I have had many dealings with food activists in the social media world, mostly people that hate GMOs, gluten and glyphosate. Luckily (as I’m quickly learning), I don’t have to deal with the world of animal activists on a regular basis, as we are grain farmers. My friend Andrew started his own project 365 to let the public into his daily life as a dairy and crop farmer in Ontario with the goal of educating people about what he does. He’s using #farm365 on his Twitter and Instagram accounts so people can follow along. His Twitter following has jumped >4000 in just a few short days this January when national news outlets picked up his story. I’m happy that his project has received such good attention, but inevitably the anti-agriculture (or at least the anti-animal agriculture) crowd quickly hijacked his hashtag with awful memes and “infographics” about the alleged cruelty of animal agriculture. They call farmers rapists and murderers for breeding by artificial insemination and then the slaughter of animals for consumption. I have to wonder how many of these people have sat down and talked with farmers about these practices or even bothered to tour a real farm?
I am fully aware that not all people who avoid meat in their diet are extremists, but after some lengthy conversations on Twitter, it’s very apparent there’s a loud and abrasive anti-animal farming movement that would like to see all farm animals set free. I live in Alberta where it is currently in the -30s with the wind chill. I’m pretty sure that chickens, pigs, dairy cattle and a lot of other farm animals would not survive long-term in climates like this. I did some researching and came across a great article by Dr. Jude Capper. If we set all the beef cattle in the United States free…
Within five years we’d have 602 million cattle in the USA, within 20 years we’d have 3.7 billion – a 40-fold increase on our current national herd. That’s 40x more cattle belching methane, drinking water and producing waste, every single day, all as a result of our changing our diet in an attempt to reduce environmental impact. – Jude Capper
Animal agriculture has an environmental impact, but so does all food we grow and eat. What we really need to be looking into to help save the environment is less food waste, which does not discriminate against any diet—we’re all guilty. It is estimated that approximately 1/3 of all edible food produced is wasted annually, which adds up to 1.3 billion tons. With the use of research and technology, the production of beef cattle is using less water (12%), less feed (10%) and less land (33%) than it did in 1977. Innovation and science-based research will continue to improve ways for animal agriculture to be more environmentally sustainable.
I have always been pro-food choice and I cannot reiterate that enough. I don’t care what you eat or don’t eat, but what I do care about is what you have to say about what I eat. If you want to eat an organic-only diet, go ahead. If you want to be a raw vegan, go ahead. But please, please do not become a diet preacher condemning people for making the opposite food choices that you do. When did we become so intolerant of other people’s decisions? You don’t have to compromise your convictions to be compassionate towards others’ choices. It’s flat out disrespectful to preach that your diet or your way of life is superior to others’, and even more so by taking it a step further to spread lies and fear about others’ choices.
Further Resources
Beef Cattle Research Council
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
Alberta Beef
Beef Advocacy Canada
BoviDiva
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First I would like to say thank you Sarah. Thank you for trying to educate and being extremely tolerable in your blog. Thank you for standing up for those of us in the agricultural industry who are becoming to frustrated to engage in these conversations that so viciously slander our beliefs. As a lamb and beef producer I fear greatly for our industry. The anti meat propaganda that is flooding social media with so much false information is staggering. Producers generally don't even try to bother standing up and trying to educate the misinformed as it usually results in wanting to pull your hair out. Please keep up the great work, I look forward to following your blog.
This article is spot-on. Good work!
I'm somewhat in the middle on this debate so I wanted to comment! I'll start with saying I don't discriminate when it comes to food 🙂 Steak, pasta, vegan dishes, paleo…and yes, even crazy "raw" recipes…I love all of them! About a year or two ago, I changed my diet and cut out wheat, sugar, most dairy. I feel better, am not sluggish all the time, lost weight (12 down to a 4/6), reversed PCOS and my allergies have gone away. So I understand why people are so passionate about food and taking a hard look at what we're putting in our bodies. However, people need to be respectful! The only reason we can each visit the grocery store and fill our carts with the food of our choice is because of our current food system. My choices may not work for the next guy and vice versa. I'm very thankful for the hard work done by farmers of all different kinds of farming operations, for giving us choices so we can each make the best decisions for ourselves and our families.
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Be passionate about food—absolutely. But if someone wants to eat the total opposite of you, just respect that choice, as you say. That's all I ever ask of everyone.
We raise beef on our ranch and have done so for four generations. We are good at what we do and knowledgable about our product. They are cows and the product produced is beef and beef products. We treat our animals humanely and it is in our best interest to do so. Healthy, happy cows equal more beef and more dollars. We evolved as humans with meat supplying our diet with valuable required nutrients and as part of the food chain relying on meat to provide these nutrients to develop our brains. Animal abuse is not tolerated on farms and should not be tolerated. We treat these animals with dignity and respect for the purpose they serve in the food chain.
You're not allowed to take a moral high road because you're vegan. You may not be the cause of a cow or chicken's death, but animals lose their habitat and lives when crops are planted and harvested. Ecosystems are disrupted. I'm sorry, but if you eat, something is being sacrificed so that you can eat. Maybe the person who eats a cow raised on pasture, which is left undisturbed (vs your field of grain or veggies that likely requires tilling, pesticides, herbicides) should take the moral high road first.
I do believe there is plenty more work to do to improve conditions for animals. I do not believe bashing all animal agriculture is the way to do it. This country has lost farms at a crazy rate. We should be encouraging people considering this as a way of life, not scaring them off with hateful attitudes.
Amen. Preach it and pass the bacon. 🙂
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We raise and eat beef too. Thanks for putting your voice out there in spite of the opposition.
You're welcome, Trish. I can't believe what you guys have to deal with, you should see the vegans on my Facebook page now…wow!
How do you 'raise' beef? Or do you mean cows, which is the animal from which beef originates? The distinction is important as this selective language allows us to distance ourselves from where meat comes from-dead animals.
Truth! This whole diet preaching trend has gotten way out of hand. When activists start to threaten people's lives the line needs to be drawn. We are commercial beekeepers. You'd think that's a pretty safe profession but we still get it on our end too. We're also hunters so of course that drives people crazy. I'm completely accepting of people's choices, when they actively work to end my profession it becomes a problem. Great article and keep up the good work. There are people listening to what you're saying. They just need to have the right information available to them. #agvocate on!
That's one question that popped up on Twitter yesterday to a vegan: how do you feel about the use of bees to pollinate plants? They pretty much skipped over the question, but it is good. The bees are being used "against their will" in man-made hives…so are you forcing the bees into labour? Of course not! But….they don't think so. And what about manure used to fertilize food? That shouldn't be allowed? Thanks for the comment!
I am beekeeper and my honey bees can leave the hives that I provide at any time, and they do if I don't provide them with what they need they will just take off…..I like to think that I work for the bees and they pay me back with honey goodness!
I think the argument 'against' beekeeping is about taking the honey that the bees have stored for their own consumption to survive winter. I'm not a beekeeper, but what I've read is that the honey is replaced with something else (less nutritious?) for the bees.
I'm wondering if that is true?
Thanks in advance Lori
🙂
I am not trying to be rude or disrespectful. I’m concerned and want to educate, be educated and live a life that does not cause harm to anything. As I commented earlier on FB, the fact is that if you are raising GMO-fed animals and GMO crops, you are inflicting your choices on my choices. GMO neighbors are destroying the possibility to grow organic foods. GMO-fed animals and crops are causing all sorts of diseases in yourself and everything around you including obesity, cancer, autism, death of bees…the list goes on and on. Eat what you want. It is your choice, your body, your outcome, but respect is making choices that don't affect others' abilities to have choices. Raising GMO animals and crops just shows lack of concern and respect for all of us. I find it hard to believe that a beekeeper would condone this. How are your bees avoiding being affected by Roundup and other pesticides, Andie? How are you actively working to keep the bee population alive and well? I'm all for that. I don't want the beekeeper business to be destroyed. The fact that you are a hunter is a better choice at this point to me because I'm hoping/assuming that you do not torture the animals. Even though I don't want to kill anything to eat, that is your choice to do so and I respect the hunter who uses all of the animal if they do kill to eat even though I don't. I do believe that soon wildlife will be affected by gmo crops spreading to their food supply though which will cause them to eventually not be able to reproduce. Read the studies. Enjoy your bees and better meat choices while you can. I don't think if we continue to allow gmos, pesticides, Monsanto, and “factory farms” that either of our “lesser of 2 evil” choices will be around much longer. #farm365
Nothing of which you have posted regarding GMOs is science-based whatsoever. If you are open-minded and willing to learn, I am very happy to point you in the right direction and answer any specific questions that you have.
We don't raise animals, but it is in no farmer's interest to "torture" animals.
You have stated in you last sentence so many fear-mongering buzzwords that truly have no clout in the agriculture world. In all sincerity, once again—if you are open and willing to learn, I am happy to help.
Sure I am willing to listen and would love to read what you have. I don't raise animals, but I grow organic vegetables for myself, family and friends. The point you made is that you want the choice to eat what you want. So do I. I want to eat nonGMO, organic food. If GMO crops are not a concern for organic farms, then why do you see stories like these? http://www.i-sis.org.uk/list.php and http://www.nelsonfarm.net/ and http://www.rodalenews.com/research-feed/organic-v… and http://www.cbsnews.com/news/agricultural-giant-ba…
Farmers have been growing different crops side-by-side since the dawn of time; coexisting isn't a new issue.
Please see these following responses from GMO Answers. And before you say anything—yes—this group his funded by agriculture companies to share science-based facts about consumer questions regarding GMOs. All people who answer questions are volunteers that are farmers, plant scientists, agronomists, researchers, etc.
Will cross-pollination effect other non-GMO crops? And if there are two fields next to each other, one GMO and one non-GMO; what is the likelihood of them cross-pollinating? Answered by Scott Mundell: http://gmoanswers.com/ask/will-cross-pollination-…
How does GMO manufacturers deal with DRIFTING? Drifting occurs when patented GMO seeds blow in an organic farmer's crop and contaminate it. Answered by Scott Mundell: http://gmoanswers.com/ask/how-does-gmo-manufactur…
I only buy my family organic apples and Im worried that the new GMO apple will contaminate all other apples, including organic ones. Answered by Neal Carter: http://gmoanswers.com/ask/i-only-buy-my-family-or…
What do you do when GMO seed gets blown on to a farm where the farmer was using non-GMO seed? Answered by Kelly Clauss: http://gmoanswers.com/ask/what-do-yo-do-when-gmo-…
The anti-hunter mentality bothers me even more than anti-ag sometimes. Hunters protect food crops. Hunters protect sensitive plants from destruction by overpopulated foragers. Hunters prevent the spread of diseases (via wild hogs, raccoons, foxes, deer, etc.). Hunters make the roads safer to drive on. The list goes on.
I've noticed that many anti-hunters ignore that the land conservation movement was started to preserve hunting grounds and breeding grounds of migratory game birds.
Of course, there's also a mentality that hunting is superior to animal ag because "at least the deer got to live a good life!" As if the deer didn't have to deal with predators, shelter, water, food, injuries, mating, rearing young, infection, disease, etc. Then there's my personal favorite, "I don't care about bow hunting, but I just don't want them shot by a gun! It's inhumane!" (If you know how an animal dies by each of these methods you'll find this absurd, and also has nothing to do with the firearms ownership debate).
Your article is terribly flawed because of two things and is usually done by animal agriculture people like yourself because for you to even suggest that non-humans should matter morally would be self defeatist.
1. Veganism is not a diet. Veganism is a social justice movement that brings our behaviours in line with our morals. We all understand and claim to live by the notion that humans should not cause unnecessary harm to others for any reason. It is a fact that we can live our lives much healthier on plant foods than on primitive animal foods. Therefore, harming other sentient beings for a food source as well as clothing, entertainment, cosmetics etc, is just for a pleasure and immoral. This is a fact and if you want to believe otherwise, that's your choice but you have no right to act out your beliefs harmfully on others. This is where your choice ends. Your choice to act out violent acts on others for your food also effects me and my children by destroying the earth in the process. Animal aggriculture is unsustainable and inefficient to say the least. We have a say in your choice because it effects us as well. Who you choose to eat is not a "personal choice" but rather one that is destroying the earth rapidly. As per the UN, animal aggriculture is one of the leading causes of global warming and is greater than all of our global transportation emissions of air, sea and land combined. It's the leading cause of rainforest destruction, acidification of the oceans, dead zones in the oceans, water scarcity, water, land and air pollution. Yes, I demand a say in harmful things you do with your pallet pleasure.
2. No animal rights advocates are suggesting that you set the herds free. We recognize that the current cattle herds are an abomination of what their wild ancestors where and that they cannot survive in the wild. We are not advocating setting them free in the literal sence. Calling for their freedom means to be free from human exploitation. We no longer need to rely on animals for food any longer. As much as it pains us to see happen, the best course of action is to refrain from repopulating the global herds of all animals. Basically, stop raping them. Eventually, within a few short years, the 64 billion animals we keep alive just for our pallet pleasure will go extinct as they should. We will have an abundance of agricultural land to grow plant food for humans which would have been used to grow billions of tons of plant food for the animals we used to eat. We will be able to feed the world twice around and still give up land back to Mother Nature to allow a better biodiversity of plants and give homes back to wildlife. Farmers will not suffer at all but will be the benifactors of a new world of high tech industry in plant agriculture celebrated and cherished by all of humanity.
No matter how hard the animal agriculture industry will try to make killing for a pleasure a "virtuous" thing, you will never be able to breed the soul out of someone who wants to live!
Hi Jason,
Firstly, I am not an animal ag person. So, there isn't such thing as a vegan diet where one only consumes a plant-based diet? I guess I'm misinformed! If you read the conversation on Twitter, there are plenty of people who want all livestock set free, take a look at user @venturewriter16 whom we had lengthy conversations with regarding this yesterday.
Your argument that animal ag is "destroying the earth" is pretty vague. Any agriculture, including plant farming, has the potential to cause harm to the environment, but there's lots of benefits too. Saying that farmers "rape" their animals is extremely inflammatory and such an outrageous statement.
I just ask that you respect my choices, I respect your food choices.
If it is not rape, what else would you call it, really? If someone forcefully invaded you with the purposes of impregnating you without your permission, what term would you use? A uterus is a uterus and a vagina is a vagina. Rape is a description of a forcible sexual act, so why is it only applicable to one species? If a human did thus to another human, you wouldn't argue this. Why don't the rights of animals matter to you?
I call it artificial insemination. The farmer is not performing a sexual act on the animal. Farmers care greatly for these animals, the animals always are the top priority, even before themselves and their families.
You have clearly not done enough research and are far too closed minded to even venture outside of your speciesism even a smidgen.
I like to eat animals and animal products, I like how they help our environment and provide jobs for Canadians and contribute billions of dollars to our economy. I'm not closed minded and have no interest whatsoever in a plant-only diet.
Unless you are a prokaryote and creating your own nutrients, you need to eat other organisms to survive. By being a closed minded kingdomist and eating only plants, you are clearly ignoring the increasing body of knowledge showing that plants do not want to be eaten. It has been estimated that 99.9% of the pesticides that we eat are part and parcel of the plants themselves. Plants have evolved to produce these pesticides within themselves try to prevent themselves from being preyed upon. Ever smelled fresh cut grass? Part of that smell are the chemical distress signals put out by the grass in response to injury. You are smelling the anguish of blades of grass protesting that they are being cut in half. You need to come to terms with being a eukaryote. Other organisms have to die so that you can live. You are putting an artificial value judgement that it is more ethical to eat the organisms we call plants, which we are increasingly find also protest ending up on your table. Just because plants can't vocalize like animals, doesn't mean they are more willing to be eaten.
Sarah, you just don't get it!
You want other people to respect your choices simply because you respect theirs, but the problem with that is that the vegan diet doesn't contribute to the murder of others…yours does. Should we respect cannibals too because they have the right to their own choices?
It's not about YOU or your choices; it's about THEM and their LIVES. Do you really believe that your right to choice is superior to their right to breathe? You can't be that out of touch, can you!?
Your diet and lifestyle is your choice. Mine is mine, and yes—you need to respect mine.
The difference between you and I, is that your message is so full of hate.
Yes, Kay, you are right. She is misinformed because it does not help our environment. It is a destructive and selfish way of life. It may help her environment because she is making money off of these animals and able to buy more things to make her life comfortable. She said what she cared about when she said, "I like how they help our environment and provide jobs for Canadians and contribute billions of dollars to our economy." It's always about money.
I'm actually not making money, we don't raise animals. If you can provide a way for all the livestock farmers to make a living without making money, please do share. That's the golden ticket. Please watch your tone or you will be asked to leave.
Whether or not we "need" animals for food, we evolved eating animals. I like eating animals. Other animals eat animals. A lot of animals would like to eat me!
My farm cats catch mice and birds and play with them before they eat them! It's torture. What humans do is much more humane. Our cows have great lives. In summer they have huge fields to roam in and eat grass. In the winter they had plenty of hay and a warm barn for shelter. At the end of their lives they are taken as painlessly as possible.
Veganism is not overly healthy. Every vegan needs to be on vitamin supplements. Usually iron and vitamin b.
Everything we do had an impact on the environment. Driving, heating our homes, etc. all have huge impacts on the environment. We can work to minimize it by using our voices to advocate for research and development into new technologies. Stop judging other people and do something useful with your time.
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Maybe " your" cows do (though animals are not property… they have their own life to live without your intervention …but that's another story)….but the fact of the matter is they still are murdered after they get on the trucks and you never see them again…and 99% of "farming" is per unit where lives don't matter only pounds or kilograms… wherever you live.
the argument about if we don't eat them they'll be so many of them is ridiculous. Breeding them is the problem too.. they shouldn't even be alive to begin
with
have you seen a live export show lately? please research…..know the facts… please stop living with your head in the ground…
Diana, those rude comments are not welcomed here. Did you not read the premise of this post. If you don't eat animal products because you think animals are to be treated the same and have the same rights as humans—that's YOUR choice and I respect that. The difference is, I don't come to your website/page/blog and tell you how to eat and why my choice is superior.
Jason,
You're an anthropomorphic meathead.
You don't understand agriculture and sensationalize your opinion with falsehoods intended to perpetuate misunderstandings of primary agriculture.
If you think a growing population of 7.3 billion can thrive by eating greens and grain you are grossly mistaken and hugely negligent in being properly informed. Cattle producers take marginal grasslands and produce beef. You won't grow teenagers by feeding them native prairie grass. Pig and chicken producers produce meat by using grain that's often unfit for human consumption and make MEAT. I don't see the general population lining up to eat off spec grain. It's romantic to think people everywhere will stop hunting, fishing and slaughtering animals so they can live off yummy kale, carrots, bulgur, oatmeal, potatoes and asparagus. You'd be far better off investing your time in advocating against using grains for ethanol, than convincing the general population livestock producers are rapists, and cow farts cause global warming.
I operate a grain farm and an ILO.
I LOVE ANIMALS – THEY'RE DELICIOUS!
Amen!