Lately, it seems like every day there is some one firing a shot at agriculture. Recently the Sioux Fall Argus Leader a regional newspaper in a primary agriculture area prints an article submitted by PETA verbatim entitled 'Make this a fur-free, wool-free winter.’ Part of that article dealt with shearing. Quote: “But wool, too, should be off-limits for carry consumers, and here's why: PETA's international exposure of the wool industry revealed that docile sheep are punched in the face, slammed to the floor, kicked and even killed by impatient shearers, all just to produce sweaters and coats.” Guess I am lucky I raise hair sheep.
I (of course) wrote a rebuttal to this ridiculous claim which the paper did print with the headline, ‘Letter: Shearing sheep benefits herds and economy.’
Then you have Chipotle dropping pork from their menu because they couldn't afford to pay what it cost to raise pork with 1950 technology. I lived the 1950's practices, and believe me the animal welfare and comfort practices of modern hog production far exceed what was happening in the fifties.
Then there is the California egg issue. Perhaps they should raise all their eggs in their back yards. In doing so, they may create enough disease problems to jeopardize poultry exports. I wonder if their Hispanic population, that they fail to recognize, would prefer the eggs they have been getting from Iowa or maybe the ones they got in old Mexico. Let's get real, is a free range chicken risking it’s life with predators, exposed to weather extremes better off than one in a pen in a heated building. I grew up in the poultry business, showed chickens in 4-H, even rescued outside turkeys in an ice storm. Does someone think a chicken can think or reason? Give me a break. Yes, welfare is an issue but so is practicality.
The latest and greatest headline in the Minneapolis StarTribune is front page head line; ‘Diet guidance shoves beef off menu.’ For years, the government has been issuing guidelines about healthy eating choices. Now, a panel that advises the Agriculture Department is ready to recommend that you be told not only what foods are better for your own health, but for the environment as well.
Quote: “What's out: Meat, especially beef; its production is most harmful to environment.”
The idea is you should eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and other plant based foods--at the expense of meat.
There is a rebuttal to both sides of the argument skillfully written by Dan Murphy, a veteran food-industry journalist and commentator, where he states both positions are wrongheaded and ultimately destructive of the industry's interest. I intend to publish in full in next newsletter.
Couple all this with a report in Feedstuffs that estimates by 2050 there will be a 73% increase in egg and meat consumption and a 58% increase in dairy consumption over 2011 levels.
Maybe the guy that commented on Chipotle was right. If we need to go back to fifties consumption habits, buy your meat at the grocery, and cook it ourselves. Just bypass Chipotle and others like them.
In any event, we in agriculture need to go on offense, don't just defend your practices, promote them.
I attended the ASI convention and I can report business is as usual. I serve on the animal health committee and had the privilege to hear the Q-fever report, update on Scrapie, story about Mycoplasma ovis, Bighorn Sheep Research Update and Sheep Safety and Quality Assurance Program Overview. I wanted to express some concerns about FDA involvement in parasite resistance, pending veterinary feed directive and how it would affect the sheep industry, VCPR and drug availability, Clay center incidence and unavailability of foot rot vaccine. I was denied access to express my concerns in the animal health committee but was able to present to a different committee. Good attendance, good enthusiasm but I guess I am slow to understand the political maneuverings. Somewhere I would think there would be a place for production medicine.
Sheep safety and quality assurance program overview was applicable and timely and I suspect the sheep people are right with the cow boys on this one. Not surprising but it will have to be addressed, we do have a leg up on the cowboys on identification thanks to the scrapie program
Occasionally, I get a complaint that I should stick strictly to veterinary medicine in my comments and articles. I would like to remind these dissenters that modern production agriculture needs to be defended or it will fail to exist. Without it the world will starve.
On Facebook, I post the most current questions and answers that I answer at gkennedy@pipevet.com 24/7. Questions are not answered on Facebook, only on my Email address. Information is also available on my blog https://askavetsheep.wordpress.com.
If you prefer a written text, my manual, Pipestone's Veterinary Guide to Sheep and Goats published in December has enjoyed immediate success with over 700 copies sold.
I derive satisfaction from being able help all those in the sheep and goat business and has allowed to me to extend my career and fill a void that is needed.
Fullfilling the need for veterinary information is my main objective but sound animal welfare practices and attacks on modern agriculture production practices by special interest groups have to be attended as well.
The consumer needs to understand that food doesn't originate at the grocery store, McDonalds or Wal-Mart but at the hands of farmers large and small.
By: Dr. G.F. Kennedy
