assertion that the use of gestation stalls for the raising of hogs is both inhumane and unhealthy. Naturally, the HSUS misrepresents the issue, but when consumers fail to do their homework and simply take the HSUS at face value, the end result is bad for agriculture.

Chris Chinn presents a thoughtful and informative essay explaining why both barns and gestation stalls are actually good things, both for agriculture and for consumers. The video embedded below provides a great thumbnail sketch in support of the types of facilities used to raise hogs, and Chris includes another video at the bottom of her essay that shows a real, live hog operation. I highly recommend you read (and watch) the whole thing.

Diana Prichard provides another fresh perspective exposing the fallacy that commercial agriculture is bad and that farmers care about nothing but making money. (And believe me, nothing could be further from the truth. If you want to make buckets full of cash, agriculture is probably not the career path you should choose.)

The HSUS is bad news, and it’s unfortunate that so many people and organizations are willing to accept what they say at face value — which is why those of us in agriculture are speaking up and providing actual truth. And the truth is, far and away the vast majority of livestock farmers actually do care about the quality of life of the animals in their care.

[via HumaneWatch]

Becoming Farm-Minded

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[Crossposted at Stillhaven Farms.]

When Liz and I bought and started our farm several years ago, I don’t know that I ever really expected to truly become the farmer type. What I mean by that is, I’m a bit of a geek — y’know, kind of the way a Hershey’s bar is made with a bit of chocolate. I love my computer, I love writing code and building websites, and I love my science fiction and video games. But in my mind, it was my wife who had the horses and who, therefore, needed a nice, little farm where she could keep them.

I’ve always liked to joke that I married into horses and married into farming, that I am the “hired help,” but the more I do it, the more I really enjoy the process of developing and keeping the land. Not that I was ever opposed to the idea, mind you. I did grow up in farm country, after all. I just never really saw myself ever being this involved in agriculture. (If I had, I think I would have joined my school’s chapter of FFA.)

Recently, I came to the startling realization that, most of the time, I really enjoy the labor of farm work. There’s just something physically honest about it. There’s no office politics involved in hefting bales of hay around (though, to be fair, I work in one of the least politically charged offices I’ve ever seen), and no social faux pas to be committed in working with the horses or chickens (the same, unfortunately, can’t be said about the honeybees). It’s just tools and work and sweat — and I couldn’t be happier than when I’m out tooling around the farm somewhere.

Mind you, it’s almost certain I will always favor “geek” mindset that comes so naturally to me, but more and more I find it sharing space with my love for the land and for the animals and crops that we keep on it. Agricultural issues now have the power to get me fired up enough to actually consider the political foray of government and lawmaking, if only to keep certain interest groups from treading all over our rights as landowners and growers of food. It amazes me how much my attitude and perspective has shifted over the last five or so years, but it does not discourage me.

As first-generation farmers, Liz and I are growing an agricultural heritage. It’s simple work, honest work, and it thrills like little else to watch the land develop around us.

GRANHOLM Fail – Michigan Meatout Day

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GRANHOLM – Michigan Meatout Day. Michigan’s Governor Jennifer Granholm has just made a preposterous declaration – she has declared that this Saturday, March 20, 2010, is Michigan Meatout Day, in which she urges Michigan citizens to eat no meat. Her rationale? A vegan diet is healthier, cheaper, and safer.

Here’s the problem: her declaration is based on erroneous assumptions and misinformation and demonstrate her terrible lack of knowledge and understanding about agriculture. Let’s take a quick look at a couple of statements in the declaration.

Error #1: Reducing the consumption of meat or not eating meat at all can significantly decrease the exposure to infectious pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter…

The problem with this statement is that you can be just as easily exposed to “infectious pathogens” from vegetables as from meat. Any food source that is not handled safely can develop dangerous bacteria that can cause food-borne illness. Anyone remember the multiple recalls on green onions because of salmonella? Bacteria can be found anywhere, even in fruits and vegetables, hence why it’s important make sure your produce is clean, stored properly (e.g. refrigerated), and comes from trustworthy sources.

Error #2: The benefits of a plant-based diet can consist of increased energy levels, lower food budget costs, and simplified food preparation and cleanup…

Granholm sets up a false dichotomy with this statement, implying that a plant-based diet increases energy levels, lowers food costs, and makes food prep easier — and that a meat-based diet does not. This couldn’t be any further from the truth. A healthy meat-and-vegetable diet can do all of these things, in addition to making it easier for consumers to get the appropriate minerals and vitamins. Meats have all sorts of really good stuff, things like proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, water — all things that are great for energy. “Fresh red meats are nutrient dense — that is, they provide a high proportion of nutrients to calories. Their high nutritional density makes these meats an important component of a healthy diet.” (Source: Kansas State University, PDF)

Error #3: It is encouraged that the residents of this state get into the habit of healthy living by consuming a diet that is rich with vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, and by staying active

Eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is certainly a healthy part of any diet, no doubt. Granholm would have you believe, though, that eating meat is unhealthy. A simple Google search will turn up numerous reasons that meat is a healthy part of any diet. There are certain nutrients – like Vitamin B12 – that can only be obtained from meat, dairy products, and eggs. Other sources have to be specially fortified with B12 if vegans hope to obtain their required daily allotment.

The point of this is not to rail against the eating of fruits and vegetables but to point out the lunacy that eating meat is somehow unhealthy. Governor Granholm seems to have bought into this idiotic philosophy, and her recommendation for Michigan citizens to eschew meat for a day is careless and misinformed. Not only does her declaration lead people toward lies about meat consumption, it directly threatens the very farmers and producers who grow their food, many of whom grow both livestock and produce.

I urge Governor Granholm to retract her declaration and rescind Michigan Meatout Day, and I highly encourage Michigan residents to contact your governor and express your disapproval of this order.