My 10 year old daughter is reading a book called “The Naked Mole-Rat Letters” by Mary Amato for school. I decided to read the book myself to see what my daughter was learining.
I was shocked when I read the following sentences on page 94:
“I certainly agree that kids, naked mole-rats, and all creatures should be treated with respect and dignity. I am a vegetarian because I don’t like the way that animals are treated by large-scale agribusiness companies.”
I was disappointed to see this author attacking agriculture and providing false information about modern agriculture practices to young children. Many kids who read this book will not have a connection to agriculture and will not know that the above lines are false. They will not know that farmers treat their animals with respect and dignity, and that modern technology enables farmers to protect our animals and keep them safe, comfortable and well cared for.
My daughter and I discussed this part of the book, and she understood this author had been misinformed about agriculture. I didn’t realize one of my daughter’s “Reading Counts” books, which are required reading points, would be spreading misconceptions about agriculture. We need more programs in our schools like Accurate Ag Books to provide the truth to our children about agriculture. Take a moment to ensure our children are learning the truth about agriculture and visit their schools, encourage their teachers to visit http://www.ageducate.org/ and use the information provided to help educate our kids about agriculture.