Farmers Need to Tell Their Own Story
Farmers have much on their minds these days. Not only are they thinking what the price of corn and soybeans will be this fall, but…
Farmers have much on their minds these days. Not only are they thinking what the price of corn and soybeans will be this fall, but they are also thinking about the activities of the several radical animal rights groups in the country.
Consumers in turn need to be concerned with the activities of these groups because they want to tell the public what it can and cannot eat. Most people want the right to make their own decisions about what goes on the dinner table.
Recently, the Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA), an organization dedicated to telling the truth about the activities of the anti-animal groups, had an article in the Dairy Herd Management magazine, a well-regarded national publication. Staff members from AAA attended a national conference of anti-animal agriculture groups. They wanted to know what these groups were planning and doing. And, everyone needs to be concerned.
They said that these groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, Mercy for Animals and Farm Sanctuary, were passionate about using every available channel to promote veganism. They plan to expand use of the so-called social media to raise money, target restaurants and retailers about “factory farming” and promote Meatless Mondays.
It might seem they are making some headway with the Meatless Monday idea. For example, not too long ago the city council in a nearby major city was considering legislation promoting Meatless Mondays. It is not the brightest idea that council has had and, as several people said, it should have more serious problems that deserve its time. But, this is an example of how serious activities of the anti-animal groups are.
Let’s hope this meatless Monday idea goes by the wayside and soon.
Then there were two other articles in this Dairy Herd Management issue that are interesting. One was encouraging dairy and other livestock farmers to make their farms available for folks in town to come out and visit, to open their barn doors.
Many folks today have no farm background and do not understand what a modern dairy farm is like or what accepted farm practices are on these farms. Letting people see what a modern farm is like and explaining to them why things are done as they are on farms is one of the best ways to get the true farm story out to those who do not understand or to those who believe the misinformation coming from the animal rights groups.
Many livestock farmers are reluctant to open up their farms because the anti-animal groups are slick at taking pictures and editing them to make an accepted farm practice look bad. Then, all too often, mainstream media picks up the misinformation and gives it way too much publicity.
Another excellent idea is possible for dairy and other livestock farmers, which is using social media. Facebook, Twitter and the rest present a way of getting true farm information out because many people view them. Sending out blogs about what one does and why it can be done in short to the point articles will get some attention. If enough farmers practiced this, it could have a real impact.
I only know of one local dairy farmer that does a good job of putting short, interesting articles on Facebook with occasional pictures. Let’s hope there are more that I am not aware of doing this.
Everyone has a stake in the anti-animal farm movement. Veganism is OK. if that is what one prefers or it is for health reasons one cannot eat meat. But most people do not want to be forced into taking all animal products off the table. They provide a quality of protein and other nutrients not available in plant based diets. It’s OK to have a hamburger, small piece of steak, chicken or pork chop in moderation.
Parker is an independent agricultural writer.
