The relentless media attack on the livestock industry continues. As
I have written about before, journalists in Indiana are taking great sport in lambasting and misrepresenting the Hoosier livestock industry. After failing to stop livestock expansion with a proposed three-year moratorium, they have resorted to lies and fabrications in their efforts to discredit livestock producers. Accidents and violations by a few bad actors have given these so called journalists plenty of fodder. Yet, the livestock industries own marketing efforts are making the problem even worse and may be doing more harm than good.

Thomas Healy an “independent journalist” writing in news publications in Muncie, Ind. and Bloomington, Ind. recently said this, “Let’s call 2007 the year of the CAFO. Celebrations could take many forms. Jubilant agribusinessmen, unhampered by annoying rules and inspections, will spray plumes of untreated manure on saturated soils and expedite the flow of hormone and antibiotic-laden waste into drainage tiles, where it can augment the abundant pollution in our state’s waterways.”

A recent headline read “Legislature leaves Indiana CAFOs unregulated.”

This is just a sample of the kind of false and mean-spirited journalism being published about the livestock industry today.

The facts are that livestock operations are highly regulated and, in Indiana, are required to be “zero discharge” facilities, something not even required of industry or municipalities.

Yet, facts will not win the day. Most Americans view animals in a much different way than those of us in agriculture, and it is this fundamental difference that is at the heart of the misconceptions about livestock production.

Wess Jamison, a research fellow at the University of Florida, postulates that urban consumers today do not see animals as tools for meat production.

“Today’s urban consumer has been flooded with anthropomorphic images...people today view animals not as tools but as pets or even surrogate children.”

Animal activists, with lots of help from Hollywood, have positioned animals as having emotions and feelings and, in many ways, being just like us. Jamison says people see animals today as needing to be protected.

In an effort to sell our meat and dairy products, the livestock industry has used this anthropomophism to reach consumers.

Take, for example, the Happy Cows of California campaign. Ironically, producer checkoff dollars have been used to further bolster the stereotype that cows are sensitive, emotional beings who should not be ground up to make Big Macs. Today we have a generation of consumers who grew up on movies such as Babe and Chicken Run. They have a hard time understanding modern livestock operations as meat producing enterprises.

Jamison recommends the industry begin repositioning itself. He suggests we start by justifying our right to exist. “We have to stand up and say it is ok to raise animals for food,” he said.
For centuries animals have been raised for food, but today our society is seriously questioning that viewpoint. This is a battle we have to win, or we will all be eating tofu burgers and taking our pet pigs for walks.

The views and opinions in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World.