Duane A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator, Webster County
October 9, 2009 Edition
Oh My Goodness, where do I start with this week’s edition? There have been so many things going on in the agricultural world with a late harvest, a good killing freeze, weaning time, electric fence chores, time to take cattle from pasture to stalks, etc. What has caught my attention however the most this week is the higher than normal influx of attacks on agriculture and in particular animal agriculture. I would be remiss in not commenting on a few of those items that really seemed to hit me like a slap to the face. What happened to the days when agriculture and the process of producing food for a hungry world was held in high esteem and treasured by the citizens of this country?
Earlier this week I read an article, believe it or not, from the New York Times. The Sunday edition dropped a front page, 5,000 word bombshell on the ground beef business. I don’t believe that never has a publication with such a nationwide impact taken the meat industry to the wood shed with such single-minded conviction. Whether you agree with them or not, the writers have reframed the E. coli debate, journalistically charging the entire ground beef distribution system with what can only be called a “series of self-inflicted, willfully neglectful felonies”. If you haven’t read the story, you can find it on the web by Googling “E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection”, or give me a call and I will get you a copy. I, of course, take exception to the bulk of the news article, however it is almost impossible to know where to begin except to say one cannot read this piece without knowing that the readers that don’t know better will come away with considerably less enthusiasm for hamburgers than before. I predict that before long, Oprah Winfrey no doubt will be saying (again) that she’ll never eat another hamburger.
That being said we also need to take some responsibility for this problem within the meat processing industry. The article points out that there were just so many failures that arose. It is pointed out that “the beef industry has failed to live up to the public trust by doing everything and anything it can to assure that the meat it produces is safe”. It also appears from the article that the “government has allowed the industry to dictate the terms by which safety is determined, thus allowing enormous holes in the system to be formed”. Those words trouble me and I hope that segment of our industry acknowledges these perceptions and becomes more vigilant and proactive in seeing to the safety of our beef for food.
As if that wasn’t enough to leave me a little sleepless, another couple of articles also hit the wire about the same time which actually got my blood racing again through my veins. Have you heard of a new thrust called “Animal Guardianship”? If not, you might want to be watching for this. Imagine that over night a new state law goes into effect declaring that from now on you do not own your animals but rather you are their “guardian.” Does this sound farfetched? Some local communities have already made this change and it seems to be picking up steam. The first legal step on this road has been the addition of “owner-guardian” language to local ordinances, then changing the wording to “guardian” only. Now one state now has “owner-guardian” as a part of its law, and various federal agencies are using the word “guardian” in conjunction with “owner” whenever the latter appears in their regulations.
Animal guardianship advocates suggest that referring to the human-animal relationship as one of guardianship rather than ownership will lead to better animal care. There is little basis for this assertion; an abusive animal owner would likely be an abusive animal “guardian.” While local ordinances to date have generally applied only to dogs, cats, and other companion animals, a next step would be to expand such laws to include all domestic animals, that’s right – cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and horses! With the groundwork in place, guardianship advocates could then move to the state level. Can’t happen? One only has to look at Proposition 2 in California and several other states and the problems it has created. Does that then give that animal the right to sue me or for someone else to sue me on behalf of the animal if they think that I am not following “their” idea of how an animal should be raised, fed, housed or even harvested? Will I lose “guardianship?”
Another alarming thing to me is the news that the Baltimore, Maryland Schools system became the first of what some feel will be many in the United States to pledge to serve no meat on Mondays, according to the organization behind the campaign. There have been other efforts for this, and it has even appeared right here in Nebraska. What school districts may not know is that “Meatless Mondays” (or meatless any other day), is really an initiative sponsored by the Grace Spira Project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The name “Spira” refers to animal rights activist Henry Spira, founder of Animal Rights International. Hmmm, I wonder if there is an agenda there somewhere? The actual creator of this project is the same group that created the series of videos at http://www.themeatrix.com/. I suggest you go there to better understand the organization behind the initiative. These videos seek to manipulate and mislead children through a cleverly produced, but factually inaccurate cartoon takeoff of the film “The Matrix”. There is also a connection to another new “anti-meat” web site that you may want to check out - http://www.meat.org/. It basically has three videos that appear in a youth favored “You-Tube” type format with names like “Chew On This”, “Meet Your Meat”, and “Free Me”. Ultimately, the group seeks an end to the United States’ efficient and advanced food production system that delivers to Americans the most abundant and affordable food supply in the world. Oh My!! We have a battle on our hands!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu
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