The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) prides itself on encouraging consumers to “eat with a conscience.” In other words, the HSUS would like everyone to remove meat from their diets and depend solely on vegetables and plant-based foods to sustain themselves. This catchy phrase has caught the attention of many consumers, and unfortunately some are buying into HSUS’ propaganda. After all, who wouldn’t want to eat without a conscience?

When I hear the phrase “eat with a conscience” I have to wonder what would result if such a lofty goal came to fruition. Imagine if there were no cattle, hogs, sheep or chickens. Probably the first thing we would notice is that people couldn’t afford to eat because they wouldn’t have jobs. Currently over 22 million people work in the agricultural sector helping to get food from the farm to the table. For those who could actually afford to purchase food in the grocery stores, choices would be significantly less. Almost every product in the grocery store today has some connection to livestock. If you have a minute take a close look at the ingredients of your favorite foods like ice cream, condiments, candy, baked goods, chewing gum, cereal, freezer foods, and the like. More than likely if you can’t pronounce one of the ingredients it came from an animal.

In the pursuit of getting plant-based foods to taste like the “real thing,” millions of pounds of food would be discarded and sent to the landfill. As the food decomposes, methane gas would be produced and emitted into the atmosphere at a rate 21 times worse than that of CO2. Currently, livestock operations around the country are utilizing food waste as a supplemental food source for their animals. This prevents much of the manufacturing food waste from ever making it to the landfill. In addition to eating our ‘throw-aways’, livestock are used as a management tool on much of America’s working lands. Without their natural fertilizer, hoof action, and grazing ability we would see productive land disappear and desertification increase.

Another staggering tidbit of information is that food demand is projected to double by the year 2050. If food prices rise with the demand, history tells us that we can expect worldwide food riots, increased poverty, and severe malnutrition in developing parts of the world. To meet this growing demand, farmers will be expected to produce crops with higher and higher yields. This of course can’t be done using an organic method of farming. Dependence on biotechnology would increase and millions of acres of farm ground would require petroleum-based fertilizers, instead of the natural fertilizer that was once applied.

Livestock will play a major role in meeting the demand of an ever-growing world population. Subtracting meat and other animal based products from the equation would undoubtedly cause millions more people to starve. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want that on my conscience.

If you really want to “eat with a conscience” then consider how you can make a difference with your food dollars. One easy step is to purchase locally grown foods including meat, eggs, and dairy products. This is a transparent way for you to invest in your community and provide a nutritious meal for your family. For an added benefit, purchasing locally grown food is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, especially if the product didn’t have to be transported half way around the world.

Another easy way to eat with a conscience is by reducing the amount of food that you throw away. As Americans we love to eat, but unfortunately a significant portion of the food produced in the country is never eaten. It is estimated that wasted food costs Americans $100 billion dollars annually, or put another way, about $600 dollars per household.

Eating with a conscience, as defined by the Humane Society of the United States, is a great marketing scheme to undermine and attack the farmers who raise livestock for a living. If you choose to be a vegetarian/vegan with the dream of putting someone out of business, than I would ask that you take some extra time to test your conscience.

As you travel the country side this spring, summer, and fall the chances of encountering farm equipment are very good. Over the years the size of tractors, combines, and equipment have grown larger. One of the reasons for this is that less than two percent of the nation’s population is actively involved in farming. In order to feed a hungry world; today, farmers use larger equipment to plant and harvest food for you and me.

Most farmers are not fortunate to have all their land located in one place. This means that farmers use state and county roadways to transport equipment to and from each field. I have been driving tractors and combines for almost 20 years now and would like to offer some hints to make our next encounter a safe one.

1. When you first see a tractor or combine on the road, your first instinct should be to slow down. For the most part tractors and combines top speed is 20-24 miles per hour. That means that a car traveling at 55 mph can overtake and close a gap of 300 foot with a tractor running 15 mph in about five seconds.

2. Look for a place to pull over. I personally had rather pull my tractor over and allow the motorist to drive past. If you choose to pull over make sure that you do not stop in front of mailboxes, road signs and utility poles.

3. Farmers should be courteous to motorist and allow them to pass when safe. Slow down and/or pull your tractor over to allow for passing.

4. All parties need to be patient. Farmers have an important job to do and we are not on the roadway to inconvenience motorist. We want to arrive to the field as quickly and as safely as possible.

5. When traveling on two lane roads beware that just around the next corner a slow moving tractor could be waiting. For your safety and mine do not use these roads to practice for the Indianapolis 500.

By following these common sense steps we can prevent an awkward meeting. For more information on sharing the roadway with a farmer go to: http://agnewsarchive.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/AGEN/Jul1304a.htm or check out my video at http://www.fb.org/index.php?fuseaction=yourag.farmer.

I hope that any of my fellow farmers or motorist with suggestions will make comments on this post.

I work with livestock because I like working with animals. I enjoy taking care of them in all conditions and would never intentionally harm an animal. The care and well-being of my livestock is first and foremost in my thoughts at all times. The safety, comfort and health of my animals on my ranch come first, period.

I make this statement because recently an undercover video of animal abuse on a dairy farm has surfaced. I do not know how long it took to get the several minutes of footage, the circumstances it was shot in or how it was obtained. What I do know is that kind of treatment is not acceptable anytime or anyplace.

Every occupation has its bad people and that is exactly what you see in the video. Let me assure you that 99.9999% of all producers are good, decent people who respect the animals they spend their life raising. I don't know how many thousands of producers the activist group had to go to and how many years they spent looking for someone like this but the abuse documented in this video is certainly extreme and unacceptable. It breaks my heart to watch it.

The only person I can speak for is me, but I would never, under any circumstances abuse one of my animals. While I know that the purpose of the livestock I raise is ultimately for food, I also believe that their health, comfort and safety is my number one job. The livestock I own depend on my care for their every need. I strive each and every day to make their time with me as comfortable and stress-free as possible.

I hope you will take the video at its face value. It is one or two bad people doing bad things and it certainly does not represent the vast majority of the hardworking men and women who work on family livestock farms. This is another reminder that we as farmers and ranchers need to reach out to our customers. I promise as you get to know us personally, you will realize that we care about our animals and treat them with dignity and respect.