Does Anyone Else See the Irony in This? Animal Welfare Reform, Really?

 The Irony of Those Living Stacked in Crates and Boxes in the City, Trying to Tell Farmers and Ranchers that their animals should not be kept in such a similar way???

So, I have to say that after reading of another of HSUS's big wins for Animal Reform, I have to come out and comment on what I feel is a pretty ironic situation.  So, go to the link, read about what Bon Apetit is doing to make the world a better place for animals in commercial farming, and then think about this--

Just a few minutes ago I took my preschooler in to school, I then turned around and drove almost three miles home, most of it on a dirt road with either pastures or sagebrush surrounding me.  I looked at my home sitting out by itself, with an alfalfa field directly in front of it, pasture and corrals to the side and open land, hills and fields for acres and acres.  And, I thought, yes, I love, love, love that this is where and how I live.  And as I though about the cows in the fields and corrals of my grandpa's ranch all around me, I thought--well, some people would see them out here in the winter and think, "Poor cows, they need to be in shelter."  "Then, when put in shelter or barns, those same people would say, "Poor cows, they need to be free to roam and range."  Ahhh, the irony, and I am just getting started.

This is the alfalfa field directly in front of our house,
looking down the valley towards town.

So, as I looked out at my house and all our open area I thought, "And those are the SAME people that are stacked story after story high, crammed in to apartments and condos, homes without yards, surround by fences and walls and security systems."  How is it that it is perfectly okay for them to live stacked in crates and boxes, but it is not for these animals?  To many of them the thought of living on a stinky, smelly farm, away from the smog of the city, the constant hum of traffic and sirens, is as undesirable as just about anything.  They might want to take a drive in the country a walk through a park, but to actual live there--in the fresh air???  (I apologize for my sarcasm, it tends to get a little thick sometimes and it isn't always easy for readers to discern emotions when they are reading.)

Vaccinating calves every year at spring branding
helps keep our cows healthier and more
productive--Anyone out there think it's ironic
that we will vaccinate our kids for just about everything
but it's now acceptable to vaccinate our
food source??

So, yes, I think it is a little ironic, that it is okay for people to rush to the doctor at the slightest hint of a sore throat for a fill-up on antibiotics, the mere hint of cold weather sends them out in droves to get a flu shot, but yet they don't realize that animals are just as susceptible to their own illnesses whether out in the open or in temperature monitored, sanitary barns--and would probably like a little bit of antibiotics to get over what ails them as much as these people do.  And, yes, I think it even more ironic that people will cram into buildings hundreds of feet high, wall to wall, loving that they don't have a yard to care for, perfectly content in their concrete jungle, but it is definitely NOT okay for animals to do so.  In my personal opinion, if I had to live like they do, away from the country, the openness, the sunsets, the fields, the hills, I think that I would think it inhumane.  But, do they know any better?  Have they lived any other way?  Have these commercially produced animals??
The Reality of the Care that Farmers and Ranchers have for their Animals......
In all reality, Farmers and Ranchers care for their animals in ways that most consumers and 'city folk' can't imagine.  Yes, when my sister is done raising a few calves they go to auction and then she takes the money to buy beef--she won't eat the ones she has raised because of the tie she has to them.  We recently sold the first calves my kids bottle raised, and though there was heartache and sadness in saying good-bye, there are more there waiting to be fed and the cycle continues.  I think I cried almost every time I was done showing my lambs at the livestock show and it was time to load them up and say good-bye after the sell was over.  My Grandpa knows his cows, at any time he generally has about 300 head on his ranch, he knows their temperaments, he knows their bloodlines, he knows them.  Just the other day he said he had a hard time selling some of his culls to another rancher because he doesn't really like their feeding methods and he wants to know that his cows are taken care of even if they are headed for slaughter.

My Grandpa and son.  Grandpa turned 83
last month and is still cattle-ranching full-time.
He has been working cows his whole life,
and started his Angus herd in 1954.  It is his
product, and if he doesn't keep them healthy
and productive then what does he have??

So, if you really want to know where your food is coming from and how it is being treated, talk to the source, meet real people
doing what they really love.

 At 83 years-old my grandpa doesn't ranch full time because it's fun or easy, but because it is something that is in his blood, something that keeps him alive, and something that America should be proud to say exists in a vast majority of those providing them with the healthiest and most cost efficient food source in the world.

Read the Latest Story and then Decide whether or not you think that HSUS really has the right agenda at hand or not....
Here is the link to the article about BON APETIT and their welfare reforms in conjunction with HSUS--

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/bon-appetit-announces-animal-welfare-reforms/2012/02/17/gIQACPPARR_blog.html

Big Support for Nebraska Ag against HSUS from their Governor.....

Well, there was no way I couldn't share this--what an awesome story this is, from Nebraska Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Rancher Conference.  In the fight to defend our nation's agriculture against the war being waged by the Humane Society of the United States to supposedly 'protect' the animals that our nations farmer's and rancher's are raising.  Though they have won battles in California's poultry industry with things like Prop 2, in 2008 and Arizona's hog farmers (few thought they were) with Prop 204 before that.  Legislation passed by a general public with very little understanding behind the reasoning for the animal confinement to smaller crates, etc., with the help of the hefty wallet of the HSUS, a lobbying agency backed by many vegan and anmial rights groups.  While there may be humane society's operating at local levels who care for the mistreated pets, and even livestock of their areas, DO NOT confuse them with HSUS and their alterior motives.

In fact, if you are on facebook--check out the 'Humanewatch' page and learn more!! http://www.facebook.com/HumaneWatch#!/HumaneWatch

And one last WAY TO GO GOVERNOR HEINEMAN!!  Thanks for your support of your state's Agriculture, it would be so nice to have more out there like you!

Gov. Heineman Tells YF&Rs "We'll Kick HSUS' Butt!"

.by Nebraska Farm Bureau on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 11:57am.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman reiterated his opposition to HSUS today in remarks at the Nebraska Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference in Lincoln and said if HSUS attempts to force legislation in Nebraska, it will get its butt kicked.

“You (HSUS) come to Nebraska and you’re going to have the fight of your life. If you think you can intimidate Nebraskans, you’re kidding yourself. I’ll organize the whole state if that’s what it takes.” Heineman said he would work nonstop if HSUS pushes a ballot initiative, to be sure all the state’s citizens understand HSUS’ agenda and what it would mean in a state where livestock is the leading industry. “And then I’ll go to every state in the nation,” he said: “You have to be willing to stand up for your principles” he told the young agricultural leaders at the conference.
“We’re a state of 1.8 million people. We know each other pretty well in this state and that’s an advantage we have. Lincoln and Omaha (the state’s largest cities) will look to you (farmers and ranchers) for leadership” regarding HSUS’s actions, the governor said.

“Money doesn’t always win elections. People win elections . We’ve got to have people at the grassroots. It will be important for you to use social media to connect with all Nebraskans,” he said, along with talking about HSUS in every conversation after church and in the coffee shop.

HSUS will not find a single elected official in Nebraska willing to stand up in support of HSUS, he said, down to the NRD level. “They’re tough, but we’re tougher.
“I went to Ranger School and I’ve faced lots of tougher opponents. If they want to engage in guerrilla warfare, I’ll teach ‘em a lesson. I’ll do everything I can to stop them.”
The YF&Rs expressed their appreciation to Gov. Heineman for his leadership on the HSUS issue.