I think the number of very elloquent arguments against the exploitation of animals just further reinfoces the fact that a wider debate about the "uses" of animals is needed. Animals play a huge part in co2 levels and global warming and until something is done about the methan driving a Prius isn't going to make any difference whatsoever!

Interesting aside. . . http://www.nlpc.org/stories/2010/08/04/congress-delays-black-farmer-settlement-shirley-sherrod-line-millions

Seena- Such a touching story! Grandparents are wonderful and I too am blessed to have been raised right next door to mine! Thanks for sharing! Julie

Despite the lofty goals of this project, science seems to have taken a backseat to ideology, as the report denounces biotechnology and praises the virtues of organic agriculture. This is the result of strong lobbying in support of organic agriculture—an ideology of affluent interested parties—which cannot effectively support less fortunate people or future increases in the human population. Agriculture is a man-made activity that has changed plants and animals to suit our needs for millennia, and it was the science and technology of the green revolution that helped to feed the human population as it increased from three billion to six billion.

Wow! That last paragraph says a lot! :)

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I have been in dairying my whole life, so I am also distrubed by the assumptions people make about our industry and how they think things should be done. As a nurse I have worked for 19 years to see that agricultural injuries receive the care they need and worked with farmers and others to design prevention stategies. Our animals are big and powerful so we do risk serious and deadly injuries. I pray that this farmer might be recovering by now.

Love the post. It is a way of life because of your values. I grew up on the farm and currently work in the city. The value set is very, very different. In today's society, where instant gratification is the norm people have transposed the saying, "You get out of it what you put into it." Well, nowadays people want to see what they get out of it before they put the effort into it. I agree that there isn't anything better seeing cows on a grass pasture, knowing that your life and theirs are connected. (see my blog at blogger - transplantedfarmboy)

You sound like my husband! We no longer have the family dairy, but we still have feeder cows. I know Steve misses seeing Holsteins out in the pasture, and I liked feeding the calves. Great post on why we do what we do!

Thanks for helping to feed the world with an excellent product. Very well written and to the point.

Great post. Alliance Tire Americas re-posted this on Facebook and Twitter.

Humane treatment of all creatures should be standard, not a luxury. this does not mean don't eat meat or be a vegetarian, It just means brutality should be avoided.

The earth could not sustain its population without the use of meat for food. Humans have eaten meat for thousands of years and it is likely that if they had relied on crops alone the human race would not have survived. While vegetarianism is on the increase in the west people in traditionally vegetarian areas e.g India are eating more meat. Vegetarians are entitled to their beliefs but there is no prospect of vegetarianism becoming universal anytime soon. Animals have always been looked at as a source of food and the attribution of human emotions and feelings is a relatively recent phenomenon.

Very important advice, safety is above all other concerns when driving a tractor. And all other drivers should know this advices to prevent unnecessary accidents.

Great observations Chris. I watch the discussion as people talk about putting together the 2012 Farm Bill. Most of the discussion seems to be about how we can get more government involvment and money for agriculture, as you point out this has not been a good policy for the UE. We should instead be talking about how can we get less Government involvement, and yes, less Government money in agriculture. I believe this type of a farm bill would prove over the long term to be best for the long term viability of American Agriculture.

I totally agree. With all the advocacy buzz about social media I have been worried that we are missing the boat with on-farm tours, grocery store samples and other face-to-face opportunities. Any time you can agvocate is important--keep up the great work, Will!

There is a growing movement against what farming has become, inspired by people like Wendell Berry. It is disgusting the way animals are treated as commodities and raised in ways that produce unhealthy, toxic meat, eggs and milk. Living creatures like chickens and milk cows are treated with no consideration other than how to get the most out of them before throwing their spent, crippled bodies away to the fast food or pet food markets. People who work in confinement houses are low-paid and often abusive to the birds and animals - nobody aspires to work in such depressing, filthy conditions, so the quality of these workers is pretty low! Now there is a backyard chicken movement, to have the opportunity to know chickens, which are delightful creatures to be around in the yard, feed them kitchen scraps and other good quality food, keep them in comfortable housing, and get high quality eggs, for virtually no carbon footprint. Beef cattle were never intended to stand around knee deep in their own excrement day after day eating corn which their digestive systems were not designed to handle. So they are fed drugs to keep them functioning, and gaining weight. This promotes the production of ecoli bacteria, and they go to slaughter with the ecoli bacteria all over them from standing in it, and it gets on the meat and is there just waiting to make people who eat unproperly cooked meat sick. Yummy! Then there is the huge carbon footprint of the fossil fuels used to produce corn, haul corn, distribute it as feed, hauling animals to and from sale barns, to market, slaughter and distribution of the meat. Buy local from ethical people who pasture feed their animals! I know it is expensive and difficult because organizations like the Farm Bureau and the federal government have seen to it that the little guy can't compete and destroyed all of the infrastructure that existed when there were small farmers who had produce to market. It is all regulated and set up for the benefit of industrial farming now, and that didn't happen by accident, right Farm Bureau? Crops are now raised in virtually sterile soil, with only the chemicals put into it necessary to grow them, and devoid of the nutrition there used to be under more organic conditions, when the "weeds" that draw up these other nutrients were cultivated out and their remains went back into the soil, and the rotted manure of animals who were pastured and ate such varied plants was spread back onto the land to fertilize it. Read Wendell Berry or Rodale if you want to relearn good farming practices! Working in packing plants used to be a good job when I graduated back in '68, but Reagan broke the unions in this country and now it is hell on earth in slaughter houses for both workers, who are often illegal aliens, and animals who don't get properly stunned before having their throats slit due to the line moving faster than it should be. It is not unusual for chickens and hogs get dragged into scalding water alive. The Farm Bureau has consistently promoted quantity over quality, but the backlash is coming, whether it be vegetarians or just people concerned about ethical eating, and supporting the people who raise animals respectfully the right way like they are living, feeling creatures. Now you can lead the movement, follow the leaders, or get out of the way, but it's coming! We are tired of food being raised for shipping ability and shelf life instead of flavor and nutritional value! We are tired of toxic meat, dairy and eggs! We are tired of the mistreatment of animals as commodities! And, oh, by the way, I grew up in Iowa in a farming community, and my parents and relatives all had farming backgrounds.

You are absolutely right Will. It's a message that I've tried to share as well. Certainly social media has given us the ability to communicate in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. These tools allow us to talk to people all over the world without ever leaving the ranch. However, this doesn't mean we abandon the handshake or looking people in the eye to tell our story. That's still the most effective way to share our message.

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