Last chance to be heard

Any of you who know me know that I want as little government intervention in agriculture as possible. Two weeks ago I sent out a request to write to Dr. Nancy Helpern during the comment period about animal handling guidelines and I got some negative feedback from some my best supporters. I believe that this is a pro-active step in animal agriculture. The attempts to legislate us out of business are endless and well-funded. At the Animal Rights conference, a man who finances these initiatives bought me breakfast while he was telling me how he would do it.

Sunday morning I had breakfast with Bradley Goldberg from New York. He spent 35 years in the investment banking business; now at age 59 he is spending his retirement using his wealth to change food production. His group, Animal Welfare Trust, is not about animal welfare but it is animal liberation. One of the projects he has “invested” in is Farm Sanctuary and the New Jersey legislation. It is not a coincidence that a story appears today in the New Jersey Star Ledger with a wonderful slant towards Farm Sanctuary. Read entire story, although check this out from the story…

"I'd wish I wasn't tethered all the time. But you know what, I'm a person, that's why I'd wish that," said Larry Katz, chair of the Department of Animal Science at Cook College and a farm industry adviser. "You have to try to view the world as the animal does and not expect the animal to perceive the world as a human does."

"The American public enjoys the healthiest, safest, cheapest food supply in the world," Katz said. "That has been the fuel for so many of our other economic advances, which have allowed us the luxury of starting to think about what is humane." I don’t know Larry Katz, but we all have something to learn from him. Those two paragraphs NEED to be adopted by every one of use who desire to be heard. Nice job Mr. Katz.

The deadline for comments on the proposed legislation ends Friday. If you haven’t responded, you need to. I am not telling you what to say although this is a nice first line:

I’m writing to you in support of the Humane Animal Standards as published in the May 5,2003 New Jersey Register (35 NJR 1873).

Send them to: humane.standards@ag.state.nj.us

Irradiation battle

Speaking of the luxury of thinking, on June 18, 2003 this story appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Hatfield Meats. The anti-irradiation movement is somewhat harder to understand than the animal rights issue. Don’t believe for a minute that whether it is irradiation, animal rights, environmentalism or global warming that they aren’t all connected. “Anti’s” will use any source of “fear” or “anxiety” that might get attention.

For example did you know “health foods” such as St. Johns wort is irradiated? How about fruits and vegetables, wheat flour, etc? During irradiation beef receives a dose of 4.5 kGy and herbs get 30 kGy. So it is not only possible but highly likely that the same “weenies” are complaining about irradiated beef immediately after consuming irradiated herbs on their veggie-burger.

An excellent resource on the subject of irradiation is the Minnesota Dept of Health website. Be sure to look at this Journal of Food Protection report on lettuce, where are the weenies on this one?

Gamma-irradiated lettuce

In studies, irradiation at 1 or 2 kGy improved overall appearance of fresh-cut lettuce and reduced browning. Fresh-cut iceberg lettuce packaged in passive modified atmospheres can tolerate 1 kGy of radiation. Results demonstrate that irradiation at doses of less than 2 kGy can be used to improve the safety of fresh-cut iceberg lettuce without loss of quality. The irradiated lettuce was stored at 37.4°F (3°C) for 14 days without significant quality loss compared to non-irradiated control lettuce.

Animal Rights 2003

I just returned home from the Animal Rights 2003 Conference in DC. What an eye-opening event this was, even for me. It would best be described as an “Activist Training Camp.” Training levels range from teaching college girls (in search of a “cause”) how to stand on street corners distributing literature to convicted felons teaching an eager audience how to burn, bomb and destroy private property and deal with law enforcement if they are caught. Some very alarming things are happening within this movement, especially the invasion of the freedoms and privacy of those outside the movement. Groups you have never even heard of, such as SHARK, are there discussing strategies. SHARK is an Illinois based group with many campaigns, but this is straight from their website www.HuntersRapeNature.com.

Documentation!

SHARK's number one tool is video footage, and no one does video quite like SHARK. Using hidden video, long range video, and even video cameras that see in the dark, SHARK leaves no place for animal abusers to hide. SHARK's award-winning video footage is supplied to local, national and international media, lawmakers, courts and other animal advocacy organizations.


Birds of Prey

SHARK has also taken to the air to help animals, using Ultralite aircraft to divert animals from hunters' bows and guns, for surveillance, and to protest animal cruelty. Dubbed the "Birds of Prey," SHARK's Animal Rights Air Force sends animal abusers scurrying for cover. These machines allow us to go where there are no roads, and beyond fences and walls.

See the Ultralite in action!

In these videos, SHARK president Steve Hindi drops down to say "Hi" to hunters at the Woodstock Hunting Club, and in the process he keeps geese and ducks from being shot. The club subsequently closed.

According to this movement, factory farms confine animals and they don’t like that. However,free range hunting isn’t good either because we kill animals. Many of their platforms include preaching about humane handling of either farm animals or wildlife, but it is really a path to humanizing food animals. This hunting issue is especially fascinating that humans in this day and age think they are more in touch with “nature” and yet hunting is not considered “natural”. I need to inform the neighborhood coyotes that they should start treating my calves more humanely. They simply have no compassion for other animals!

Make no mistake about it – the people in these movements know that they will not convert everyone to a vegan lifestyle but they plan to harass and legislate their values upon us.


Where are the headlines

Obesity lawsuits are surfacing everywhere and people want to blame everyone but the person responsible for what they see in the mirror. Reuters had a story Friday with the true facts. Here is excerpt

Doctors should regularly prescribe exercise as a way to lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease and diabetes, the American Heart Association said on Monday.

The National Center for Health Statistics reported in May that a quarter of all Americans get virtually no exercise. Only 19 percent engage in a "high" level of physical activity.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the United States and other industrialized countries, killing more than 700,000 Americans a year.

Weenie Roaster of the week

Phil Clemens of Hatfield, PA responded to 60 minutes about “Pork Power”, a segment taped in 1996 about the alleged ills of the pork industry in North Carolina. The segment aired this past Sunday. Congratulations Phil, your “Weenie Roaster” certificate and bumper sticker are in the mail. This is what Phil told them.

I was very surprised that you did not include Robert Kennedy, Jr with Water Keepers Alliance about his comments on hog farm and hog farmers. He has been quoted that hog farmers are greater terrorists that Osama Bin Laden and he will do everything he can to have all hog farms removed from the US, and then he will go after chicken and beef, etc. Some of the people used in the story are connected and have the same "wild" thinking as Kennedy and don't care if they have the facts or can make them up. As Bernie Goldberg once told me, 60 minutes and the other news organizations begin with the end in mind and then interview people to make their point. Your reporting is as accurate as the New York Times.

This was mine, sure would like to see you what you sent them?

In reference to your Power Pork story that aired on June 22, 2003, the “information” you presented was very dated and clearly in line with your agenda to chase food production out of the United States. As a 6th generation United States farmer, I wish the major media outlets in this country would evaluate the credibility of special interest groups before presenting them as experts in the field. Furthermore, if your goal is to be considered anything more than an infomercial, the least you could do is include both sides of the story. You might consider including the view of someone who is actually involved in producing some of the safest, highest-quality food in the world – a US farmer. Maybe your goal wasn’t credible journalism since you felt that pigs should be nominated for academy awards rather than recognizing them for their true purpose – a source of protein and vitamins in a balanced diet.


Sincerely,
Trent Loos
Proud 6th generation livestock farmer
Loup City, NE

Kicked back

Have you ever halter broken a bull? I don’t know exactly how many I have tied on to but it probably runs near a couple hundred. It is not unusual to lose your patience during this process. But if you really lose your cool and make the mistake of giving the bull a good sound kick, it goes without saying that it really will hurt you more than it hurts him. And most likely it will still be hurting you tomorrow or even a week from now.

I just attend the U.S.D.A. listening session in Kearney, NE about the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) legislation. I couldn’t help but think of how that meeting compared to halter-breaking bulls.

Throughout all of the rhetoric, hashed and re-hashed, not one single person mentioned the real reason that this law was introduced in the first place.

Arguments for this program come from people who want to switch sides of the fence depending on where the grass is greener. Numerous commodity check-offs have been challenged in court. The same folks who are against the check-off, because it is mandatory, are in favor of mandatory country of origin labeling. If it’s not OK to mandate a check-off, then why is it completely acceptable to force labeling of the same product?

During one testimony, a person involved in direct marketing supported the mandatory COOL program because she said consumers preferred their product because they know it is produced right here in the U.S. If one of her marketing tools includes telling consumers that U.S. farmers produced the product, won’t it be harder to differentiate her product from the generic competition if COOL is implemented and all of the products are labeled as such?

The most popular argument for COOL is that consumers have said they are willing to pay more for a product that is “Made in the USA”. Proponents continually reference a study published by scientists from Colorado State University. However, these very scientists testified during the listening session that these results were not intended to be used for public policy setting in this manner. There were only 278 people surveyed and the study was not designed to seek information about consumer preferences regarding the origin of food. Anyone familiar with scientific data and statistical analysis knows that you can’t take the results and mold them to fit your scenario if that is not how the study was designed.

I heard people touting Country of Origin Labeling for meat because “they know where every piece of their clothing was made and yet consumers don’t have an opportunity to know where their meat comes from.” I think that is comparing apples and oranges. The tag in your shirt may say “Made in China”, but it says nothing about where the cotton field was or which Iraqi oil well produced the petroleum to make the 35% polyester that keeps it from wrinkling.

The key word “mandatory” equals frustration. Frustration is the true reason this law was initiated. Frustration may not enough go deep enough to describe what is really pulsing through the veins of many of these people. I believe it is actually anger and desperation. Anger because we have few and bigger players in the food business. The meat industry has done a tremendous job of producing and marketing the safest, healthiest supply of food the world has ever seen. These folks are either forced to change the way they do things or be left behind.

Anger, frustration or desperation by some in the industry has forced them to kick the industry like I kicked the bull. They haven’t seemed to grasp the fact that it doesn’t matter how big the bull is, when he kicks back, IT HURTS.

Let the discussion begin

I am very excited about this: Dialogue! Every meeting I attend, the conclusion seems to be the same: “We need more and better dialogue with the consumer.” So I have partnered with Michael Milligan in an online forum that should be a wonderful opportunity to hear what consumers really think. It was just posted today and I hope we can get people of all viewpoints to weigh in on the subject. Michael spent a lot of time with logos and formatting - thank you Michael. Click here to discuss “The truth behind your dinner”.

Health should be renamed Fear!

Health magazine should probably just consider a new and more attention grabbing title like FEAR! magazine. I just floated through several of the stories and this is an excerpt from just one.

Of particular concern is the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in beef, pork, and poultry production. The AMA is supporting legislation proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., that calls for more restrictions on the practice. Most animals raised for food in the United States receive regular doses of antibiotics in their feed or water to protect them from injury and diseases they might receive while being raised in crowded, confined conditions.

But the following is my favorite and proves that they have no clue:

Even the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), the Colorado-based trade body that represents cattle ranchers and beef producers, has begun looking into some of the farming practices of its members, including the use of growth hormones.

I stopped to visit with the vets in Ainsworth, NE yesterday and they had a great point. Have you ever taken your child to the doctor for an ear infection or some other illness. What is the first thing they prescribe? “Well, let’s try amoxycillin first. It probably won’t work but we will keep working up until the last option which is the power drug that finally knocks it.” THAT’S IT! “Weenies” are blaming animal agriculture for exposing our food animals to low levels of antibiotics for extended periods of time because they are feeling guilty about what is happening to humans. Humans may not become resistant to antibiotics if medical doctors would just take a closer look at what they are really doing to children. Here is a list of “fear” stories found in Health magazine.

Why the Meat Label is a Must-read

More organic options on their way to markets

Why you should care

Beyond animal rights

The growth hormone debate

Urbanizing America

Why did we starting putting water lines through the countryside? If we had not developed “farms” maybe people would have stayed in town instead bringing the town to us. This story in the LA Times describes what I am talking about with dairies and urbanites in California.

Social engineering

I just had very good meeting with Brenda Forman in Pierre, SD and she summed up the “environment” we live in today – “social engineering.” When did neighbors start assessing what I should or shouldn’t have. The following is excerpt from a Rueters news story and the first paragraph sums it up “huge factory farm”. And then they go on to define what a “huge factory farm” is - check it out. HEY, I have news for all you spin-doctors: size is not a factor in pollution. The other night in a Chicago restaurant, I visited with a gentlemen from Michigan and asked him about his occupation. He told me “I work for a large software company”. Think about how many people you interact with in daily life that try to tell you how BIG something is that they are involved in. Yet the social Nazis want to tell me how many animals I can’t have. Furthermore I am convinced huge is you having one more of something than me, and they don't have any animals. Read whole story.


Federal regulators should reject any proposals that would exempt huge "factory farms" feeding thousands of animals at a time from air pollution rules, six environmental groups said.

The environmental groups said CAFOs, which can hold 1,000 head of cattle, 2,500 hogs or 30,000 chickens, "present a widespread, severe air quality problem, both to neighboring residents and impacted airsheds."

Signing the letter were Association of Irritated Residents, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Environmental Defense, Environmental Integrity Project, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club.

Raw Food

One of the most eye-opening things I have witnessed in the past year is the movement toward the consumption of raw food. Last year at the Health and Harmony Festival in California, I saw people eating things raw that I would not feed to my dog. I totally support and encourage people to adapt the lifestyle they choose. Vegan, vegetarian, raw food or constant beer and chips, I don’t care because this is America. What I have so much trouble with is that it seems like the marketing of one particular lifestyle is negative to everyone else’s right to choose. The following is an example from the promotion of the RawStock Festival coming up in California in July.

a clear understanding of why raw food diet is the most ecologically beneficial diet, with the power to reverse our earth's declining state of health

passionate vibes from health-loving people who love life

"Rawstock will be the ultimate raw food event. It will pack more successful experience onstage than any raw food event, ever. The best food, the best speakers, best bands, simply, the best. Anybody who wants absolute raw success, and to participate in a major slice of history, Rawstock is a 'must' event." Dr. Doug Graham - President of Healthful Living International

See another interesting website linked to this one http://www.oceansong.org/

We have more trees than we have ever had. We have cleaner water. Human management has made these things better. Yet the message is that we are just days away from destruction - all in the name of marketing a lifestyle. This raw food movement is very intriguing to me. I remember people telling me last year that they wanted all of their food to be consumed within 15 minutes of harvest. Now unless they live in a garden, how practical is that?

Michigan native speaks in homeland

Back on the “weenie” list for a third time this year is Gary Yourofsky. I missed his speaking presentation but Detroit TV WXYZ (view) did a story on one parent who didn’t agree with Yourofsky speaking to his son at Eisenhower High School. Yourofsky, a PETA lecturer, spoke to 600 students in January and I thought you might be interested in a few of his comments from that presentation.

"When you cause misery to animals and take part in their murder, you are causing God misery and murdering his soul."

He admitted his purpose for speaking to the students was to convert them to a strict vegan lifestyle.

“People who eat meat are terrorists”

And the following gem was quoted not to the students but in the Toledo Blade 2001: "Do not be afraid to condone arsons at places of animal torture," he has written to supporters. Matter of fact, if an "animal abuser" were to get killed in the process of burning down a research lab, "I would unequivocally support that, too."

Two teachers requested his speaking appearance at the school and the school principal said they will do a better background check from now on…

Teresa Platt and the Fur Commission have all the information on Gary Yourofsky, click here to get his full profile.

The world is ruled by those who show up

Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT is the first American University to take a stand against factory egg farming. A store at Wesleyan University says it will only sell eggs laid by chickens with freedom. This a quote from a student leader in the school:

Factory egg farms are infamous for their cruel conditions, for both hens and workers, and for the environmental threats they pose. Up to ten hens are forced to live in a cage so small that one hen could not spread her wings," said Matt Montesano, a member of Wesleyan's Environmental Organizers' Network (EON). "Hens are in lifelong pain because up to two-thirds of their beaks are cut off as chicks. Hens in factory farms
are periodically starved for up to three weeks in a practice called force-molting, which attempts to shock hens' bodies into another laying cycle."

What do you think? Maybe the messages that people like Gary Yourofsky are sending to students in schools are working?

Farmers not Agriculture

My trip last weekend to Michigan turned out one the best trips I have had, maybe ever. I spent Saturday afternoon and evening brainstorming about how we can do a better job of supplying the truth to the consumer. It concluded with a small round table discussion of Detroit urbanites giving their perception of food production.

The number one image problem in food production is Farm Subsidies. They were appalled that a farmer with $300,000 in income may have $100,000 of that coming in the form of a subsidy. Their perception was that “Corporate” farms would receive a payment in addition to net income. They had no clue that if a farmer had $3 million in revenue, that it was gross dollars and not net income. They had no idea that over half of the proceeds of the “Farm Bill” go into food programs and not to farmers.

So many things came from this meeting, but the final thing that I will tell you about was NATURE. They said city people live and work in an artificial world, so when they are not working they want to experience NATURE. Farmers are correlated with nature, not agriculture. Agriculture is business and resembles the world they live in, whereas farmers are salt of the earth history of our country.

The bottom line is that Faces of Agriculture must incorporate this type of focus group roundtable all across the country with both soccer moms and farmers. Yeah “soccer” - they said baseball was gone too. One final thing, all of this happened because one insightful individual - Jody Pollok, Executive Director of Michigan Corn. Thanks Jody…

California breathe, but don’t relax

As you know the “weenies” have been prancing around the country trying to enact laws to chase livestock agriculture (or should I say farming) out off of U.S. soil. We got a break in California. Read the entire story from the LA Times, but don’t relax. Be sure to tell more people than ever what we really do on farms. I guarantee that the “weenies” will only fire up and come harder next time. Following is a small sample from the LA Times Friday.

A state bill that would have prohibited the confinement of calves and pregnant sows in cramped crates was withdrawn Thursday before facing the Assembly's Agriculture Committee.
A staff member for Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), who wrote the bill, said she did not have the votes for approval. Given the state's pressing budget crisis, Hancock decided the bill might not be given adequate attention. She plans to reintroduce it next year.

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
.
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…