Buying time

Last night I was driving through Chicago on my way to Lansing, MI when I heard a doctor in a paid advertisement on WLS. “This is Dr. Ray Greek and I want to tell you about the abuse in testing animals against human diseases.” The ad was trying to convince me and everyone listening that 100,000 people have gotten sick because of incorrect research on animals. (In a country of 600 million that doesn’t sound so bad). He encouraged people to get more information at www.navs.org. Floating through this website it appears that he would rather see research done on people than on animals. So if you are interested in having the good doctor expose you to SARS in search of a cure, I am sure he would love to hear from you. Dr. Greek, in his retirement, has a written a book and posted this website to pass the time. The following is from his home page.

The National Anti-Vivisection Society is dedicated to abolishing the exploitation of animals used in research, education and product testing.

How many times do we see people become wealthy within an industry and then attempt to turn on the industry, it just slays me. Not to mention avenues for selling your book. Once your book is published, you are considered an “expert”. I’m going to have to write a book!

One VOICE

The reason for my trip to Lansing is that many people in Michigan understand the need for one voice to speak for agriculture. I have been a part of many state meetings with the same intent in the past year. During this meeting, most of the Michigan commodity groups presented information about how they are empowering producers to be more active and better spokesmen. That is the answer! Producers must walk up to “WEENIES” and say “that’s not right”. It really hits me hard as we all sit around and agree that this needs to be done. But then we go home and continue putting out our daily fires rather than stepping up to support our industry.
I do recognize that we are attempting to find some time in a very busy day to accomplish this task while the “Weenies” spend the entire day spreading fear. They make a living attempting to destroy our lifestyle. We want to spend one hour a week telling the truth and they spend 60 hours a week motivating, networking and executing their web of misinformation.
The time is now and I have a feeling that this Michigan group will carry the torch. They see the need and they are acting in a proactive manner. Far too many times we wait until we look the devil in the eye and we all know that it is simply too late when the genie is already out of the bottle. Just so you know how well organized these anti-agricultural attacks are, I will share an example from one “Weenie” group who sent out an alert today. It is from the Humane Society of the United States and it is listed below. You will notice it is thorough, organized and offers easy access about who, how and when to call. This is just ONE example of what we are up against. The horse topic was not selectived specifically but was simply the topic of today’s e-mail alert.

Animal handling

This week the LA Times writer Stephanie Simon has written a very good history of animal handling. Click here to read the entire document. While you may have even less free time than I do, it is long but well worth reading. As I travel, the most frequent “deer in the headlights” response to the animal handling guidelines are people who are very scared that these practices will be imposed upon them. When in fact, our industry has identified areas that need improvement and corrected them so well that PETA mouth Bruce Friedrich even caught himself endorsing the updated management techniques (what a weasel).

The following paragraph sums up the underlying message that too often gets left out of the debate.

"A phenomenal change," agreed Joy Mench, director of the Center for Animal Welfare at UC Davis. “In part, the reforms are driven by self-interest. When an animal is bruised, its flesh turns mushy and must be discarded. Even stress, especially right before slaughter, can affect the quality of meat.”

Of course, I might just be biased about this article because it illustrates how PETA can’t handle it when companies like KFC tell them "THEY'RE WEENIES”!

Bird Study

I read last night that Iowa State University has spent $243,000 studying how many birds have been killed by 89 wind turbines near Joice, IA. That may not be a lot of money in the big picture, but Iowa State has raised tuition over 20% each year three for three years. Oh by the way zero dead birds have been found.

Protein diets can benefit bones

A study recently published by the Journal of Nutrition suggests that women who consume high protein diets (eating 10.5 ounces of meat daily) did not have an adverse effect on calcium retention or on biomarkers for bone degradation as long as they supplemented their diets with a very low level of calcium. The substantial amounts of potassium and phosphorous in meat actually helps reduce urinary calcium loss. The results of this study may be instrumental in addressing the over 200 million cases of osteoporosis (bone thinning) worldwide. Ongoing studies will occur at the Agriculture Research Service in Grand Forks, ND.
Read the entire article:

I will not live in “FEAR”

A couple weeks ago I told you about a Nicollet County pork producer who caught Matt Mackell trespassing with a camera and GPS system, click here to reference that information.The follow-up to that story makes my toes curl. The Minnesota Agri News is reporting today that producers in Nicollet county are petitioning the state to keep their farm sites a secret, read story. I AM SORRY! We cannot live in fear of these “WEENIES”. I understand that none of us want to be targets. I recently spoke with a major media outlet in the Midwest who told me he was frustrated because the state has come out aggressively supporting livestock agriculture, but no one will agree to talk about it on the record. I realize that any one of us may be targeted individually, but as a united front we will prevail. If we are going to just cower and hope not to be targeted, we will get picked off one at a time. And finally I have a news flash for you: you are already targeted
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Same M.O.

Are you paying attention? The same methodology of outlawing gestation crates in Florida is happening in California. First, identify a state with a lot of voters, then spread the word that farmers are abusing the animals. Introduce anti-animal legislation and then conduct a consumer poll. Farm Sanctuary has just announced the results of one such survey:

71% support legislation to mandate that calves have freedom to turn
around, while 22% disagreed that such legislation should be enacted

72% support legislation to mandate that pigs have enough freedom to turn
around, while 22% disagreed that such legislation should be enacted

With a little creativity, I can write a poll question that could get seventy percent of Americans to agree that we would be better off if Columbus had never discovered America. WAKE UP! We talked about Florida like it couldn’t happen, it did and now the race is on. Please do two things for me, 1) Call someone - I don’t care who but at least one Californian that you know. Tell them the truth about animal agriculture. 2)Log onto www.activistcash.com and find out about the real agenda of Farm Sanctuary. This is the group who pokes holes in animal agriculture for “using animals for profit” while they steal animals from farmers and take them to their sanctuary so they can sell tickets for people to come pet them. And what about their $3.5 million net worth? What a bunch of “hypocritical weenies”. Besides all that, they wouldn’t let me speak at the Food Animal Forum in New York in May…

New Days, New Ways

Last week I parted ways with Brownfield Network. It was a tremendous experience for me and I learned many things about how media organizations work. Loos Tales will continue, and actually has expanded greatly in the past week. Loos Lips has been very well received and will continue to expand. I will be spending most of my time focusing on Faces of Agriculture. Faces of Agriculture is a non-profit organization designed to identify “weenies”, tell the truth about agriculture and empower producers to be better spokesmen. Leadership, media training and public relations will be the main focus, so keep us in mind.



Every day is Earth Day

I think I am witnessing a growing trend in environmental debate. I hear you saying, Trent we have always had negative rhetoric about the environment, but I am here to tell you I think is intensifying. I am seeing some Democratic presidential candidates who seem to believe the “environmental platform” is one to carry them to the White House. Last week was Earth Day - the day celebrated by fundraising environmentalists; meanwhile Earth Day is every day for those of us who make our living from the land. A tremendous number of environmental issues hit the press including the damage caused by people who claim to support the environment and yet they do so with destruction. Check out this excerpt from National Geographic or click here to read entire story.

According to the FBI, the Environmental Liberation Front (ELF) and organizations associated with it are suspected in 600 acts of violence including torching buildings at the Vail ski resort, burning SUVs in Oregon, striking a research center in Michigan and upscale homes in New York resulting in more than U.S. $45 million dollars in damage.

And yet another one from Newsday on Friday.

Even my ole buddy Bobby Kennedy, Jr. is trying to get involved. The LA Times reported his support for John Kerry’s environmental stand. Read the article.



Vegetarian Activist perplexed

Read this article today about a vegetarian who dies from vCJD. The author still tries to find way to blame beef consumption.

From the other side

I recently located Michael Milligan from California. What an interesting perspective he brings to the activist discussion. Once a self-proclaimed “leftist”, he has since “grown up and seen the light”. Milligan admits that the radicals he once worked with don’t grasp or care about the truth. “Truth is not a big issue with them”. Milligan has written a novel, Pine Field Killings, which brings to light some of the tactics employed by the radicals. Visit Milligan’s website www.pinefieldkilling.com to read more about it.

Terrorists among us

The militant animal rights group, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), raided a battery hen farm and "liberated" more than 1,000 chickens before issuing threats that their next attack would be more extreme. This story is out of EU this week home of small “humane” farms. I have included the full story below but here are a couple of the most important lines.

The spokesman added: "As can be seen from video footage, birds that become immobilized with the waste that sticks to their legs aren't even able to
forage for scraps of food. These slowly sink into the sodden waste and die horribly where they lay, only able to resist hungry rats and other hens as long as they are able to survive."

Where is the view of the farmer? This is an obvious removal of human intervention in the production of food. What farmer could or would allow his livelihood to suffer in such a manner? Relentless attacks on food production, and if you think this is just a EU issue. ALF has been very much present in the US just ask a few mink farmers. Thank you to Teresa Platt of the US Fur Commission for keeping everyone in US agriculture updated on what is coming

Every shape and size

The “Weenies” are getting more creative all the time. David Cantor, Executive Director of Responsible Policies for Animals has initiated a letter writing campaign to at least 20 universities around the United States. The following is what it says, or read entire story printed in the University of Arizona Wildcat Daily.

Cantor called for an immediate halt to the animal sciences program in the letter, writing, "All involved are linked to those atrocities since all activities in the animal and agribusiness industries, including education and training, are interrelated."

Fundraising at any price seems to be the objective of all of these groups. We need to get much more creative in finding ways to get the media to do news story on us. You have got to wonder if they have any clue that food on the shelves doesn’t just show up? Do they ever have that thought?


He’s back

I am noticing a pattern here. If you will remember it was last year this time Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. went on his wide spread speaking tour “promoting himself” as the environmental icon. April, here he is again. Why April? Just enough time before August grant writing deadlines to prove accomplishments. Yesterday he spoke at Cornell University. This quote sums up his tactics; he like any other non-fact based activist group is the master of emotion. Read entire story from the Cornell Daily Sun, but check out the statement below. Find me one, just livestock producer Bobby that has a desire to be Saddam Hussein? I think it is time for me to start showing up again…

"Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hilter, and Mussolini were great capitalists. That's what will happen if we let [environmental law] go," he said. "We are heading down the path to fascism."

Animal Agriculture loses friend

I don’t know whether Dr. Atkins knew what an animal was, but it doesn’t matter. I have “Loosely” (no pun intended) followed his protein diet for nearly ten years. I like it. But I think the thing to point out about him is his spirit. Did you know he first wrote about the low carbohydrate diet in 1966? For nearly forty years he stood by what he believed and wasn’t afraid to call a “weenie” a weenie.

I found an interesting article today in the Orlando Sentinel about his death. The first person quoted was none other than “the wolf in sheep’s clothing” himself, animal rights activist Neal Barnard.

"The books were in and of themselves quite harmful," said Barnard, president and founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. For profile check on Barnardwww.activistcash.com.

But the next quote sums it up for me. One person can make a difference if you want to. "Although professionally I would not agree with his theories, he made
all of us take a look at our own work, and I think that's good," said Dr. Susan Mitchell, a Winter Park dietitian and nationally prominent author. "He made scientists say, 'Let's do some research on this.' "
Can you say “Bus Trip”?

I say we get a bus lined up. According to the slate of speakers scheduled for the 2003 Animal Rights Conference, they need somebody to speak that has actually handled an animal….Call me if you want to go.

The Animal Rights 2003 web site has been updated and exhibit registration is now open. The updates include sponsoring organizations, speakers, exhibit diagrams, lodging and travel boards and the AR2002 photo gallery. Please visit www.animalrights2003.org for details and registration.

Happy Easter

Most importantly, spend time with your family and have a wonderfully Happy Easter.

Trent

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In any frame of mind


Some times Loos Lips needs to put smile on your face and warm your heart. Matt Meurer is a friend of mine from West Lafayette, IN and this is pretty cool. Thank you Matt. Take a break from the grind and log onto Ride with the Cowboy. Included is a poem from a soldier in Kuwait starts like this on this website
Written by Corporal Joshua Miles and all the boys from 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines, Kuwait

"Wish You Were Here"

For all the free people that still protest. You're welcome. We protect you and you are protected by the best.


This just slays me.

Robert Cohen, “mastermindless” of www.notmilk.com, and I debated about the “evils” of milk last fall on The Conspiracy Zone on TNN hosted by Kevin Nealon. You can watch a short snippet of that by clicking here. Cohen sends out a daily column and today he is talking about “why the healthiest and longest living people reside in Okinawa, Japan?” Strangely enough the advertisement is selling “calcium supplements”. Hey, Robert there is a simple solution that would replace the need for calcium supplements, DRINK MILK!

This is a sample of his column today:
M is for Mastectomy, she's half the gal she used to be.
O is for the Osteo, her bones are getting weaker.
T is for Thrombosis, sadly, her future's getting bleaker.
H is for her Heart which soon will never beat again,
E is for Eating poisoned foods, she's dosed with medicine.
R is for Radiation, which may prolong her tragic end.

Robert Cohen makes a living trying to create FEAR. He is a “Weenie” and we need to stand up to him.

Cohen also introduced me to his good friend Howard Lyman who is quoted today in Daily Camera. This is an example of what this former rancher does. Yes, he went broke ranching so now he is trying to bankrupt those who do things right. Lyman wrote Mad Cowboy: "Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat", and he now travels about 300 days a year around the world to preach the benefits of a plant-based diet including a stint on Oprah Winfrey bashing the meat industry.

Man, he jetsets around the world as a “rancher”, does this quote sound like any rancher you know? Click here to read entire article but he says:

Americans' love of red meat an "addiction" and a "smoking gun" responsible for a national obesity epidemic - and now a rise in adult
onset diabetes among children.

Animal Handling, who cares?


Yesterday’s anti-Christian message certainly did get your attention. One response was from Phil Clemens President of Hatfield Quality Meats. I have a great deal of respect for Phil, as does anyone who has ever met him. Hatfield Quality Meats has been in his family for 106 years – WOW that is impressive! Phil was kind enough to share with me his presentation to the 2002 Animal Handling Conference and I think you should read it. This is an excerpt from the speech and the “mindset” that has allowed this Pennsylvanie family to be the meat business for 106 years. Thank you Phil.

A cynical person may say - you are raising these animals to be slaughtered, then you are actually slaughtering them - how can that be looking out for the animals welfare? I believe it is very clear. God has given them to us to have dominion over - that means to use under our direction. To raise animals for food is very natural. But, it requires that animals are raised in the best possible conditions, transported in the kindest way and then processed by the most humane treatment.

"People may doubt what you say, but they will always believe what you do"

The lowest of the low that I know

Any of you who do not believe animal agriculture is under attack will think this story is some fairy tale. Actually it has hit me so hard I am trying to find someone to punch, look out Kelli. Top Producer has an article this month about Karl Shank, chairman of the Yankton county planning and zoning committee. He was arrested and tried for perjury because he supports animal agriculture. Read whole story; here is a sample:

The state of South Dakota has charged Schenk, a Mission Hill, S.D., farmer with perjury. If found guilty at his trial this month, he faces a possible 10-year jail sentence.
His real crime, Schenk and his defenders say, isn’t failing to tell the truth. It’s the belief that animal agriculture is good for rural communities, their grain farmers and their tax base. “Livestock is the only economic development program you don’t have to subsidize,” the 200-head cow-calf operator and grain producer says in his defense.

Update: Mr Shank was found NOT guilty on two counts last Thursday. My sources tell me that jurors had no doubt that the county attorney received the minutes and attempted to frame Mr. Shank. Unbelievable even to me. I wish only the best to the Shank family for what they have gone through.

Please note correction

Amy and I must have had a communication problem. Yesterday, I told you the neighbors who filed the lawsuit against them lived up to nine miles away. I was wrong, the neighbors range from .9 to 1 mile. Thank you Amy for the correction.

Food shock and awe

The pendulum has shifted. I am convinced that PETA’s outrageous campaigns are designed to be so extreme that it allows the rest of the radicals to seem middle of the road. I continue to see and hear that if you produce animals for food you are “evil”. I have even heard (with my own ears) some cow/calf ranchers correlate the work of NCBA members as anti-Christian. Sometimes we support someone thinking it will benefit us short term and do not understand the long-term implications. Take a look at PETA’s “Jesus was a vegetarian” campaign. Then look at the links on the site including the Christian Vegetarian Association. I cannot put all the statements you should read here but it is well worth your time to look at some of this information. Here is one good example from Fr. John Dear, S.J. “I am convinced that society will look back on human arrogance and cruelty toward other animals with the same horror and disbelief that we presently reserve for atrocities committed against human beings.”
I have to wonder how these “men of God” can support PETA so much. What about PETA’s financial and verbal support for bombing packinghouses, banks and other structures of food production?

Using the court system to instill FEAR

In the past seven days, two pork producers (that I know of) in the state of Iowa have had nuisance lawsuits filed against them? Last Monday, a couple from Madison county with one 350 head finishing building had a suit filed against them for odor. I spent 20 minutes at the kitchen table with the plaintiffs in the case Tuesday evening. They admitted there was not an odor from the building but they don’t like the owner and they are using pigs as the excuse. Pigs are always the scapegoat. The co-founders of Faces of Ag, Chad and Amy Wilkerson, were served with a lawsuit for the same thing this morning. A group of neighbors, some of which live up to nine miles away and the closest which is a full mile away, are the plaintiffs. People are filing lawsuits just to be a nuisance and people are being coached and looking for avenues to create Fear. Are we living in society where we will become reluctant to do anything for FEAR of being sued? I fear that.

Nicollet County, MN pork producer confronted with activist

Rick Grommersch, a Minnesota pork producer, noticed someone walking around the end of his driveway in a grove of trees. It turned out to be animal activists taking illegal photographs. The deputy sheriff was called and assisted the perpetrators in deleting the pictures from their digital camera. They were also warned about trespassing on private property and asked not to return to Nicollet County. Of greater concern to Rick was the fact that these activists had a GPS guidance system with four locations locked in the memory - one of them was Rick’s farm. Law officers suggest that farmers need to be very aware of this type of activity and realize that trespassing laws are difficult to enforce if “No Trespassing” signs are not posted.

Matt Mackell was one of the individuals. He is treasure of Compassionate Action for Animals. Click here to read Matt Mackell column on “Why Animal Rights?” but this is my favorite quote. I think he was talking about himself compared to animals."They think, they feel, and they can suffer. Many non-human animals are more intelligent than many humans."


Dan Murphy to leave Meat Marketing Technology

Dan Murphy, editor of Meat Marketing Technology and best known to agriculture producers as editor of meatingplace.com, has announced his resignation. Dan accepted a position as vice president of Public Affairs for the American Meat Institute. In his farewell editorial, he summed up the meat industry in these words: “In my experience, the commitment to this industry exemplified by the thousands of people I've met with and talked to is built on a feeling of pride in knowing that being a member of the meat industry means you're providing sustenance, you're feeding families, you're providing one of the most essential of all human commodities”. Dan’s last day at MMT will be April 18, 2003.

Dan Murphy is one of the few who has been willing to stand up to the Weenies. Thank you Dan. Would you please take just a moment and join me by telling Dan, Thank You.